Taipei — This week, Mandopop King Jay Chou was involved in a controversy. It was alleged that the Taiwanese pop star plagiarised a song by the K-pop group INFINITE.
It began when Chou took to his Instagram to share a snippet of his upcoming song with his followers.
Following that, a lot of fans pointed out that the song sounded similar to the opening of INFINITE’s song titled Julia (taken from their 2011 LP “Over The Top”).
News outlet Apple Daily then contacted Chou after the rumours started circulating online. Chou said that he received many comments on his social media accusing him of plagiarism, but he did not bother to address them.
He jokingly responded that since the media was asking, it was a chance for him to give these online trolls a “lesson”, as reported by Hype.my.
The 42-year-old celeb subsequently released a statement through his agency, saying:
“The chord progression of this song has been already used in (Jay Chou’s songs) ‘Sunny Day,’ ‘Qi Li Xiang,’ and ‘Her Eyelashes.’ The chord progressions are the same. If the arrangement of the instrument is the same, then the sound will be almost matching.
Basically, the chord progressions in pop music are the same. The verses are only of a few types, and it’s the same for the choruses.
Creating a new melody using similar chord progressions that everyone uses nowadays is the key point! The 6m-4-1-5 four-loop chord method has been used for a long time, should I list a bunch for everyone to see?”
As of now, INFINITE’s home label Woollim Entertainment has yet to formally address the controversy.
Born Jan 18, 1979, Jay Chou is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, actor, film director, businessman and magician.
Dubbed the “King of Mandopop”, and having sold over 30 million records, Chou is one of the best-selling artists in the Greater China Area and is known for his work with lyricist Vincent Fang, with whom he has frequently collaborated on his music. /TISG