Earlier in February, J-Pop boy group M!LK released an official teaser video on their official X account, raising fans’ expectations for their comeback song to be released on March 5th.
Immediately after the teaser was uploaded, netizens pointed out various resemblances between M!LK’s new track and aespa’s “Whiplash”, in terms of both the melody and dance.
As the topic became viral, many accused the boy group of plagiarizing aespa, stating that the Japanese boy group’s new song is like a remix version of the aespa’s hit with a more lively atmosphere.
On social media, Korean netizens also left comments criticizing M!LK, such as “It’s like a parody on SNL (Saturday Night Live)”, “Even the choreography is similar to ‘Whiplash'”, “Why do they sound like singing in Chinese?”, “Are they really idols?ㅋㅋ Not to mention their faces, but their stage presence is so weak. I found them funny tho… The more I look at them, the more they look like rookiesㅋㅋ”, “I believe SM’s A&R team and the composers of the original songs would just laugh so much if they listen to this song”, “Just sounds like an advertisement in some Chinese mobile games that I often see on YouTube”, “ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ What’s wrong with the song’s melody?”, “Why do I feel like they have no energy while singing???ㅋㅋㅋㅋ”, etc.
In the past, there have been various cases in which overseas artists were accused of plagiarising Korean idols. Even famous Taiwanese singer and actor Jay Chou’s song released in 2021 was suspected of plagiarising the song “Julia” by Korean boy group INFINITE. Controversy arose when netizens found similarities between the intro part of Jay Chou’s song and “Julia”. Jay Chou later denied the plagiarism accusation and clarified, “The chord progression in my song was a commonly used style, and similar instruments or arrangements could make songs sound alike”.
