Zia’s mental breakdown
April 29th, 2008 K-pop Nonsense, News Flash
Faceless singer, Zia experienced a mental breakdown about a week ago due to harsh criticisms from netizens and was MIA for seven days.
While Zia was gone, scathing netizens put together a list of wild theories of her disappearance. It included being kidnapped by a hardcore fan, checking into a hospital for a 200 Pounds Beauty make over, suffering from irrevocable side-effects from plastic surgery, etc. So typical of Korean netizens.
But what kind of management informs the world that their singer is going through mental breakdown? If anything, they should protect her and cover it up. Or is this another twisted “innovative” marketing strategy to get her some press? No wonder the girl is under a lot of stress.
The mentally unstable singer eventually came back to the studio to resume her recording and is set to release her album at the end of May.
Check out Zia’s “Blank Look” [물끄러미] below.
Pop in:Honey Lee injured on set
April 29th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
poor girl..
April 29th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
^ My sentiments exactly.
April 29th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Aww. Hope she gets well soon.
April 29th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
><” hope she will recover soon..
anyway..who is tht girl in the picture..
is that Zia? i thought she never showed her face..hm..
April 29th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
i like her voice, shame she is a tad ordinary looking if that’s her in the photo.
April 29th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
why does she look so different from the music video? is it another girl in the music video??
anyway she has a nice voice.
April 29th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
It’s sad how culture is focused on superficial beauty.
April 29th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
LOL “kidnapped by hadcore fan”
This article made my day (the theories how she went MIA)
April 29th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
I actually like her songs. Hope she gets better.
April 29th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
The song is good. But all those sound effects or whatever is ANNOYING!
April 29th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
it’s hard, but she has to learn to take in the criticism. i bet every artist has heard really harsh things in the beginning. boa for sure heard a lot of mean things from the japanese when she first debut.
but of course, it isn’t easy taking it in since the korean fans are really inconsiderate sometimes. take the guy that looked like jj from dbsk, for example…that boy hid for such a long time and i never really heard about him again. korean fans really do need to control themselves and not think they’re gods and the artists serve them.
April 29th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
@dayna: “shame she is a tad ordinary looking if that’s her in the photo.”
^Is probably why she had a mental breakdown. What’s wrong with ordinary? Would you prefer it if she was a plastic?
April 30th, 2008 at 12:33 am
^i meant it meaning that, without looks, even with a good voice, it’s hard for a girl to get very far in the kpop gayo scene. just look at all the popular ones, even if they ARE plastic, they need to look good don’t they?
April 30th, 2008 at 2:11 am
^Unfortunately it’s true that you need to look good. Even if you’re not ugly, if you’re a plain ordinary looking female, you ain’t gonna get far in kpop. Poor girl.. she’s talented too.
April 30th, 2008 at 3:25 am
I’ve heard so many stories about PSYCHO korean netizens! They seriously need to get a life!!!
April 30th, 2008 at 3:46 am
netizens are harsh >.<”
give the poor girl a break.
*sigh* the kpop industry is so superficial.
April 30th, 2008 at 4:02 am
she’s not that bad looking..hope she’s not going to plastic world…
April 30th, 2008 at 4:03 am
she’s a great singer…netizens need to get over the looks cliche…not everyone can look like a movie star(plastic fantastic)…in the end it all depends on your talent and she has that to back her up
April 30th, 2008 at 4:04 am
opss…she did…..anyhooo, she’s a good singer..
April 30th, 2008 at 4:16 am
I bet at least half those netizens look worse than she does. o__o!
April 30th, 2008 at 4:27 am
^agree. and typical korean really have bad mouths. in my university, they like to bad mouths others. criticizes here and there all the times. and they, themselves are actually not pretty. weird species.
April 30th, 2008 at 4:42 am
I think it’s fine that she looks plain and unsexy since she’s a ballad singer. Lee Soo Young is probably the most succesful female balladeer and her look is not sexy, it’s mature and simple and her face is also simple.
Also, the singer J was not pretty in the trad sense when she debuted and had the same round faced, kinda ’strong boned’ look. I’m a fan of hers and I even admit she is not competing in looks or sexiness or image with the likes of Hyori, Ivy, Um Jung Hwa etc. and that’s fine because her music fills another niche in the market and she has a great voice. J was pretty popular all things considered — she also American though so maybe that helped insulate her from the Korean netizens.
I think the problem with Zia is that she looks scared in the snapshots from her performance. I think Koreans succumb really easily the bowels of internet bashing. Ii wish she could get this attitude of ‘FU HATERZ!’ hahahah and just kill it on stage.
I would also avoid going online if I were her and just pay someone (her management company) to update her blog and handle her online campaigns.
I hope she gets some kind of meditatino or counseling or coaching while she’s away so when she comes back she’s more confident and a better performer and can market herself better.
Maybe the ‘mental breakdown’ thing IS a ploy for sympathy and really there’s another reason she’s keeping low. Who knows.
April 30th, 2008 at 6:26 am
haha how sad, but she is pretty faceless and she isnt pretty at all
April 30th, 2008 at 6:35 am
She’s ugly .
April 30th, 2008 at 6:37 am
netizens have no life and no brains.
what a weird girl and company though…why must have a mental breakdown so soon? geez, even the management gives her no privacy.
April 30th, 2008 at 6:52 am
love her voice though
but how is she a faceless singer?
