On May 9, South Korean media reported that 4 American musicians had filed lawsuits against ADOR and NewJeans. According to the plaintiff, the melody and topline at the beginning of the song "How Sweet" have many similarities with a demo that they sent to NewJeans for review before.
Faced with these accusations, ADOR representatives quickly spoke out to deny it. The company said it had re-examined the entire song production process with the BANA team - the unit involved in producing "How Sweet".
“We have confirmed with the production team of ‘How Sweet’ at BANA that there was no plagiarism. Based on that result, the company will have appropriate responses to the lawsuit,” an ADOR representative shared with Korean media.
The song "How Sweet" was released by NewJeans on May 24, 2024 and once created a positive effect on the charts thanks to its gentle, retro-style music. The song was composed by famous producers such as 250, Sarah Aarons, Elvira Anderfjard, Oscar Scheller, Stella Bennett and Tove Burman.
Meanwhile, the lyrics feature Danielle – NewJeans member – along with many other international musicians. Famous producer 250 takes on the role of arranging music for this product.
Currently, the musicians who filed the lawsuit have not announced details of legal documents or specific music that is said to have signs of copying. However, the case is still being discussed on international music forums, especially in the context that ADOR and NewJeans have continuously been involved in many controversies recently.
Many opinions believe that lawsuits related to music copyright are increasingly common in the Korean entertainment industry, especially when Kpop tends to cooperate with many international producers. Many cases have previously led to prolonged disputes due to similarities in melody structure or orchestration style.
