KBS’s Music Bank Gets Called Out For Allegedly Rigging Scores To Favor IU Over (G)I-DLE

Fans are demanding answers from KBS’ Music Bank over alleged rigging to favor IU.

On February 9, IU’s “Love Wins All” and (G)I-DLE’s most recent comeback, “Super Lady,” competed for first place on an unaired episode of the music music program.

When the scores for each category were totaled, it was found that IU won by a margin of 182 points.

However, viewers found issues with one category of the scores given to (G)I-DLE — physical sales. (G)I-DLE received a score of zero for this category, and while IU did as well, the small margin means that the girl group may have won.

Fans questioned how (G)I-DLE could receive the same score as someone with a digital single. The group’s album sales at the time of the program were over 1.4 million, which should have resulted in some points according to Music Bank’s scoring system.

The scoring system has five categories—digital streaming scores, which accounts for 60 percent, TV/radio broadcast scores, accounting for 20 percent, viewer preference scores, accounting for 10 percent, album sales, accounting for 5 percent, and social media scores, accounting for 5 percent.

— KBS

One explanation that was offered was that (G)I-DLE’s “My Wife” received all of the physical points on the program. When NewJeans’ “Ditto” and “OMG” competed for first place, only one song got all of the physical points.

However, “Wife” was banned by KBS from broadcast, making it ineligible to be performed or win on the show. In other cases, the album’s title track was automatically given the physical album points.

Fans demanded answers from the show, questioning their scoring methods and placing no blame on either of the performers.

It's the way KBS have had it out for the girls since wife released and there's no explanation they literally robbed super lady and the girls of their win and we need answers

JUSTICE FOR GIDLE #JUSTICEFORGIDLE@KBSMusicBank pic.twitter.com/qOGsQl3eqH

— Jelly soyeon_-_SuperLady (@kennyjennybenny) February 9, 2024

it's IU's 100th win but it doesn't feel good since gidle clearly has been getting robbed https://t.co/tt1VrOo22a

— ???? (@uaenadreamer) February 9, 2024

it's IU's 100th win but it doesn't feel good since gidle clearly has been getting robbed https://t.co/tt1VrOo22a

— ???? (@uaenadreamer) February 9, 2024

Netizens also said that if this was done, giving the score to an ineligible song was wrong on KBS’s account, and they expressed confusion over how Music Bank scores.

• Why give album scores to a song that’s disqualified and excluded from the candidates? It doesn’t make sense. It’s weird to give album scores to a song with higher streams. There are already cases where this didn’t happen. It’s the Music Bank’s calculation that’s odd. They should have reconsidered this. It’s ridiculous.
• They’re stumbling over disqualifications but there was already a precedent of concentrating album scores on the title track. Aren’t the inconsistencies strange?   
• It is said that Music Bank awards album scores to the track with the highest streaming score, but it just so happens that the track isn’t suitable for broadcast… What’s the truth?
• Music Bank got it wrong
• If they’re going to exclude it from the candidates altogether, why even give it a score?

Music Bank was previously investigated over allegedly rigged scores, which you can read more about below.

Netizens Come Out With Proof That KBS’s Music Bank Rigged First Place Scores To Favor LE SSERAFIM Over Lim Young Woong