IVE Once Again Accused of Copying Red Velvet — DIVEs, ReVeluvs Defend Junior Group

IVE is being accused of copying Red Velvet following the MV teaser for their title track, "HEYA." As a response, both DIVEs and ReVeluvs jumped to the junior girl group's defense.

IVE 'HEYA' MV Teaser: Too Similar With Red Velvet's 'Chill Kill'?

Ahead of IVE's much-awaited comeback on April 29 with "IVE Switch," the six-member team has been releasing photo and video teasers to elevate the excitement of DIVEs (fans).

On April 24, the team raised curiosity even more after unveiling the MV teaser for their title track, "HEYA."

In the 18-second MV teaser released on their various social media platforms, the video began with a blue scroll opening. The members were then seen with their faces covered with cones, surprising viewers with the appearance of a mystical tiger leading them as they walked in line.

In the latter part of the clip, the image of a tiger was spotted surrounding the sun, reminding spectators of a fairy tale when the tiger loved the sun and raised curiosity about the main story.

Meanwhile, the members drew attention as they wore trendy outfits with an oriental feel and caught the eye of viewers by enhancing the look with Norigae (decorative pendants).

IVE also raised excitement as they boast a classic beauty while performing cool group dances, creating a dreamy atmosphere.

When the teaser video was released, fans reacted positively, praising them for their concept and song that reminded people of the second and third-gen K-pop era.

Amid this excitement, an argument started, when K-Netz on Nate Pann and international fans on Reddit pointed out IVE's similarities to Red Velvet, in terms of their concepts.

In a post on Pann with about 220k views, the OP uploaded photos from Red Velvet's recent album "Chill Kill" and IVE's "HEYA" MV teaser screenshots.

Without much explanation, the original author wrote, "IVE's new song is speculated to be similar to Red Velvet's concept."

The post immediately went viral and some internet users agreed, saying:

• "It's so similar, haha."
• "It's okay, the difference in their skills is like heaven and earth."
• "The kids who copy are of low quality."
• "They are so similar I can't even tell which one belongs to Red Velvet and IVE."

Meanwhile, this is not the first time IVE was embroiled in plagiarism issues after netizens noticed similarities of its concept to its senior, Red Velvet.

When IVE released "Baddie" in October 2023, the group was criticized for its MV resemblance with Red Velvet's "Ice Cream Cake."

DIVEs, ReVeluvs Defend IVE from Plagiarism Accusations

When IVE received absurd comments, DIVE, its fandom took to their defense & refuted that the group copied Red Velvet.

Fans explained that the symbolism of the tiger and sun used in IVE's teaser wasn't solely exclusive to Red Velvet's concept, but are significant element in Korea.

Regarding the oriental vibe, fans explained that the drawings must have overlapped due to the same technique that the original artist used.

• "Oriental paintings (mountains, trees) and tigers are essential elements of the oriental style, so it's a bit hard to see it as intentional plagiarism, and the overall atmosphere is just different. When the teaser for Red Velvet first came out there were a lot of people saying that it felt like a creepy and cruel fairy tale, but rather, IVE feels bright."
• "To be honest, oriental landscape paintings are almost there, so what should we do? Should European-style buildings suddenly appear in oriental landscape paintings? Well, it's similar, but since the concept of Orientalism overlaps, it's impossible to express oriental paintings, tigers, Korean patterns, etc. in completely different ways. If you express Korean things too differently, you'll be criticized for damaging the Korean elements, right? If you just look at oriental landscape paintings, they are almost there."

• "If you look at the Instagram work of the oriental artist who painted this piece, you can see that he originally drew it like this, so what kind of plagiarism is this? It's natural for oriental paintings to feature tigers, ink-and-wash paintings, mountains, and trees."

Red Velvet fans also claimed that they have nothing against IVE, and the post was most likely written by anti-IVE. The senior fans then left comments such as:

• "Don't use Red Velvet against IVE."
• "Red Velvet fans are always looking at IVE warmly."
• "I've been a fan of Red Velvet for 9 years and I haven't heard of it. ReveLuvs are focusing on (Irene) exhibition right now, so I don't think anyone will be interested."
• "DIVEs, fighting!"

READ MORE: IVE Liz Goes Viral for First-Ever 'Bangless' Look Since Debut: 'She's So Powerful'

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Written by Eunice Dela Cruz