[theqoo] [EXCLUSIVE] “HOW WAS THE MELODY COPIED?”… NEWJEANS, ANALYSIS OF PLAGIARISM ALLEGATIONS AGAINST ‘HOW SWEET’

Dispatch has dived into allegations made by four American singer-songwriters that ADOR plagiarized their song when creating NewJeans’ “How Sweet”.

Dispatch first shared a clip comparing the two songs, without song titles attached, and asked their readers to just listen to the identical rhythms.

They then showed the two songs again, with the note pattern and the song titles included. Dispatch noted the solfège notes in the relevant verses were identical.

Song ①: F F E♭ E♭ B♭ — F F E♭ E♭ B♭ / E♭ E♭ C C A♭ — E♭ E♭ C C A♭.

Song ②: F F E♭ E♭ B♭ — F F E♭ E♭ B♭ / E♭ E♭ C C A♭ — E♭ E♭ C C A♭.

In April 2024, Min Hee Jin publicly expressed her outrage, alleging that ILLIT had copied NewJeans. Specifically, she was angry that Belift Lab had imitated the group’s direction, album design, and point choreography.

Following her accusations Min Hee Jin released “How Sweet”. Yet ironically, that very song is now embroiled in a plagiarism dispute as allegations that it made unauthorized use of a song called “One of a Kind” were raised. Four American producers and singer-songwriters have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against HYBE, ADOR, NewJeans, BANA (Beasts & Natives), 250, and others (they are central figures of Min Hee Jin’s musical circle).

Dispatch obtained the complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. It also undertook an analysis of “One of a Kind” and “How Sweet,” and exchanged emails with the plaintiffs’ attorney to understand the background and circumstances of the case.

“Adam, Aidan, Audrey, and Michael are accomplished songwriters who were deeply disappointed to discover this blatant copying of their original song.”

— Plaintiffs’ attorney

“We like the top line, but we have ultimately decided not to use it.”

— BANA

Four months later though, “How Sweet” was released. The plaintiffs were taken aback when they heard “How Sweet.”

The top line we delivered to BANA was used.

“There is no way BANA’s CEO Kim Kihyun and their A&R staff did not know about this.”

— Plaintiffs

Analyzing the lines

The disputed verses were compared. ① “One of a Kind” at 0:30–0:43, and ② “How Sweet” at 0:08–0:20  as the key melody that appears twice in each song.

Both songs are in 4/4 time, in B♭ minor, and at the same tempo of 125 BPM. These elements can be attributed to the instrumental track provided by the NewJeans side. So what is the basis for the plagiarism claim?

Both songs are in the B♭ minor scale. The natural notes of B♭ minor are B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, A♭. However, both songs use C♭ instead of C, a note that does not naturally belong to the B♭ key, a note outside the scale.

This note plays a key role in creating the distinctive atmosphere of “Bubble Gum,” functioning as what is known as a “tension note”, a device that injects tension into a song. It is not a commonly used musical cliché that simply anyone might reach for.

The core issue

The key point of contention in this plagiarism dispute is the melody. The pitch sequences (solfège notes) of “One of a Kind” and “Bubble Gum” are nearly identical. The passage F F E♭ E♭ B♭ — F E♭ E♭ B♭ / E♭ E♭ C C A♭ — E♭ E♭ C C A♭ repeats in both.

What about the rhythm? Eighth notes repeat before resolving to a quarter note. The rhythmic patterns are identical. The accentuation is also similar. Similarities are found in both note duration and rhythmic accent.

Furthermore, both songs feature a structure in which the scale’s pitches descend progressively: F → E♭ → B♭ / E♭ → C → A♭ / E♭ → C♭ → A♭. The notes move downward. When converted to scale degrees, a repeating structure of 5 → 3 → 1 emerges.

“It would be very difficult for the solfège notes, note lengths, tension note, and rhythm in the top lines of two songs to all be the same. The fact that a melody that sounds and looks identical was chosen cannot be explained as coincidence.”

— Korean music expert

Whose responsibility is it?

BANA CEO Kim Ki Hyun is Min Hee Jin’s ex-ex-ex boyfriend, as admitted by Min Hee Jin herself. He is also her former music partner, having been responsible for NewJeans’ A&R. “How Sweet” was indeed sourced by Kim Ki Hyun. Min Hee Jin paid Kim Ki Hyun ₩33.0 million KRW (about $21,900 USD) per month in service fees, plus an incentive of approximately 5% of revenue, bringing the total amount paid to him to over ₩1.00 billion KRW (about $663,000 USD).

In the put option lawsuit against HYBE, Min Hee Jin actively denied showing favoritism toward Kim Ki Hyun, dismissing accusations of breach-of-duty.

It was simply the amount I proposed because I felt that’s what would be needed to work with him at that level.

“I care deeply about fairly compensating others. Kim Ki Hyun is not a composer, so he can’t receive royalties so he’s in a blind spot. That’s why I proposed that amount, thinking that’s what he would need to be paid for working with me at this level.”

— Min Hee Jin

Conclusion

The credits for “How Sweet” were reviewed. The executive producer is Min Hee Jin. The A&R director is Kim Ki Hyun. In the K-pop production system, A&R’s core duty is sourcing songs and clearing rights such as copyright clearance.

In the complaint, the four musicians including Audrey Amacost noted something Min Hee Jin said.

“Min Hee Jin said, ‘Kim Ki Hyun is NewJeans. He produced all the songs.’ Kim Ki Hyun received our song. He cannot claim not to have known about it.”

— Plaintiffs

The plaintiffs’ attorney Trevor Barrett also spoke with Dispatch.

We were deeply disappointed to discover that our song had been so blatantly appropriated in ‘How Sweet.’ We hope that through this lawsuit, our rights will be rightfully restored.’

— Trevor Barrett

“How Sweet” has sold over 1.3 million copies (as of June 2026), charted at number 15 on the Global 200, and was named one of Rolling Stone‘s 100 Best Songs of 2024.

ADOR gave a short statement to Dispatch when asked about their reporting.

‘How Sweet’ is a song sourced through BANA, and we are currently verifying the progress of the audio similarity review conducted at the time.

— ADOR

OOAK Records and BANA could not be reached for comment.

CR: Koreaboo

1. Even though it’s Dispatch, and even if I look at it with a biased view, this is just…

2. It’s irrefutable

3. It’s just the same

4. They straight up used someone else’s song

5. I mean, it’s kind of funny how they used to praise Min Hee-jin for doing everything, but then when a plagiarism controversy comes up, they turn to HYBE ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

6. Dispatchㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ ok

7. Dispatch is seriously so harmful t(‘ㅅ ‘(t

8. Hul… I listened to it with my AirPods on, and the melody and the vibe of the song are really, really identical

9. This seriously was worth a real lawsuit….

10. Something that wouldn’t have happened if they just didn’t plagiarize

11. It’s my first time seeing something so similar; I almost got goosebumps hearing the songs

12. Hul even the title of the original song is “OOAK”

13. OOAKㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

14. What are they doing that so many songs released through BANA keep getting accused of plagiarism? They even signed a contract that forces them to hand out money even when they’re not promoting new material

15. The melody is totally the same