JJ Lin’s HK concert controversy involving boyband Mirror explained

JJ Lin’s Hong Kong concert on Mar 19 found itself mired in controversy after its special guest was a no-show. 

According to reports, Ian Chan, 29, who’s a member of hugely popular Hong Kong boyband Mirror, was supposed to be the special guest for that night.

However, the concert went on with no appearance from Ian, though Ian and six of his group members were seen posing outside the concert venue in a selfie posted by fellow group mate Stanley Yau, 32, on the same day.

After the concert, multiple reports popped up with conflicting explanations for the no-show. 

Most reports claimed that only Ian was supposed to perform at the concert, while JJ thought that all 12 Mirror members were performing.

Then, after they realised that there was a miscommunication, JJ’s team requested for Ian to remain as the special guest, while the other six members who had turned up with Ian for the rehearsal perform alongside him.

However, it was said that Ian felt slighted by the suggestion as it implied that his bandmates were treated as mere “extras”.

Therefore, after discussing with their record label, the seven of them decided to leave the rehearsal. It was also reported that Ian unfollowed JJ on Instagram following this incident. 

Stanley’s Instagram update of the seven members outside JJ’s concert venue also fuelled reports of a conflict between JJ and the group. His caption for the post read: “[We] must remember this.”

Ian also shared the post, writing: “Remember”.

The producer for JJ’s Hong Kong concert has since apologised for the mix-up, revealing that it was a miscommunication between the two parties.

As a result, both sides came to an agreement to cancel the special guest appearance.

MIRROR’s manager also responded, wishing JJ well for the rest of his concerts, adding that they look forward to being able to collaborate with JJ.

On March 22, Stanley wrote a post on his Instagram Story to address the issue once more.

He clarified that Mirror did not perform at JJ’s concert due to a misunderstanding, and that he would like to apologise for causing another misunderstanding with his post on March 19.

He continued: “To be frank, we’re absolutely honoured that JJ was willing to invite Mirror to share the stage with him. No matter how you look at this, it’s an absolute honour! It seems like misfortune is constantly happening to us, that was the meaning of this post. To wonder why bad luck had befallen us once again.”

It is believed that Stanley was referring to the accident that occured during the group’s July 2022 concert, where a dancer was left critically injured after an LED screen fell on him.

Stanley went on to assert: “We’ve never thought that we were really great, from the very first day. We’ve known that we have our shortcomings. It’s just that we were favoured by luck. But now that the luck has run out, what’s left is hard work, so [we will] have to see how hard working we are.”

Photos: JJ Lin/Instagram, Stanley Yau/Instagram, Ian Chen/Instagram, 8World