In such a competitive industry like Kpop, every idol has to strive for distinction to
stand out among thousands of artists and make earnest efforts to create their own marks.
Therefore, Kpop fans seem to have no tolerance for plagiarism and are willing to bring down
idols who they believe were imitating other artists.
Here are 3 unlucky idols and groups who got accused of copying their colleagues’ styles
and concepts.
Nayeon was said to copy Jennie’s style
Recently, ONCEs were over the moon on hearing the announcement that Nayeon would finally
debut as a solo artist after almost 7 years of working with TWICE as a group member.
However, as soon as the teaser for the title song was released, some Kpop fans were extremely
confused when finding out that Nayeon’s concept bore striking resemblance to that
of her peer Jennie in her debut with SOLO in 2018.
The two were said to have very similar poses and photo concepts, with the sexy-cute vibe
and feminine outfits.
Kpop fans also voiced their opinions that Nayeon’s solo concept resembles the pictorial
photo of Jennie in the November 2020 issue of W magazine.
To explain, some netizens pointed out that Nayeon did the same poses as Jennie and put
on the same makeup look with sexy cat eyes and pink nude lipstick.
Her facial expressions were also quite similar to those of Jennie.
Taking a glance at these photos, non-fans would find it difficult to distinguish these
young ladies and even mistake the oldest member of Twice as BLACKPINK’s rapper.
Besides the accusation and criticism pointed toward Nayeon, some Kpop fans still believed
that this incident was just a coincidence, because Jennie and Nayeon have always had
completely different styles and vibes.
While Nayeon is well known for her adorable charm and dynamic vibe, Jennie sticks to her
ice princess images, often appearing in cool outfits and bold makeup looks.
Thus, this change in Nayeon’s concept might just be one of her experiments which accidentally
looked like Jennie.
Besides, there are also some netizens claiming this should not be a big deal, since Jennie
did not invent this sexy-cute style or makeup look and there are also many other female
idols who often opt for this concept like Yeji or Seulgi.
Some stated that people should stop making a mountain out of a molehill and focus on
Nayeon’s music and stage performances rather than the clothes or makeup she put on.
BTS accused of plagiarizing TOP’s stage
Before attaining fame on a global scale and becoming the International Kpop Superstar,
BTS used to face countless backlash from netizens for all kinds of reasons, one of which is
copying their seniors.
Specifically, in 2017, it was pointed out that the stage screen design for BTS‘s performance
at Gaon Music Awards was identical to that of TOP’s solo stage “Act like nothing's
wrong” at BIGBANG’s concert, leading to a fierce debate between VIPs and ARMYs.
It is notable that the two stages both have the phrase “No signal” and SMPTE color
bars at the beginning.
Needless to say, BIGBANG’s fans were extremely outraged, demanding BTS to apologize to TOP
with the hashtag #NoSignalPleaseApologize covering all over Twitter.
The hatred poured on BTS was even intensified when BIGBANG’s stage director posted photos
of BTS’s performance with an implicit caption: “Hmmm...
Our hard work”
As a result, BTS instantly came into heavy waves of criticism on the online forums.
The allegations were so serious that BTS was even labeled a plagiarism group back in those
days.
At that time, BigHit promptly denied the plagiarism accusations and the organizers of Gaon also
spoke up for BTS, explaining that this was the staff’s fault when they copied BIGBANG‘s
stage and included it in the VCR that introduced BTS’s performance.
However, these actions were inadequate to ease the anger among BIGBANG’s fandom as
a VIP pointed out, “Everyone defending BTS didn’t even bother to watch the videos.
If they had used only the no signal screen, then it’s ok cause it’s been used a lot,
no big deal.
BUT they copied everything!
The screen, the ‘No signal’ words in the same color, font and position.”
Nevertheless, many others thought that BTS did not deserve the hatred poured on them,
saying that plagiarism was clearly an exaggeration because the only similarity between the stages
was the opening that lasted for less than half a minute, and the organizers had also
admitted that was their mistake, not BTS’s.
Hence, many believed netizens were too harsh on the 7 boys and only trying to hinder their
way to success.
Although years have passed by, it seemed that the bad memories still stuck inside BTS members’
minds as 4 years after the controversy broke out, BTS’ fans were in shock when the SMPTE
color bars and the phrase “No Signal” once again appeared at BTS’s concert in
Los Angeles during their Dope performance.
Not stopping there, BTS’s choice of song was also thought to be an implication to the
old controversy.
The lyrics to this hit song was shading idols who are enjoying life while praising BTS themselves
for working non-stop to actually stand out with their own marks and values.
Thus, many netizens believed that this was BTS’s way to bring back the controversy
and sweetly revenge those who accused them of plagiarizing their seniors and throwing
shade at them for this reason.
ITZY said to imitate VIVIZ’s photo concept
Taking pride in their unique concept, ITZY rarely found themselves embroiled in controversy
relating to plagiarism.
However, on June 12th, when JYP unveiled the first concept photos for ITZY’s “CHECKMATE”,
the girls instantly drew mixed reactions including plagiarism accusations.
Initially, ITZY chose the black and white concept for their photos, reminding fans of
the chess game which closely connects to the name “CHECKMATE”.
With simple backgrounds, the girls stood out with their luxurious outfits and classy makeup
styles as well as outfit choices.
Their poses and vibes received tons of praises from fans and netizens for the effortlessly
chic and sophisticated look.
However, the cheers started to die down when the online community found resemblances between
ITZY’s new pictorial with VIVIZ’s concept photo for their mini-album “Beam of Prism”.
It was said that the pose, concept, and color scheme between the two shoots are quite similar.
More surprisingly, Yuna’s outfit was even said to look like a copy of SinB’s clothes.
Besides those doubting ITZY's originality, there are also people finding these accusations
ridiculous, as the only similar thing between the 2 shoots were Yuna and SinB’s outfits
as well as the strong girlboss vibe.
Aside from that, the posings, makeup look and outfit choices between the two groups
give off totally different effects.
It can be clearly seen that VIVIZ’s images were more colorful with bright shades of colors
from their accessories such as blue, red, purple.
On the other hand, ITZY’s tone was mainly black and white and the group only made use
of rivet boots and glittering belts of jewelry to brighten the pictures.
Thus, supporters of ITZY believed netizens might have been too sensitive this time and
expected them to stop spreading false rumors which affect their idols’ reputation.
So, which copycat accusation above do you think is the most ridiculous?