Rookie Girl Group Achieves Commercial Success as Plagiarism Allegations Surface

Courtesy of BELIFT LAB

Rookie girl group ILLIT's debut EP, "Super Real Me," has sold over 500,000 copies since its release on March 25, as reported by Belift Lab, the group's agency. According to the music industry tracker Hanteo Chart, the EP has garnered a total of 531,838 copies sold as of Friday.

The EP's commercial success has been attributed to the popularity of its lead track, "Magnetic," which made its way onto the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the week of April 20. Notably, it marks the first debut track by a K-pop act to achieve this feat. Additionally, "Magnetic" has gained traction on short-form video platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels.
 

▲ Rookie girl group ILLIT / Courtesy of BELIFT LABHowever, amidst ILLIT's rising popularity, rumors of plagiarism have emerged regarding the girl group's name. This comes amid a conflict between girl group NewJeans' agency, ADOR, and HYBE, the parent company of Belift Lab.

Min Hee-jin, producer of NewJeans and CEO of ADOR, has asserted that ILLIT's concept was plagiarized from NewJeans. As of now, neither HYBE nor Belift Lab has issued public statements regarding the allegations.

ILLIT was formed through JTBC's idol audition program, "R U Next?" in 2023, and debuted under Belift Lab, a subsidiary of HYBE, in March with "Super Real Me." The group is set to perform at various music festivals this summer, including the Rakuten Girls Award 2024 Spring/Summer, Kcon Japan 2024, and the Weverse Con Festival.

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