ADOR, NewJeans, HYBE, and songwriters were sued for alleged copyright infringement of the topline (melody) of “One of a Kind”, written after receiving a request to write for NewJeans. Although the demo was rejected, they claim that the melody used in the first verse of “How Sweet” is substantially similar to their work. Click here to check the details of the lawsuit along with another copyright infringement lawsuit filed against NewJeans while under the leadership of Min Hee-Jin.
Dispatch, a Korean media company, released more details of the lawsuit. Click here to refer to the original article.
Listen to the Two Tracks
Below is the Melodic Pattern
“One of a Kind”: F–F–D♭–D♭–B♭ / F–F–D♭–D♭–B♭ / E♭–E♭–C♭–C♭–A♭ / E♭–E♭–C♭–C♭–A♭.
“How Sweet”: F–F–D♭–D♭–B♭ / F–F–D♭–D♭–B♭ / E♭–E♭–C♭–C♭–A♭ / E♭–E♭–C♭–C♭–A♭.
Four American producers and songwriters have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit. The defendants include HYBE, ADOR, the members of NewJeans, BANA (Beasts And Natives Alike), producer 250, and others involved in the song’s creation.
Dispatch says it obtained the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The outlet also conducted its own comparison of “One of a Kind” and “How Sweet” and exchanged more than nine emails with the plaintiffs’ attorney to understand the background of the case.
Background
According to the complaint, BANA first sent an instrumental track to the U.S. publishing company Pulse Music, requesting that a topline melody be written.
Pulse Music commissioned American songwriter Audrey Amacost to complete the work.
Amacost, together with Aidan Rodriguez, Michael Campanelli, and Adam Gokcebay, wrote a topline melody and delivered it to Pulse Music, which then forwarded it to BANA.
About two weeks later, the writers were informed by BANA that the topline would not be used.
Four months later, “How Sweet” was released.
Analysis
Dispatch compared the disputed sections: 0:30–0:43 of “One of a Kind” and 0:08–0:20 of “How Sweet,” focusing on the main melody that appears twice in each song.
Both songs are written in 4/4 time, in the key of B-flat minor, and share a tempo of 125 BPM. These elements appear to come from the instrumental track that had originally been supplied.
Both songs are in B-flat minor. The natural notes in that key are B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, and A♭.
However, both songs use C♭ instead of C—a note that falls outside the standard B-flat minor scale.
According to the article, that unusual note gives “How Sweet” its distinctive atmosphere, functioning as a tension note rather than a common musical cliché.
The Core Argument
The plaintiffs argue that the central issue is the melody.
The pitches of “One of a Kind” and “How Sweet” are almost identical.
The repeated melodic phrase is:
F–F–D♭–D♭–B♭ / F–D♭–D♭–B♭ / E♭–E♭–C♭–C♭–A♭ / E♭–E♭–C♭–C♭–A♭.
The rhythm is also similar.
Both melodies repeat eighth notes before ending with a quarter note. The article says they share the same rhythmic pattern, similar accents, note durations, and rhythmic emphasis.
In addition, both melodies descend in nearly the same way:
F → D♭ → B♭
E♭ → C → A♭
E♭ → C♭ → A♭
Expressed numerically, the progression repeatedly follows a 5 → 3 → 1 pattern.
A Korean music expert quoted by Dispatch said it would be difficult for two toplines to match in note sequence, note length, tension note, and rhythm all at once.
“Choosing a melody that sounds identical both by ear and on paper cannot reasonably be explained as coincidence,” the expert said.
Responsibility
Dispatch notes that BANA CEO Kim Ki-hyun is Min Hee-jin’s former boyfriend—a fact Min herself has previously acknowledged. The article also describes him as one of her longtime musical collaborators.
Kim oversaw NewJeans’ A&R and was involved in shaping “How Sweet.”
According to the article, Min paid Kim approximately ₩33 million (about US$24,000) per month in service fees, along with roughly 5% of revenue as an incentive. Dispatch claims those payments exceeded ₩1 billion (about US$730,000).
In her separate put option lawsuit against HYBE, Min denied giving Kim preferential treatment.
She argued that the compensation simply reflected the value of his work.
“To have someone do work at that level, I believed he should be paid accordingly,” she said, rejecting allegations of breach of fiduciary duty.
She also stated:
“I care about fairly compensating people. Kim Ki-hyun isn’t a composer, so he doesn’t receive songwriting royalties. He’s in a blind spot. I believed this was the level of compensation someone doing this work should receive.”
The Heightened Interest
This is gaining special attention because back in April 2024, Min Hee-jin publicly expressed being “furious” after accusing ILLIT of copying NewJeans. She alleged that BELIFT LAB had copied the group’s overall direction, album design, signature choreography, and other creative elements.
“Why did you use NewJeans’ key choreography without our permission? Our choreographers are absolutely furious.” — Min Hee-jin
That has since been highly criticized since more videos came out showing NewJeans choreography also taking inspiration (which Min Hee-Jin supporters like calling ‘plagiarism’) from other groups, including another group Min Hee-Jin repeatedly criticized, LE SSERAFIM. Watch the video below.
After expressing that frustration, Min released “How Sweet.” Ironically, that song is now at the center of a plagiarism dispute. The allegation is that it unlawfully used elements of the previously heard song, “One of a Kind.”
Conclusion
Min Hee-jin is listed as the executive producer in higher-level production and creative roles on the How Sweet single/album package, including Executive Producer, Album Producer, and Creative Director / Creative Supervisor.
As per Dispatch, Kim Ki-hyun served as the head of A&R.
Within the K-pop production system, A&R is responsible for sourcing songs, managing rights, and handling copyright clearance.
According to the lawsuit, the four American songwriters argue that Min had previously stated Kim “produced every song,” and that because Kim received their demo, he could not plausibly claim he was unaware of its existence.
Trevor Barrett, the plaintiffs’ attorney, told Dispatch:
“We were deeply disappointed to learn that our song had been blatantly misappropriated. We hope this lawsuit will restore our clients’ rights.”
“How Sweet” has sold more than 1.24 million copies, reached No. 7 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, No. 18 on the Billboard Global 200, and was named one of Rolling Stone’s 100 Best Songs of 2024.
ADOR said it is currently reviewing the circumstances surrounding the acquisition of the song through BANA, including the similarity allegations. Dispatch reported that it was unable to reach OK Records or BANA for comment.
