Jay Chou has responded to allegations that his upcoming song plagiarises K-pop boyband INFINITE’s 2011 track ‘Julia’.
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Over the weekend, the Taiwanese pop star had posted a snippet of an upcoming song on his Instagram account. However, fans of INFINITE noticed alleged similarities between the melody of Chou’s forthcoming track and the boyband’s 2011 song ‘Julia’, accusing the Mandopop star of plagiarism.
대만 가수이자 영화배우인 주걸륜님이 인스타에 업로드 하신 신곡 프리뷰가 인피니트의 줄리아 도입부와 너무 유사한 거 같아 표절 의혹 제기합니다 pic.twitter.com/wHCtS5T5Jn
— 곽묭팔 (@myxxgvly) August 31, 2021
Chou has since spoken up about the plagiarism accusations in a statement to Taiwanese online newspaper Apple Daily. The singer said that chord progressions in pop songs can typically sound similar, while pointing out similarities between the allegedly plagiarised snippets and three of his 2000s songs: 2003’s ‘Sunny Day’ and ‘Her Eyelashes’, as well as 2004’s ‘Common Jasmin Orange’.
“The way the chords progress are the same. If the arrangement and instruments are the same, then it would sound similar,” Chou said, as translated by Koreaboo. “Generally, the chord progressions are similar when it comes to pop music.”
“The main point is how to use similar chords to create a new melody! The chord rotation has been used since a long time ago! I’m ahead of the times. Do I need to list them all out?” the Taiwanese singer jokingly added.
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Earlier this year, Chou’s Kuala Lumpur concert on his Carnival World Tour was postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s the third time the Taiwanese star’s KL concert has been pushed back.
“In light of continued health and safety concerns, the Jay Chou Carnival World Tour – Kuala Lumpur that had been scheduled for 16 January 2021 will be rescheduled to 19 February, 2022 at Bukit Jalil National Stadium,” the organiser said in a Facebook post. “We are looking forward to stage the show where fans can come together and enjoy the live experience safely again.”