[Dispatch=Park Hye-jin Reporter] First, let's listen with our ears. No separate title was given. They are marked as ① and ②.

The rhythm pattern is identical. Which song is 'Hype Boy'?

This time, let's look with our eyes.

Song ① has the note sequence F F E♭ E♭ B♭-F F E♭ E♭ B♭/ E♭ E♭ C C A♭-E♭ E♭ C C A♭.

Song ② also has F F E♭ E♭ B♭-F F E♭ E♭ B♭/ E♭ E♭ C C A♭-E♭ E♭ C C A♭.

The note names for that section match. Which song is 'Hype Boy'?

In April 2024, Minhee Jin expressed her frustration at an official venue. That ILLIT had copied NewJeans. (Believe Rap) had imitated the group's direction, album design, key choreography, and more. She called them out publicly.

"Why did you use (NewJeans') key choreography without our permission? Our choreographers are really upset." (Minhee Jin)

After that frustration, Minhee Jin released 'Hype Boy'. But ironically, that song is now facing plagiarism allegations. It is suspected of using 'One of a Kind', a song heard earlier, without permission.

Four American producers and singer-songwriters have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit. The defendants are HYBE, Ador, NewJeans, and 'Bana' (Beats and Natives), the center of Minhee Jin's music organization, and composer 250, among others.

Dispatch obtained a complaint filed at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. At the same time, Dispatch began analyzing 'One of a Kind' and 'Hype Boy'. We exchanged emails with the plaintiffs' attorneys nine times or more to understand the circumstances of the case and the background of the lawsuit.

"We were deeply disappointed to discover that our song was blatantly copied." (Adam, Aidan, Audrey, and Michael are accomplished songwriters who were deeply disappointed to discover this blatant copying of their original song...)

# Background

Let's examine the creation process of the first verse of 'Hype Boy'.

Bana delivered an instrumental track to Pulse Music (a U.S. publishing company). Their request was to complete the topline. Pulse commissioned this work to American composer Audrey Amakost.

Audrey created the topline with Aiden Rodriguez, Michael Campanelli, and Adam Gokchebay. These four completed the topline and sent it to Pulse, which then forwarded it to Bana.

Two weeks later, Audrey and the others received a rejection notice from Bana. "We like the topline. However, we ultimately decided not to adopt it," the response read. Four months later, 'Hype Boy' was released.

The plaintiffs were taken aback upon hearing 'Hype Boy'. "The topline we provided to Bana was used," they said, pointing out that "Bana's CEO Kihyun Kim and A&R staff could not be unaware of this."

# Analysis

The disputed section was compared. ① 'One of a Kind' at 0:30~0:43, ② 'Hype Boy' at 0:08~0:20. Let's examine the main melody that appears twice in each song.

Both songs are in 4/4 time in B♭ minor key. The tempo is also identical at BPM 125. This section can be seen as an element included in the instrumental track provided by NewJeans.

Then, what is the reason for the plagiarism claim?

The scale of both songs is B♭ minor. The original notes in B♭ minor are B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, A♭. However, both songs use C♭instead of C. They used a note that doesn't originally exist in B♭ tonality, an 'out-of-key' note.

This note created 'Hype Boy's unique atmosphere. In other words, it is a tension note that adds tension to the song. It is not a common musical cliché.

# Core Issue

The core of the plagiarism dispute is the melody. The pitches (note names) of 'One of a Kind' and 'Hype Boy' are nearly identical. The sections F F E♭ E♭ B♭ F-F E♭ E♭ B♭/E♭ E♭ C C A♭-E♭ E♭ C C A♭ are repeated.

What about the rhythm? Eighth notes repeat and end with a quarter note. The rhythm pattern is identical. The emphasis expression is also similar. Similarities are found in note duration and rhythmic accent.

Moreover, both songs have a structure where the pitches in the scale gradually descend. F→E♭→B♭/ E♭→C→A♭ / E♭→C♭→A♭. The notes move downward. When these notes are converted to numbers, a repeating structure of 5→3→1 is visible.

A domestic music expert said, "It is difficult for the note names, note lengths, tension notes, and rhythms to all be the same in the toplines of both songs," and "Choosing a melody that sounds and looks identical to both ears and eyes cannot be explained as coincidence."

# Responsibility

Bana CEO Kihyun Kim is Minhee Jin's ex-boyfriend's ex-boyfriend. (Minhee Jin said so herself.) At the same time, he is her musical partner. He was in charge of NewJeans' A&R. Kihyun Kim also shaped 'Hype Boy'.

Minhee Jin paid Kihyun Kim 33 million won monthly under the name of service fees. She also paid around 5% of sales as incentives. More than 1 billion won flowed to (Kihyun Kim) in this manner.

Minhee Jin denied giving special treatment to Kihyun Kim in her 'put option' lawsuit against HYBE. "If I was to do this level of work with that person, I thought I should offer this amount," she said, dismissing allegations of breach of fiduciary duty.

"I am very interested in compensating other people. Kihyun Kim is not a composer, so he cannot receive royalties. He's in a blind spot. I suggested an amount thinking 'if I'm to work with this person, they should receive this much'." (Minhee Jin)

# Conclusion

The credits for 'Hype Boy' were verified. The overall producer is Minhee Jin. The A&R manager is Kihyun Kim. In the K-pop production system, A&R collects songs and organizes rights. In particular, copyright clearance is an essential duty.

The four musicians Audrey Amakost and others stated in the complaint that "Minhee Jin said he produced all songs" and pointed out that "Kihyun Kim received our song. (He) cannot claim not to know of its existence."

Trevor Barrett, the plaintiffs' attorney, told Dispatch, "We felt deep disappointment upon learning that our song was blatantly misappropriated" and expressed hope that "our rights will be justly restored through this lawsuit."

Cumulative sales of 'Hype Boy' exceed 1.24 million copies. It topped Billboard Global 200 (excluding the U.S.) at No. 7 and Global 200 at No. 18. It was also named one of Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of 2024.

Meanwhile, Ador stated, "'Hype Boy' is a song acquired through Bana, and we are confirming the status of the time including review of audio similarity." OKRecords and Bana could not be reached.

<Video=Kim Soo-in Reporter (Dispatch)>

<Photo=Dispatch DB>