K-pop girl group Le Sserafim is once again at the center of a plagiarism controversy with its upcoming album, “EASY,” slated for release on Monday.The group is facing allegations of mirroring American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo’s 2023 track, “bad idea right?,” after previous accusations of its song “UNFORGIVEN” closely resembling the works of Spanish artist Rosalia last year.The controversy arose after Le Sserafim uploaded its “LE SSERAFIM EASY TRAILER ‘Good Bones’” video online on Jan. 26.The video garnered attention due to the powerful narrations of its members along with snippets of rock music, but controversy surfaced from the latter part, where the members sing the lyrics “Easy, crazy, hot, I can make it.”This drew comparisons from some online users to “bad idea right?,” a track reminiscent of the pop-rock genre track from Rodrigo’s second studio album “Guts.”One X, formerly Twitter, user said, “It’s obvious that Le Sserafim is taking too much reference from Rodrigo […] If I were her, I would be dumbfounded,” and another said, “It’s a rock genre convention, but the overall style does remind me a lot of Rodrigo.”
In contrast, some defended the group, saying that such resemblances could be attributed to “shared influences within the rock genre,” with one online community user saying, “It’s a shame to see so many online trolls deeming Le Sserafim’s original works as plagiarized without any professional knowledge.”This is not the first time Le Sserafim has found itself embroiled in such allegations.Its 2023 song, “UNFORGIVEN,” drew criticism even before its release for allegedly emulating Rosalia’s 2022 hit, “Chicken Teriyaki.” Some noted similarities in the melody, the choreography and visual concepts of the accompanying music video, drawing further comparisons to the Spanish singer’s previous works.In response to mounting accusations, Le Sserafim’s agency, Source Music, did not make a comment until the release of the album “UNFORGIVEN.”During a press event marking the album’s debut, the group’s leader, Kim Chae-won, sought to quell the controversy, saying, “Our songs and concepts feature our own stories and messages. We would appreciate it 슬롯게이밍 if you could see them as our original creations.”