Despite Jeon So-yeon’s controversy over plagiarism… Reasons to cheer for (G)I-DLE’s comeback
Who doesn’t do anything wrong once?
(G)I-DLE Jeon So-yeon was embroiled in a controversy over plagiarism. Suspicions have been raised that her self-composed song “SUN“, which was released on the Feb 27th broadcast of MBC’s “My Teenage Girl”, is similar to ATEEZ‘s representative song “WAVE“. At the time of the broadcast, only Jeon So-yeon and Pop Time were introduced as composers of “SUN“. However, as the controversy over plagiarism intensified, Eden-ary, the composer of “WAVE“, was added to the song’s composer list on Melon.
As a result, the backlash from ATEEZ‘s fandom grew stronger. ATEEZ‘s agency KQ Entertainment said, “We would like to make it clear that there has been no prior discussion with Eden-ary as well as us. In the sense of respecting creators who create their own works, we hope that such wrong information will be corrected as soon as possible, and we ask you to refrain from indiscriminate speculation about it.”
Plagiarism is the most sensitive issue among creators. Plagiarism is bound to be Jeon So-yeon‘s most painful stain as she has been acclaimed for writing, composing and producing most of (G)I-DLE‘s songs as well as creating the group’s own identity and color since her debut. However, Jeon So-yeon quickly acknowledged her mistake and apologized.
Jeon So-yeon confessed, “Regarding the similarities raised after the broadcast ended, I thought it was appropriate to apologize for even a partial similarity, so I informed the original composer of the song about the situation and apologized. I sincerely apologize to the composer, artist and fans for this latest incident that caused confusion.”
Cube Entertainment, Jeon So-yeon’s agency, also stated, “As we acknowledged the similarity, we decided that the credit should be revised. So-yeon reached out to the original composer and asked for the credit change through the production company. Later, an hour before the song’s release, the composer’s agency opposed the addition of credit. However, the adjustment had been made through the request to the production company, so the song was released without the agency’s opposition being reflected.”
It is not common for artists and agencies to acknowledge and correct plagiarism accusations so quickly. Therefore, fans have been showing support for this. Plagiarism is wrong and should be called out, but after recognizing the mistake, Jeon So-yeon’s sincerity was seen in efforts to quickly apologize and correct the mistake. Jeon So-yeon has shown her excellent musical talent by creating many hit songs for (G)I-DLE, such as ‘Hann‘ and ‘Lion‘. Many netizens defend So-yeon by saying that this incident is only an unintentional mistake, because So-yeon did not earn the title of ‘Self-producing Idol’ through media play, but through her real abilities and potential that have been proved through her works over the years.
After the controversy, (G)I-DLE will make a comeback on March 14th. The group’s upcoming title track was also written and produced by Jeon So-yeon herself. As Jeon So-yeon is still young in her 20s, fans are cheering for her and hoping that she uses this mistake to learn and grow into an artist who makes better music in the future.
