Things Fell Apart For Red Velvet's Irene On Stage, But She Held It Together (Literally) Like A Pro

This past weekend, Red Velvet performed at the ON:TACT 2020 Gangnam Festival with Kang Daniel, Oh My Girl, and more. But while organizers had the online technology covered, it seems they forgot to double check the important audio tech idols rely on to perform. Thankfully, when Irene’s equipment failed her, she handled everything like the ultimate professional.

Main vocalist Wendy, who has recently been recovering from a serious accident last year, is still absent from Red Velvet performances. Given that the members have to cover Wendy’s lines alongside their own and alter their choreography to suit four members, they were already set to show off their professionalism at the concert. However, Irene took things to another level when things fell apart (literally) on stage.

The first song Red Velvet performed was “Psycho”—and things started going wrong straight away. Just seconds into the performance, Irene was seen reaching behind her back and quickly ducking down.

Moments later, everything seemed fine as Irene continued with the performance. But, look closely, and you’ll notice the lead dancer holding her transmitter in her right hand. Transmitters (which broadcast the members’ voices back to the stage receiver) are usually sewn or tightly attached to idols’ clothing, but Irene’s evidently wasn’t secure enough.

While many artists would’ve panicked, Irene carried on singing, rapping, and dancing with such precision, fans barely noticed anything was wrong.

But unfortunately for Irene, that’s wasn’t her last stage mishap of the night. During “Psycho”‘s first verse, her in-ear monitors got detached too! Idols rely on their in-ear monitors to hear both themselves and their instrumentals clearly, so performing without one can be stressful.

Despite that, even though Irene’s monitor was left swinging around her hips, her performance wasn’t affected at all. Before the song even reached its chorus, Irene had wrapped the monitor cable into a bundle—all while perfectly executing the choreography.

Thankfully, the rest of stage went on without a hitch. But did you notice how Irene isn’t holding her bundle of wires during the rest of the performance? Squint hard at the left side of the stage, and you’ll see Irene’s audio equipment tossed aside, well out of the way of her members.. She must have a pretty powerful throw!