Netizens established an online discussion regarding ILLIT's new teaser for their upcoming comeback. In the post, netters speculated that the group must have gone through changes in their concept, and related it to the previous plagiarism accusations during their debut.
On September 24, K-netz started a community thread, titled, "After the Controversy, ILLIT's Concept Was Completely Changed." The post showed several screenshots from ILLIT's "I'LL LIKE YOU' Brand Film" teaser.
Earlier this 2024, BELIFT LAB and HYBE received plagiarism accusations due to the similarities of ILLIT and NewJeans regarding aesthetics and music.
The claims were also mentioned by Min Hee Jin in her viral press conference in April, causing debate in the K-pop community, and prolonging the feud between ADOR and HYBE.
ILLIT's trailer sparked speculations from netizens, who kept a close eye on how ILLIT's concept would change following the accusations.
In the comments, K-netz mentioned how HYBE used Japanese elements in the trailer, while some conveyed that the teaser had "SM vibes." Others also commented that the changes during comebacks were normal.
Read their reactions below:
- "Looks like HYBE really likes Japan lately, from the props to the Japanese books and the subtitles, they're all Japanese."
- "This is giving me SM vibes. Are they still recruiting their staff?"
- "They sure love Japan."
- "Rather than NewJeans, this feels like a copy of Red Velvet."
- "I can see a bit of f(x)."
- "Every time you come back, you're supposed to change concepts, right?"
- "It's good that they changed it."
What are your thoughts on this? Share it with us in the comments!
For more K-pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz.
KpopStarz owns this article
Written by Israel Monte