Dispatch weighs in on BTS Jungkook Seven plagiarism claim

Korean news outlet Dispatch has revealed the results of its investigation into whether Seven by BTS member Jungkook plagiarized Time of Mask. This followed claims by veteran producer Yang Joon Young, who produced the 1999 track by girl group Fin.K.L. He claimed that Seven had identical “melodic scales” as Time of Mask, and that other top producers also felt the songs were similar.

The news caused a stir amongst music fans. They compared the two tracks and believed they sounded different, both in terms of rhythm and melody. Yang’s motivation for making the claim was also questioned.

On Aug 22, 2023, BIGHIT MUSIC refuted Yang’s claim. They explained Seven was “made through a collaboration of five international producers”. They emphasized that it had “no relation to the song that is part of a domestic album from 24 years ago”.

Dispatch examines the musical scales

On Aug 24, Dispatch released a report stating that they had compared the ‘similarities’ that Yang had mentioned. He pointed out a section of Seven‘s second verse that supposedly matched the scales in Time of Mask. Dispatch broke down the two songs’ musical notes and pointed out that there were no “overlapping components” in either song.

Dispatch concluded that it was doubtful that Seven by Jungkook had plagiarized Time of Mask. Neither song matched in terms of “key, chord progression, tempo, or the arrangement of notes”.

The investigation by Dispatch
The results of the test shared by Dispatch.

In the meantime, Jungkook continues to ride high off the success of Seven. The song shows no sign of stopping its chart dominance. It is currently in its fifth week at #1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. US charts. It also broke digital streaming records for Spotify, reaching 100 million streams within 6 days.

Jungkook himself has also been busy with his duties as a fashion ambassador for Calvin Klein. He recently appeared in the brand’s recent Fall campaign alongside BLACKPINK’s Jennie.

READ | BTS Jungkook follows the beat in Calvin Klein campaign

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