K-Pop giant Dispatch has launched a deep dive into serious plagiarism allegations leveled against ADOR, concerning NewJeans’ hit song “How Sweet”. Four American singer-songwriters claim their track was plagiarized in its creation.
Dispatch initiated its report by sharing a clip comparing the two songs, deliberately omitting titles, and urging readers to focus solely on the identical rhythms.
Subsequently, Dispatch re-presented the two songs, this time revealing both the note patterns and song titles. Their analysis highlighted that the solfège notes in the relevant verses were identical.
The Plagiarism Allegations Against NewJeans’ “How Sweet”
Song ①: F F E♭ E♭ B♭ — F F E♭ E♭ B♭ / E♭ E♭ C C A♭ — E♭ E♭ C C A♭.
Song ②: F F E♭ E♭ B♭ — F F E♭ E♭ B♭ / E♭ E♭ C C A♭ — E♭ E♭ C C A♭.
This controversy ironically follows a period where ADOR’s CEO, Min Hee Jin, publicly expressed her outrage in April 2024, alleging that ILLIT had copied NewJeans. She specifically accused Belift Lab of imitating NewJeans’ overall direction, album design, and point choreography.
Why did you use our key choreography without our permission? Our choreographers are furious.
— Min Hee Jin
Yet, directly after her accusations, Min Hee Jin released “How Sweet.” Now, that very song is entangled in a plagiarism dispute, with claims it made unauthorized use of a song titled “One of a Kind.” Four American producers and singer-songwriters have officially filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against HYBE, ADOR, NewJeans, BANA (Beasts & Natives), 250, and other central figures within Min Hee Jin’s musical circle.
Dispatch successfully obtained the official complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Beyond this, the investigative outlet conducted its own comprehensive analysis of both “One of a Kind” and “How Sweet,” and engaged in direct email correspondence with the plaintiffs’ attorney to fully grasp the background and intricate circumstances of the case.
The Genesis of “How Sweet”
Adam, Aidan, Audrey, and Michael are accomplished songwriters who were deeply disappointed to discover this blatant copying of their original song.
— Plaintiffs’ attorney
Tracing the origins, Dispatch first investigated the creation of the first-verse melody of “How Sweet.” The process began when BANA delivered an instrumental track to Pulse Music, a U.S. publishing company, requesting a “top line” completion. Pulse then commissioned American songwriter Audrey Amacost for the task. Audrey collaborated with Aidan Rodriguez, Michael Campanelli, and Adam Gokcebay to craft the top line. The quartet submitted their completed top line to Pulse, which in turn forwarded it to BANA. However, just two weeks later, Audrey and her collaborators received a rejection notice from BANA.
We like the top line, but we have ultimately decided not to use it.
— BANA
Four months later, however, “How Sweet” was released. The plaintiffs expressed their profound surprise and dismay upon hearing “How Sweet,” noting the striking similarities.
Dispatch’s Musical Analysis: Identical Rhythms and Notes
The top line we delivered to BANA was used.
There is no way BANA’s CEO Kim Kihyun and their A&R staff did not know about this.
— Plaintiffs
To delve into the musical parallels, Dispatch meticulously compared the disputed verses. Specifically, ① “One of a Kind” from 0:30–0:43, and ② “How Sweet” from 0:08–0:20 were identified as containing the key melody appearing twice in each song. Both tracks share fundamental characteristics: they are in 4/4 time, composed in B♭ minor, and maintain an identical tempo of 125 BPM. While these elements could be attributed to the instrumental track initially provided by the NewJeans side, the core of the plagiarism claim lies deeper. Both songs utilize the B♭ minor scale. While the natural notes of B♭ minor are B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, A♭, both songs conspicuously employ C♭ instead of C. This C♭ is a note that does not naturally belong to the B♭ key, making it an “outside” note to the scale.
