A cover of “Hey Jude” performed by Aki Toyosaki, a Japanese singer and voice actress best known for her role as Yui in the anime K-On!, has become the joke of the internet after a video of the performance was uploaded to YouTube earlier this year.

Toyosaki is an avid Beatles fan and in the video, which is taken from the DVD of her first solo tour “love your live,” she appears to singing her heart out in tribute to the band.

Unfortunately, that enthusiasm only seems to amplify Toyosaki’s ‘cutsy’ high-pitched voice and thick Japanese accent, which, to the ears of most of the internet, make for an unforgivably disastrous cover of the beloved Beatles classic.

As of March 3, the video had over 775,000 views and 12,000 dislikes, along with literally thousands of comments falling somewhere along the lines of “oh god make it stop.”

While best known for her work as an anime voice actress, Toyosaki has long since proved that she is no amateur musician: in addition to providing vocals for a number of chart-topping songs from K-On!’s fictional band Hokago Tea Time, she also released her first solo album in 2011 and performs in the J-pop idol group Sphere.

Judging by the video, Toyosaki seems to carry her endearing image with her on the stage, opening the song with a giggle followed by a softly spoken “ichi, ni, san!

At this point, she strums the guitar and begins her slow guitar ballad, which is probably the cutest darn thing to fans of Toyosaki but, to everyone else, is seemingly nothing more than desecration.

Certainly, it’s difficult to take Toyosaki’s singing seriously when she sounds like an overly-cutesy anime character and her poor pronunciation warps the lyrics into something like: “Hey Juu, do mei ki ba-. Te-ka sa- so-, aa mei ki beta-”

While the majority of the most scathing comments are from overseas users, even some Japanese viewers can’t help but feel ashamed of the performance, calling the cover “a disgrace to Japan.”

If this weren’t enough, Toyosaki has recently come under fire by many of her fans when a rumor surfaced that she is currently living with a boyfriend even though she had previously assured fans that she is single.

For a teen idol, a relationship can be fatal as it may shatter fan’s unrealistic views of them as divine beings of purity and innocence, and it has been reported that the number of fans cheering for Toyosaki during Sphere concerts is already decreasing noticeably.

Some even assert that the Hey Jude fiasco is even an attempt by disgruntled fans to get back at Toyosaki for her infidelity.

Given the number of comments like “This is offensive to all the people who love good music,” it’s difficult to believe that 12,000 dislikes are the result of a fan conspiracy.

Check the video for yourself below and let us know what you think!

Source: J Cast News

As one user puts it: “The lulz start at 00:15 and never stop” (Hit the speech bubble icon at the bottom right to disable scrolling comments)

For comparison: Unmei♪wa♪Endless!, a single from the recent K-On! movie which hit number 4 on Japanese music charts, featuring Toyosaki.