Sunmi's new single "Heroine" is facing plagiarism charges after netizens pointed out that the music sounds similar to English singer Cheryl Cole's 2009 hit song, "Fight for this love." "Heroine" is the prequel to her latest single "Gashina."
Produced by Black Label, the plagiarism news went viral over the social networking sites raising questions on the credibility of the team. The song was released on January 18 and went viral immediately. As of Friday (January 19), the single was topping eight online music streaming sites.
Following the controversy, the label issued a press statement clarifying the authenticity of the work. "'Heroine' is a 100 percent creative work and we are clearly announcing that our composers didn't refer to the song that is being mentioned," Yonhap News quoted the press release.
At a recent interview, when quipped about the theme of "Heroine," Sunmi said that making a prequel was indeed her idea. "The thought that it would be good if 'Heroine' tells the prequel story of the woman in "Gashina" came to my mind in the middle of working on the new song. So I proposed that idea, and the song's video also came to have the same plot," MSN News quoted the star.
Written by Teddy Park, Sunmi, Joe Rhee, and 24,"Gashina" tells the story of a woman who struggles to overcome her breakup. The music was praised for its beautiful blend of dancehall and synth-pop laced with East-Asian inspired music.
The song was an instant hit topping the Gaon Charts. The song also debuted at No-6 on the Billboard list selling over 1,100,000 digital downloads as of December 2017. "Gashina" was Sunmi's first solo track after the disbandment of Wonder Girls. Managed by JYP Entertainment, the girl group broke up in January 2017 after a successful career of almost 10-years.