Crucially, this specific C♭ note plays a key role in creating the distinctive atmosphere, functioning as what is known as a “tension note,” a device that injects tension into a song. It is not a commonly used musical cliché that simply anyone might reach for, making its presence in both songs particularly noteworthy. The core issue of this plagiarism dispute centers squarely on the melody itself. The pitch sequences (solfège notes) of “One of a Kind” and “Bubble Gum” are asserted to be nearly identical. The specific passage F F E♭ E♭ B♭ — F E♭ E♭ B♭ / E♭ E♭ C C A♭ — E♭ E♭ C C A♭ repeats identically in both compositions. Furthermore, what about the rhythm? Eighth notes consistently repeat before resolving to a quarter note, indicating identical rhythmic patterns. Even the accentuation is strikingly similar, with parallels found in both note duration and rhythmic emphasis. Beyond individual notes and rhythms, both songs exhibit a structural characteristic where the scale’s pitches descend progressively: F → E♭ → B♭ / E♭ → C → A♭ / E♭ → C♭ → A♭. The notes move consistently downward. When converted to scale degrees, a repeating structure of 5 → 3 → 1 conspicuously emerges.
The Role of Key Figures: Kim Ki Hyun and Min Hee Jin
It would be very difficult for the solfège notes, note lengths, tension note, and rhythm in the top lines of two songs to all be the same. The fact that a melody that sounds and looks identical was chosen cannot be explained as coincidence.
— Korean music expert
The question of responsibility looms large. It has been revealed that BANA CEO Kim Ki Hyun is Min Hee Jin’s “ex-ex-ex boyfriend,” a fact Min Hee Jin herself has admitted. He also served as her former music partner, with direct responsibility for NewJeans’ A&R. Crucially, “How Sweet” was indeed sourced by Kim Ki Hyun. Records show Min Hee Jin paid Kim Ki Hyun a substantial ₩33.0 million KRW (approximately $21,900 USD) per month in service fees, alongside an incentive of about 5% of revenue, bringing the total paid to him to over ₩1.00 billion KRW (approximately $663,000 USD). Despite these significant payments and his key role, Min Hee Jin actively denied showing favoritism toward Kim Ki Hyun in the put option lawsuit against HYBE, dismissing accusations of breach-of-duty.
It was simply the amount I proposed because I felt that’s what would be needed to work with him at that level.
I care deeply about fairly compensating others. Kim Ki Hyun is not a composer, so he can’t receive royalties so he’s in a blind spot. That’s why I proposed that amount, thinking that’s what he would need to be paid for working with me at this level.
— Min Hee Jin
Conclusion and Industry Reactions
In conclusion, a review of the official credits for “How Sweet” shows Min Hee Jin as the executive producer and Kim Ki Hyun as the A&R director. Within the K-pop production system, the A&R’s core duty is paramount: sourcing songs and meticulously clearing all necessary rights, including crucial copyright clearances.
In their formal complaint, the four plaintiff musicians, including Audrey Amacost, specifically cited a statement made by Min Hee Jin.
Min Hee Jin said, ‘Kim Ki Hyun is NewJeans. He produced all the songs.’ Kim Ki Hyun received our song. He cannot claim not to have known about it.
— Plaintiffs
The plaintiffs’ attorney, Trevor Barrett, also provided an exclusive statement to Dispatch regarding the ongoing case.
We were deeply disappointed to discover that our song had been so blatantly appropriated in ‘How Sweet.’ We hope that through this lawsuit, our rights will be rightfully restored.’
— Trevor Barrett
The commercial success of “How Sweet” is undeniable, with over 1.3 million copies sold (as of June 2026), a peak position at number 15 on the Global 200 chart, and its recognition as one of Rolling Stone‘s 100 Best Songs of 2024.
When approached for comment on their comprehensive reporting, ADOR provided Dispatch with a brief statement.
‘How Sweet’ is a song sourced through BANA, and we are currently verifying the progress of the audio similarity review conducted at the time.
— ADOR
OK Records and BANA were notably unreachable for comment regarding the allegations.
Dispatch Reveals
