"Not Even Similar"... Ros?'s 'Apartment' Sparks Unexpected Plagiarism Controversy in Japan

"Claimed Similarity to Sawai Miku's Song"
"Already a Common Melody" Controversy Dismissed
'Apartment', 'Hey Miki' Interpolation

Ros?·Bruno Mars 'Apartment' (APT.) Album Cover [Source=The Black Label]

Group BLACKPINK's Ros? and pop star Bruno Mars' new song "APT." has become embroiled in plagiarism controversy.

Recently, suspicions have been raised mainly on online communities that "APT." is similar to Japanese singer-songwriter Sawai Miku's song "Gomen ne, Ii Ko ja Irarenai" (ごめんね、いいコじゃいられない。). The song was released on November 13, 2013, and gained popularity by ranking 37th on the Oricon chart and 87th on the Hot 100. Some netizens claimed that the 40-second part of that song and the 33-second part of "APT." are similar.

However, other netizens rebutted, saying, "It is just a natural similarity that can occur during collaboration." In fact, the list of composers for "APT." includes a total of 11 people, including Ros? and Bruno Mars. They also added, "The melody in question has been used in hundreds of songs since the times of Vivaldi, Bach, and Scarlatti, so it is difficult to consider it plagiarism." The melody of "APT." differs in chord progression from "Gomen ne, Ii Ko ja Irarenai," and the sheet music does not have more than 8 identical bars, so it is known not to meet the criteria for plagiarism. Additionally, "APT." is an interpolation (creating a new song based on an existing one) of "Hey Mickey," released by Tony Basil in 1981. If "APT." were plagiarism, it could also imply that "Gomen ne, Ii Ko ja Irarenai" plagiarized "Hey Mickey."

In response, netizens reacted with comments such as, "Suddenly bringing up a Japanese song and claiming plagiarism," "People trying to find faults because it's successful," and "They aren't even similar."

Meanwhile, "APT." was released on the 18th as the pre-release single of Ros?'s first solo full-length album "rosie." It subsequently achieved a "Perfect All-Kill (PAK)" by ranking first on the top 100 charts of music sites such as Melon, Genie, Bugs, and Vibe. It gained great popularity not only domestically but also overseas, ranking first on Spotify's US chart and first on iTunes charts in 40 regions. Especially, the music video, which attracted attention with its witty visuals, surpassed 25 million views within 24 hours of its release and exceeded 100 million views on the 23rd. "APT." is known to be inspired by the "Apartment Game," a drinking game popular in Korea.