It appears 'Hidden Singer 3' is receiving a lot of backlash following the elimination of Taeyeon during the second round of her appearance on the show on September 20. The complaint derives from the fact that the song used in the second round leading to her elimination was not her solo track, but Girls' Generation's "Gee."  Furthermore, people are complaining that Taeyeon was not even given her own part in the song, but was given that of another member, Tiffany.

The production crew said that they could understand why the viewers were complaining, but asked for them to be understanding, as well.  Producer Jo Seung Wook stated, "'Hidden Singer' is not a contest to distinguish who sings better, nor is it a program to distinguish the real from the fake.  It is not a place for mechanical judgment based on synchronization.  It is a time to enjoy the footsteps left in a singer's world of music.  In Taeyeon's case, she released solo songs and promoted as TaeTiSeo, but she primarily promoted as the main vocalist in Girls' Generation.  So we chose two of her solo songs, one of Girls' Generation's song, and one of TaeTiSeo's song," elaborating that following the footsteps of a singer's world of music involved exploring the representative tracks throughout that singer's career.

SEE ALSO: Taeyeon gets eliminated on the 2nd round of her 'Hidden Singer' special + performances

"The first and second round are very difficult games for the original singer," he continued. "Even in the past, singers sometimes narrowly made it through without getting eliminated. It is that way because it is unfamiliar, the original singer's characteristic feature is indistinctive, and there is only a short measure to judge by.  The people judging are not 5,000 Koreans but 100 people on site.  However, it is not an unfair game.  The production crew has no ulterior intention, so please understand."

The producer also brought up the fact that others, such as Jo Sung Mo and Shin Seung Hoon, were likewise eliminated at some point, saying that these cases should not be deemed dishonorable for the singers.  He pointed out that in Jo Sung Mo's case, his voice had matured greatly, yet people still remembered his past sound with fondness.  He also pointed out that Hwanhee sang Brian's part of "Missing You" during his appearance on the show. 

The producer also stated, "From hereon, there will be no participant from an idol group on 'Hidden Singer 3,' so there will be no instance similar to Taeyeon's."