According to Koreaboo, since their debut, NewJeans has been famous for their unique music style and image. In particular, NewJeans' Y2K-inspired style has become very popular in Kpop, with young, dynamic female idols.
However, recently, many people have noticed that the style of a newly debuted Kpop girl group is too similar to NewJeans.
TOP Media's girl group ODD YOUTH was announced on September 18, 2024. The group attracted attention because of the presence of contestant from the popular show "Girls Planet 999", Guinn Myah.
On October 17, the group released their debut MV "Best Friendz".
But the MV “Best Friendz” is a series of introductory photos of ODD YOUTH that immediately made many people think of NewJeans.
Many posts on Twitter claim that ODD YOUTH's style is very similar to early NewJeans, in MVs like "Attention", "Hype Boy".
Coincidentally, ODD YOUTH also has 5 members (Myah, Maika, Summer, Kanie, Yeeum) like NewJeans (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein), making the two groups' lineups even more comparable.
On the other hand, many people believe that this idea is not NewJeans' but has been implemented by many other groups.
ODD YOUTH is not the first group to be accused of plagiarizing NewJeans. The case of ILLIT being suspected of copying NewJeans in many aspects is still a hot topic of public interest.
During the hearing on October 11 at the Seoul Center Court, former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin presented new evidence to prove that ILLIT stole NewJeans' ideas right from the planning stage.
Min Hee Jin's legal representative stated that they received documents containing project proposal files of NewJeans and ILLIT, from an internal HYBE employee.
HYBE's internal staff provided evidence including text messages and audio recordings, showing that ILLIT's Creative Director requested to share NewJeans' blueprints early in the planning stages of ILLIT's creation.
“ILLIT's plan is identical to NewJeans' plan,” Min Hee Jin's lawyer asserted.
ILLIT's management company, Belift Lab, has denied that ILLIT copied NewJeans' blueprint. However, the company's statement has received mixed reactions from the public because it does not agree with some of the content they have previously stated.
