Problematic Idol’s Apology For “Blatantly Plagiarizing” NCT’s Jaehyun Infuriates Fans

Fans found the videos to be too similar.

K-Soul, a former member of Fantasy Boys, has been accused of plagiarizing NCT Jaehyun‘s “Smoke.”

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K-Soul | K-Soul Weibo
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NCT’s Jaehyun | SM Entertainment

In August 2024, NCT’s Jaehyun released his first solo album, J, featuring the title track “Smoke.”

The music video for the song surprised fans upon release, telling a story with callbacks to the Greek myth of Narcissus. Scenes show multiple versions of Jaehyun seemingly interacting with each other, including an intimate feeling scene with a mirror.

In late January, K-Soul, who was recently announced to no longer be a member of Fantasy Boys, released “Tonight.” Soon after, fans of Jaehyun called out the music video for several similarities to “Smoke.”

Many of the visuals appeared to strongly resemble “Smoke” and follow a similar storyline.

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The idol’s publishing company shared an update on X, saying that the video was meant to pay tribute to a director K-Soul admired. The post continued by saying that going forward they would make sure to communicate properly between the production team and distribution.

However, netizens shared that K-Soul himself said that he planned the video. Many felt rather than taking inspiration, K-Soul copied the “Smoke” video.

Following the continued criticism, K-Soul’s team shared that the video would be deleted, and issued another apology. Another music video for “Tonight” was also published, seemingly resolving the situation.

You can see the new version of the MV below.

NCT

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