“That was sung as a joke ”- Fans defend BTS’ Jungkook as his Rumi impression from Kpop Demon Hunters’ ‘Golden’ sparks vocal criticisms

On September 1, 2025, BTS’s Jungkook marked his 28th birthday with a Weverse livestream that quickly trended worldwide. The broadcast began with heartfelt thanks to his parents and the ARMY. Later, he surprised fans by showing off a brand-new piercing and making light-hearted jokes.

Later in the night, he sang tracks from both his album Golden and the hit animated movie K-pop Demon Hunters. While most of the session was celebratory in nature, his impromptu impression of the character Rumi during the song Golden became a point of controversy. The singer deliberately mimicked Rumi’s “lost voice” scene.

Jungkook sang in a playful, exaggerated style. However, some users on the Korean community site, Nate Pann, tried to frame it as evidence of weak vocals. They called the performance “embarrassing” for a main vocalist.

Some critical comments on anonymous community platforms (Images via Nate Pann)

Fans were quick to counter this narrative. Many pointed out that the singer was simply joking and not attempting a serious cover. A user on the same platform wrote,

"You can't bring up a song that was sung as a joke in a corner of the room by a singer who performed at the World Cup opening ceremony. You want to create public opinion, so you fabricated a post and posted it on Kak aoTalk. It's not an official cover, and you just sang it briefly while laughing without even knowing the lyrics, in a woman's key. How much must you have been disappointed in your favorite singer's singing ability to post something like this?"

Fans defended the BTS' star's (Image via Nate Pann)

Fans also highlighted Jungkook's proven history of strong live vocals, which far outweighs a playful moment. ARMYs emphasized that he has consistently impressed on global stages and encores.

Some even noted that critics seemed more invested in twisting the context than appreciating his actual performance ability.

"He must have been surprised by the housebreaking of the soldier the day before, but he came to the birthday live broadcast and said he couldn't sleep and was tired, but he sang all 10 songs of the album until 2 AM. At the end of the live broadcast, he said, "Since I sang the Golden album today, should I sing the Golden one?" and sang the first verse playfully. Oo It's be cause of the lip piercing, and he's done it other times too. Anyway, it's disgusting that the gallery members are more interested in Jungkook than th eir favorites and watch the live broadcast from beginning to end," another user wrote.

"Last time during the live broadcast, Sodapop didn't even sing properly, but Andrew Choi, who sang Kedehun Sodapop Jinwoo, praised the song so well. He said that his voice was good and he sang well, so his YouTube vi ews exploded and his Instagram and Tik Tok communities all praised him, and he was so enthusiastic about Jungkook back then," another one said.

"It's not like you usually hear people say you're tone-deaf, and you're comp aring the singer who sang well into the microphone while dancing and go t 13 million views on YouTube's Indong with the encore video, and those gallery grandmas are criticizing him with a song. Isn't it funny?," another user on Pann wrote.

More on Jungkook’s livestream and the Golden cover

The livestream lasted several hours, while Jungkook casually chatted and sang for fans. He ended up performing more than ten songs before logging off.

Here is the list of songs Jungkook sang during the livestream:

Still With You
3D
Closer To You
Hate You
Please Don’t Change
Seven
Shot Glass of Tears
Somebody
Standing Next To You
Too Sad To Dance
Yes or No
Golden (K-pop Demon Hunters)
Soda Pop (K-pop Demon Hunters)

The song Golden has become known as one of the most challenging tracks in recent K-pop due to its exceptionally high vocal range. Many idols, including IVE’s Yujin, Apink’s Eunji, and Super Junior’s Ryeowook, among others, have attempted their own versions.

Alongside this, Jungkook even spoke about emotional moments from watching the movie. He previously mentioned that he had even cried during the ending.

About the author

Mantasha is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda who covers K-pop and K-drama. She has recently completed her Masters in English and has a rich 3-year writing experience where she crafted engaging content for top companies such as Unacademy, Apollo Hospitals, Adani Airports, and the Economic Times. Her experience has helped her create a strong foundation that complements her passion for creating the best content related to K-pop, K-dramas and Korean movies.

Mantasha's interest in pop culture took root when her cousin introduced her to classic Hollywood and Bollywood tunes and the rest, as they say, is history. Mantasha’s connection with K-pop supergroup BTS is a special one as their song lyrics, hard work, and dedication resonate with her like no other group does.

Maintaining accuracy, relevance, and ethics in her reporting is extremely essential for Mantasha. She prioritizes thorough research, delving deep beyond just superficial sources, to ensure comprehensive and trustworthy information.

When not writing, Mantasha enjoys journaling and doodling, watching K-dramas and listening to songs.

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Edited by pratigya dhali