April 30th, 2008 at 7:17 am
What’s up with these korean netizens?! I swear, they have nothing better to do! I’ve never heard of Zia, but it’s just carzy how these netizens attack her through the net!
April 30th, 2008 at 7:24 am
shes all pink o0;;
lol
is she new?? maybe its stage freight..
hmmm well hope and wishes for her to get better!!
i saw the mv. sad. and she has an amazing voice
April 30th, 2008 at 7:53 am
I feel kinda bad for her, but if she wants to succeed, she needs to toughen up.
April 30th, 2008 at 8:23 am
I have one thing to say, and no offense to the true koreans here.
I really have no idea why ‘netizens’ would diss Zia like that cuz if i were to tell you one thing, they aren’t that pretty either. Usually ugly, with thick brimmed glasses(typical) and fat-assed. With pimples. Or, they could look crack-head skinny, short, and fashion blind with beaver teeth.
Even though Zia isn’t that attrative to the eye, at least she has some MOOLAH and can be easlily acquainted with big shot stars. PLUS she can sing.
But thats really mean dissing someone out because they look ‘unattractive’ to you?
Ridiculous.
Arse wholes.
(for those people out there who said mean things to her)
April 30th, 2008 at 8:25 am
hey “.”
you’re an ARSE!!
April 30th, 2008 at 8:37 am
seriously, why do netizens bother with this crap. Is this an internet pasttime or somethin?
Goes to show, the internet kind of promotes sick habits, and young people just get exposed to such “stupidity with a voice” more than any prior generation, and it’s too bad Korea’s the most wired country in the world!
April 30th, 2008 at 9:36 am
@Jill, I completely agree with what you said. Zia has an AMAZING voice… I think I have everything she’s put out so far and she sings with so much emotion… Koreans look too much at superficial beauty and don’t even pay attention to the talent that each celebrity is supposed to have. Example-Kim Tae Hee. Yes, she is pretty, but she has yet to be really successful in any of her projects-movie/drama roles. Basically, she’s just known for being pretty and grabbing all those CF’s, but shouldn’t we look for actual talent than looks?
@New, I think you are referring to Kim Ok Bin… She’s an actress and she just starred in the mv. While many people suspected that she was the actual singer, she obviously wasn’t…
I hope that Zia continues to sing beautiful songs, and I hope that one day soon, Korea can move beyond looking at such trivial things (or at least not taking them into consideration SO much for everything)…
April 30th, 2008 at 10:46 am
oh my god… i want to kick those mean-nies in their arses.
Zia’s song is absolutely good. She has stunning voice. She seems to be a nice person too.
WTF with those mean fk retarded fans??????
April 30th, 2008 at 11:19 am
gosh these netizens have no ears. but we already know that from their terrible obsession with Tell Me…
April 30th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
I think that’s why she chose to remain faceless… netizens are freaking crazy.
Her management sucks. Who would reveal that?
April 30th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
It’s sad that such an emphasis is placed on look rather than actual talent, but it’s unfortunate that the world works that way. It’s sort of comparable to a beautifully wrapped present but when you open it, there’s something crappy inside. What a shame.
April 30th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
girl is not attractive but if she’s a good singer (never heard of her and didn’t watch the clip above, yet), who cares if she’s not good looking like hyori or bunch of other korean barbies. I’m saying this cuz of the person above by the name “.”
April 30th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
The girl just needs to own it — her look, her music, her stage. She seems shy and self-conscious. She needs to stand on stage with pride and presence and say, “Here I am! Rock me like a hurricane!” (Not sure how to say that in Korean, I’m sure you can Babblefish it).
Even with celebs who are pretty faces, if you don’t have charisma or good press or presence you’ll be just another pretty face.
And often, it’s not about their face, it’s about overall IMAGE. And that can be massively improved with the right crew — the right stylists and clothes, right hair, right make-up, being seen at the right events with the right people.
Even in the states Brandy was discouraged from debuting because ’she doesn’t look like a celebrity’ — and she said in an interview that hurt her. But she did pretty well for herself.
April 30th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
yeah…she doesn’t have de looks…
it’ll be hard for her to succeed…
she’s talented but her face is just too ordinary…
however,i still wish her all de best…
May 1st, 2008 at 11:31 am
I find it funny how people are being mean and not liking her because of her looks but if she would have gotten plastic surgery those same people would be saying she’s plastic and not like her because of that. Who cares what she looks like she has a beautiful voice.
May 1st, 2008 at 12:17 pm
mental midget!
May 1st, 2008 at 1:12 pm
So this is what Zia “voice of heaven” looks like. Hm, I don’t see her lasting long either
May 1st, 2008 at 3:03 pm
yeah, sakura, but for one thing, i know she last longer than your retarded being.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:37 pm
I totally agree with GABY. Being naturl (and not too pretty) seem to be a sin.. but if the poor girl went plastic fantastic(as popseoul calles it ^^) its a sin too..
Those netizen don’t have a life… they just like to complain and badmouth other.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Netizenz are freak, crazzy, and stupid…
They dont have brain and heart!
They r killer!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 11:38 am
she looks like any random girl off the street.. celebrities are celebrities for a REASON.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:39 am
i was really hoping kim ok bin would be zia =T
May 10th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Make up should do the trick! Haha, it SHOULD have…
O____O
Her hair is pretty bad too. ={
I agree that she has a good voice. =}