When the lights went down at PyeongChang main stadium Sunday night, CL appeared on stage to get the crowd going. However, her fierce performance to her hit song “The Baddest Female” didn’t seem in-line with the much-anticipated closing ceremony show.

As soon as the K-pop diva appeared on stage, the name “CL” shot to the first spot of the real-time trending bar on Naver and stayed on the rankings until the end of the day. 

“I wanted to introduce myself with ‘Baddest Female’ as it well represents my image,” CL was quoted as saying after the performance. The hip-hop number, which is the singer’s first solo track and released in 2013, depicts empowered women who show off their “confident principles and valuable dignity.”

But many of the viewers questioned whether the song properly represented the K-pop scene.

“That (the ‘Baddest Female’) was the worst part. How could one sing such a song at the prestigious stage (like the closing ceremony)?” a Naver user commented, which received over 7,800 likes in a day.

“The stage was supposed to be where singers promote their country, not their career,” another user said, pointing out that the stage was not the singer’s showcase or solo concert. The comment also garnered over 6,900 likes.

CL, the former member of the now defunct K-pop group 2NE1, entered the US music market in 2014. 

On Facebook and Twitter, however, many people showed their support for CL’s performance.

The official tweet from the Olympics, saying “CL shines the closing ceremony,” has received over 6,000 likes and shared over 9,300 times as of Monday afternoon. Most comments on the tweet sent support to the musician by calling her as a “Queen” of K-pop. 

폐막식을 빛내는 CL#CL #평창동계올림픽 #2018평창 #올림픽 #폐막식 #PyeongChang2018 #Olympics #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/MoEUtrBAcT

— 올림픽 (@olympiko) 2018년 2월 25일

“CL, a true Korean queen, performed in front of a global audience at the 2018 Olympics. It’s what she deserves,” a Twitter user said.

“I didn’t like the song she picked, but I had to admit that her stage presence was amazing last night,” a Facebook user commented on the post which talked about CL’s performance. The comment received over 700 likes.

“I agree that the song didn’t really match the Olympic Games, but people who were at the stadium said CL slayed the closing ceremony. I liked her confident attitude,” another Facebook user said.

By Park Ju-young (jupark@heraldcorp.com)