On Monday, April 27, fans of Apink expressed their disappointment while some were enraged after two TikTok users, with the usernames @jazlynebaybee and @ashlynmarieprice, allegedly stole Apink's dance choreography of their new track, Dumhdurum.
Claiming it as a new challenge, the two famous TikTokers put up the video without crediting the K-pop group nor the choreographer of the key dance of Apink, which trended previously due to its amazing handwork.
The so-called "sister challenge," which immediately caught immense attention from their followers, is a video of two persons doing the dance steps lifted from the whole dance of the K-pop group. However, as it became popular, Pink Pandas (fandom name of Apink) were quick to notice the uncanny similarity between the challenge and the Apink's Dumhdurum performance.
@jazlynebaybeeDO YOU ACCEPT!? ##MMMDrop ##travelthrowback ##minitutorials ##freezeframe ##SpaDeOlay ##tiktokprom ##everydayheroes ##sisters @ashlynmarieprice ##goingpro ♬ Roses Remixed - SAINt JHN
Also, the TikTokers didn't give credits to the original choreographer, a studio named Freemind, which became famous for choreographing mind-bending steps, including Fun of Fromis9. Shortly after, the TikTokers who uploaded the video responded to the furious online users and said that they should tell it to people who were using different songs to different dances. Unfortunately, this backfired, and more people and K-pop enthusiasts called them out, demanding them to at least put up credits to both Apink and Freemind.
Apparently, the two TikTok users claimed that they found the dance on the social app itself, thinking that it was just an old clip. As fans began to rumble upon @jazlynebaybee account, she reportedly turned off her comments section. After getting hate comments and messages from netizens, @jazlynebaybee re-uploaded the video, giving credits to Apink, and also made a comment on her original post, acknowledging Freemind and the K-pop group. Also, they finally used the Dumhdurum track as background music.
@jazlynebaybee THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO SENT ME A LINK TO THIS SONG! ALSO THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO KINDLY ASKED ME TO ADD IT️ performed by @official_apink2011 on 4/13 ♬ 덤더럼(Dumhdurum) - Apink
Meanwhile, this is not the first time that TikTok faced the same problem. It has been months since the music/video-sharing application trended worldwide, and the extensive use of individuals around the world is quite overwhelming, that plagiarism wasn't looked upon.
This is the reason I hate that stupid tiktok app. It's very easy for people to plagiarize shit and not pay price for it. Another YouTube's famous contouring 101 audio was taken without her permission for that app and when she spoke about it people told her to shut up as it- — Sadie | Dumhdurum iconic Apink era (@apinkstan_101) April 28, 2020
On the other hand, as the controversy went on between the TikTok users and the fans, Apink, who had their return after more than a year hiatus, proved in their latest comeback their popularity in the new era of K-pop. Take note that they're a 9-year-old group. The legendary second-generation female group who became successful with their songs No No No and Mr. Chu has been sweeping off the charts with their ninth mini-album LOOK and their title track Dumhdurum, a word that has been explained as another term for "calm."
280420 - Apink's Eunji post a video on tiktok . . pic.twitter.com/JQCMWQOJX8 — Eunji (@ApinkEunjiJng) April 29, 2020
28.04.2020 | Mise à jour du tiktok d'#APINK avec #Chorong et #Bomi Cr : official_apink2011
APINK France | #Emma pic.twitter.com/TSJoCOgr7v — Apink France (@APINK_FRANCE) April 28, 2020
The new track has six music show wins to date, a grand slam against third-generation K-pop groups. The group also put up their TikTok account to communicate and interact with their fans, uploading their behind-the-scenes video while waiting for their scheduled activities or shooting a video on their free time during music show appearance.
