[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ “Butter” has no copyright infringement: label

BTS’ label Big Hit Music said in a statement on Thursday that “Butter” does not breach any copyrights.
 
“It remains unchanged that the right to the music belongs to ‘Butter,’” said the company, acknowledging that it is aware of the claims that the intro of the song may be plagiarized.
 
“The song has been finalized and released after a process of confirming with all copyright holders that there is no issue surrounding the song,” the short statement added.
 
Speculations have surfaced online saying that the intro of the song is similar to the soundtrack of the 1992 Konami game Monster in My Pocket.
 
Kozo Nakamura, one of the songwriters for the theme song, wrote in his blog that he was surprised to see an article on the claims. Admitting that he knows BTS but not the song, he listened to it after reading the article, but said that the similar melody is coincidental. Quoting the article that said the original songwriter contended it is not a sampling but the beats are almost identical, Nakamura added that he had not said that and wondered who made the claim.
 
Luca Debonaire, a Dutch musician, also claimed that the chorus of “Butter” is similar to his 2020 song “You Got Me Down.” He said that he purchased the top line for his song from Sebastian Garcia, who is credited as one of the songwriters of “Butter.”

Monsta X's Seanwoo starts military service

Seanwoo of Monsta X shared photographs and greetings for fans before officially beginning his military service on Thursday.
 
All five of his bandmates came to send him off to the basic training camp and posed for the camera together, as the leader saluted with his hair cut short.
 
“Until the day we meet again, I will stay healthy. I’ll be more mature and back in a cooler shape. Thank you!” he wrote on the band’s Twitter account along with the pictures.
 
He will be serving as a social service agent after the training, after having an operation for a detached retina in his left eye last year. He is the oldest member of the six-member band and the first to enlist.
 
Meanwhile, the band is releasing “Kiss or Death” on Monday, as part of a monthly project by K-pop entertainment platform Universe. The teaser trailer for the music video was uploaded on Wednesday and the full version will be unveiled exclusively on the platform’s application.

Stray Kids to put out 2nd LP “Noeasy” in August

Stray Kids floated a trailer video for its upcoming second full-length album on Thursday.
 
The name of the album will be “Noeasy,” but also can be tinkered into “Noisy,” as shown in a snippet that was titled “Stray Kids ‘Noeasy’ Thunderous Trailer.”
 
The clip starts with breaking news announcing that a monster that gains strength from all the nagging sounds from our world is on the loose. The eight bandmates set on a journey gearing up, one by one, as superheroes.
 
It has been about 11 months since they put out the repack of their first LP, “In Live.” The band recently was the winner of “Kingdom: Legendary War,” a TV competition among boy bands. Its most recent hit, a digital single named “Mixtape: Oh,” topped Billboard’s world digital song sales chart earlier this month. It was the band’s first Billboard chart-topper.

Park Jihoon to return with 4th EP next month

Singer and actor Park Jihoon is returning with his fourth EP early next month, announced agency Maroo on Thursday.
 
It has been nine months since his first studio album, “Message.” He also released a song titled “Call U Up (Feat. Lee High)” in collaboration with Universe in March.
 
Park has wrapped up “At a Distance, Spring is Green,” a TV adaptation of the eponymous webtoon. He played the male lead, a college student from an affluent family who secretly suffered from his father’s violence. The last episode aired Tuesday.
 
Park debuted with Wanna One and later struck out as a solo artist in 2019 with EP “O’Clock.” In addition, he also has been acting, appearing in a series of TV dramas. The performer originally started acting at the age of 8 in the 2006 hit drama series “Jumong.”

By Hwang You-mee (glamazon@heraldcorp.com)