IU single caught up in plagiarism claims

Netizens have raised allegations of plagiarism on K-pop star IU’s lead track “The Red Shoes” from the artist’s recently released third studio album “Modern Times.”

On the new album, IU has attempted to shift gears from her previously cutesy pop style to more mature genres including swing, jazz, bossa nova and Latin pop. Netizens, however, say “The Red Shoes” sounds strikingly similar to German duo Nekta’s “Here’s Us,” an electro-jazz pop track released in 2009.

Officials from IU’s agency LOEN responded to the allegations of plagiarism by claiming that the songs are “totally different.”

“Although the melody of ‘Here’s Us’ and the bridge part of ‘The Red Shoes’ may sound similar, the chord progressions are completely different,” a representative from LOEN entertainment agency stated. “The dominant scale in ‘Here’s Us’ is B flat major, whereas ‘The Red Shoes’ is in B flat minor.”

Several netizens have compiled and uploaded YouTube comparison clips of the two songs being played back to back, some even overlapping the two songs so that listeners can hear the tracks simultaneously, highlighting the similarities.

“The Red Shoes,” composed by Lee Min-soo with lyrics written by Kim Ee-na, soared to the top of the charts upon its release on Oct. 8. Although the two songs arguably have similarities, some listeners commented in defense of IU’s track claiming that both singles employ a very common swing jazz melody and that many musical-style songs sound similar.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)