K-Pop Producers Once Called Out Agencies Who Simply Want “Billboard-Style” Songs

In an article by the Korean outlet Dalian, it was reported that many domestic producers and songwriters have been speaking out against companies chasing the billboard dream. With the success of many K-Pop artists on the Billboard charts, there has been an influx of requests from other companies to produce songs that can have a similar effect. In particular, the article denoted that more K-Pop released songs have sought influence from Western song styles.

In particular, Girls’ Generation Taeyeon‘s song, “Weekend,” was brought up as a comparison to Doja Cat‘s “Kiss Me More” and “Say So,” with some claiming that the song sounds like a mash-up of the two. Even the music video aesthetics and concept artwork were compared. An industry representative was quoted to have said that it, however, could not be seen as a simple issue of plagiarism. While it may seem similar, it is different enough to bypass accusations.

The representative also took a look at STAYC‘s “So Bad” and their music video, which was once accused of plagiarism of Miley Cyrus‘ “Midnight Sky,” as well as aespa‘s “Black Mamba” music video plagiarism issues. The representative claims that despite apparent references, things often end with an apology.

A songwriter expressed anger at how companies often approach them with specific requests. They would come to the songwriter with a song from Billboard that they like and ask for a similar song to be written. Although songwriters often deny such requests, it does not stop the requests from continuously coming in.

As a final opinion, the songwriters and producers point out that as K-Pop is spreading globally, companies should not undermine the genre by overly catering to a global audience regarding music preference.