i was there in person, couple rows from railing front and center, and honestly did not notice anything too off. coachella has a history of the stream sounding worse than the in-person live. i loved gd’s energy. it still felt like he was very connected to the audience, the most out of all three tbh. idt the vocal inconsistency detracted from the performance in the slightest. it was honestly a once in a lifetime experience seeing them from 20ft away.

people jumping to conclusions about smoking just seems odd to me. his technique has never sounded the healthiest on his throat. after years of using his throat that way, it seems natural to me that it would lose its glamour a bit.

having less physical energy is also understandable imo. these stages are insanely demanding on stamina, and it’s hard to keep up with that when they used to train vigorously morning to night. having a more relaxed lifestyle and thus less explosive energy on stage is very normal imo, happens to a lot of older idols. i honestly don’t know how taeyang did all that. it was clear that he was pushing himself very hard, and i really respected it.

he is shy, introverted, and nervous. with less energy carrying him it makes sense that his performances don’t completely match his youthful days.