[theqoo] NEWJEANS BUBBLE GUM'S PLAGIARISM ARTICLE (ORIGINAL VIDEO VS REBUTTAL VIDEO) + OTHER ARTICLES WRITTEN BY THE SAME JOURNALIST

On May 12, 2024 (KST), around 1PM, Korean press Sports Chosun published an article titled, “Plagiarism Or Sampling? Unfortunate News For NewJeans Again: ‘Bubble Gum’ Under Fire For Similarities… What Will Happen To Min Hee Jin, Who Criticized Imitation?”

“The aftermath of the internal feud between the conglomerate HYBE and its label ADOR casts a shadow over the comeback of the artist NewJeans. Amid the ongoing battle, a newly released NewJeans song has stirred controversy over its resemblance to another, sparking heated debates among netizens.

On the 12th, a post titled “Is NewJeans Plagiarizing?” appeared via an online community website. The post included a YouTube video titled [Comparison of Similarities: NewJeans’ ‘Bubble Gum’ (composed by 250 and others) and Shakatak’s ‘Easier Said Than Done’].

The YouTube reference video was uploaded on the 11th. In the video, the YouTuber compared NewJeans’ latest release, ‘Bubble Gum,’ composed by 250 and others in 2024, to Shakatak’s ‘Easier Said Than Done’ composed by Bill Sharpe & Roger Odell in 1982.”

“The reference introduced Shakatak as a British jazz-funk band formed in 1980, still active today. Regarding the composer of ‘Bubble Gum,’ the YouTuber noted that ‘250’ composed NewJeans’ hit songs ‘Attention,’ ‘Hype Boy,’ and ‘Ditto.’

Although proper crediting should be given to the original creators in case of sampling, the YouTuber emphasized that the sampled records were unspecified, indicating a lack of proper acknowledgment.

The YouTuber, who frequently compares similar songs, appealed, ‘Please focus on the music comparison and refrain from harsh criticism towards the singers and composers.’ The YouTuber also clarified that their channel generates no revenue as all videos are subject to copyright and serves as a platform solely for reporting plagiarism prevalent in the Korean music industry.

The video, posted on a channel with just over 10,000 subscribers, garnered over 40,000 views, accompanied by thousands of comments.”

— Reporter Lee Yoo Na for Sports Chosun

The article included netizen comments, pitching those who heard the similarities against those who argued common practice.

“Some netizens commented, after listening to the music, expressing opinions like, ‘The more you listen, the more you can hear the similarities,’‘It’s a copy-paste of a song from 42 years ago,’‘Not only the melody, but also the underlying rhythm is similar,’ ‘If you hum ‘Bubble Gum’ to Google, it pulls this song up,’ and ‘So Min Hee Jin called out ILLIT for copying NewJeans, and yet here’s NewJeans doing the same thing…’

Others disagreed, stating, ‘The songs are different,’ ‘Completely different,’ ‘Sampling is a common practice,’ ‘There are plenty of sources for purchasing these beats,’ and ‘Shakatak’s song is a legendary piece, so isn’t it obvious that NewJeans sampled it? It’s a popular Japanese commercial song as well.’“

—Reporter Lee Yoo Na for Sports Chosun

The video, fueled by the article, sparked heated reactions from Koreans who were quick to accuse Min Hee Jin of “hypocrisy.”

However, soon after another YouTuber shared a video pointing out the fact that Shakatak‘s song has long been available for sampling…

…and that it has been sampled in over 13 songs, without being credited (as “cleared samples don’t have to be credited”)…

…the article was deleted.

Following the unexplained wipe off the internet space, Sports Chosun and the reporter Lee Yoo Na behind the now-deleted article are facing accusations of being pro-HYBE in HYBE’s attempt to sabotage ADOR and NewJeans.

CR: Koreaboo

original post: here

1. I support NewJeans' team 🩵 Min Heejin. I like Bubble Gum so much~🐰

2. I get disgusted every time HYBE media plaus this way. Just stop already. Really, just come face-to-face and engage in a fight instead of always attacking from the back, you ugly things

3. Seriously, they are just so ugly and disgusting. HYBE, screw off

4. Seriously, they are trying so hard to try to find something to scratch ㅋㅋㅋㅋ they already know it's sampling but pretend like they don't and make it seems like they stole it away

5. It's my first time seeing a company self-destroy with their own media play

6. This clearly makes me realize just how hard they are trying to get rid of NewJeans

7. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ their intentions are just so obvious that it's just funny at this pointㅋㅋㅋㅋ They have the gut to say all that. HYBE, just let ADOR goㅋㅋㅋ just play among people of your own level instead

8. They are really trying to throw NewJeans away

9. I support NewJeans and Min Heejin

10. This is disgusting. Honestly, these ahjussis make me barf

[theqoo] THE ARTICLES THAT THE PERSON WHO DELETED THE ARTICLE CALLING OUT NEWJEANS FOR PLAGIARISM WROTE IN THE PAST

“Plagiarism Or Sampling? Unfortunate News For NewJeans Again: ‘Bubble Gum’ Under Fire For Similarities… What Will Happen To Min Hee Jin, Who Criticized Imitation?”

(T/N: there are a lot so we'll pick a few)

"Typical 100 billion slave contract?"... HYBE "treated Min Heejin with exceptional treatment, she wants more money..."

"Min Heejin 'takes a jab at imitators' but ends up taking a jab at herself -> NewJeans freezes while ILLIT laughs"

"IVE, #1 girl group in brand reputation.. NewJeans shocks by ranking 20th 'Min Heejin vs HYBE''s aftermath"

"Min Heejin 'right to terminate NewJeans' contract + 30x demand' was true -> "greed vs justice" ..."

"You're telling me that Min Heejin was behind of all of NewJeans' (success)?" HYBE's employees break out in denunciation"

"Is it because of this that Min Heejin is taking a jab (at ILLIT)?', ILLIT, all-kill in Korean, US and Japanese charts, confirmed to be "super rookies""