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TXT’s Love Language plagiarism allegations regarding SHINee's Taemin resurfaces HYBE's 'shota-like' comment
Fans point out similarities between TXT's Love Language and Taemin's Guilty. Read to know what they are and how HYBE's previous leaked documents are connected to the issue.
TXT made their much-awaited comeback on May 2 with a romantic and catchy track, Love Language. The song immediately became a hit among fans after its release. However, the artists and their agency, HYBE, found themselves amid a plagiarism controversy due to similarities between Love Language and SHINee's Taemin's Guilty in concept photos and choreography. It prompted fans to revisit a past remark of HYBE on Taemin that some perceived as derogatory.
Keeping up with the usual norm for popular K-pop groups, TXT delivered the first stage performance of their new track, Love Language, on Music Bank, right after its release. During that, the full choreography of the song was finally noticed by the fans. Many gushed over the new and bolder version of the boys, which they showcased through the comeback. One particular step of the choreography that went viral was the shirt lifting and exposing the abs.
It was particularly notable as the group's youngest, Huening Kai, who is known for his unwillingness to expose his bare body, also joined in the step. However, the move's notable similarity to SHINee member Taemin's popular Guilty hook step sparked fandom wars. Most K-pop fans are bound to know the step due to it being a viral social media trend among the artists in the field.
Besides the dance step, similarities between Guilty and Love Language's concept photos were also pointed out by fans. Many also mentioned the past comment of HYBE regarding Taemin. It was done with the intention of mocking HYBE for allegedly making derogatory remarks about an artist whose work inspired their boy band's comeback. The comment in question was HYBE describing Taemin as "shota-like" (attracting young boys with his youthful charm), in their leaked documents.
Although the controversy got TXT a certain amount of backlash, many fans came to the group’s defense and blamed their company, HYBE, for the situation. Awesome even argues that Taemin was not the first-ever artist to lift his shirt and TXT doing the same cannot be called plagiarism.
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