According to Billboard, NewJeans, HYBE, and ADOR are now facing a copyright lawsuit in the U.S. over “How Sweet,” released in 2024. Four songwriters are alleging that the track copied material from their unreleased demo “One of a Kind.” The complaint quickly turned into one of the biggest K-pop plagiarism stories. Audrey Armacost, Aidan Rodriguez, Adam Gokcebay, and Michael Campanelli are named as petitioners.
The filing states that in early 2024, the team gave Armacost a music track and asked him to write the melody and lyrics for a potential NewJeans song. The writers say ADOR rejected their version. Still, they claim the final release of “How Sweet” still uses key parts of their original demo.
What the lawsuit claims about “How Sweet”
According to the lawsuit, “How Sweet,” released four months after the rejection, features a first verse that is substantially similar to the demo in both quality and structure. The filing highlights a technical analysis showing that both tracks share a 31-note topline melody across roughly eight measures, along with an identical 4/4 time signature in B-flat minor.
The most noticeable part of the accusation is the claim that a matching set of thirty-one musical notes is the same in that starting part. The original songwriters now ask for official recognition as the creators of “How Sweet.” They are also demanding a portion of the money earned, which makes this situation much more serious than rumors about NewJeans copying other artists.
HYBE and ADOR’s response
ADOR denied the plagiarism claims on Saturday. The agency stated, “After confirming with BANA, which handled the songwriting and production of the track, we were informed that there was no plagiarism involved.” ADOR and the members plan to actively respond to the lawsuit in line with BANA’s position.
Still, the lawsuit arrives at a very serious moment. A larger court conflict involving the music label ADOR, NewJeans, the parent company HYBE, and the former leader, Min Hee-jin, is going on. Consequently, endless legal fights and bitter public reaction have kept NewJeans appearing in the headlines for several months.
Some Bunnies see the lawsuit as opportunistic and argue that melodic similarities do not prove copying. Others believe that the specific facts listed in the legal papers are valid. Specifically, the key of B-flat minor, the four-beat timing, and the claim of thirty-one matching notes. It means the fight between “How Sweet” and “One of a Kind” can take a serious turn.
Many Reddit and X users are expressing outright disgust and skepticism toward HYBE and ADOR, calling out the company for allegedly stealing music from artists after rejecting their initial demos. Others accuse management of once again hiding behind NewJeans and using the group as a shield to deflect from their own corporate mistakes and legal messes. Ultimately, fans view the late-stage lawsuit over a months-old track as a pathetic, fabricated attempt by the agency to cover up its own failures.
It’s really fu*ked up. If ADOR/Hybe actually did some dirty sh*t like telling them they didn’t choose their song and then stealing it.
Seriously, once again using NewJeans as a shield. Let the court documents show once again they’ve tried to divert attention from controversy from that group by throwing out some bogus NewJeans news.
Hybe is trying to fabricate this to cover the fact they lost? This is embarrassing lmfao. How sweet released how long ago and now they decided to sue?