Olivia Marsh, the older sister of K-pop girl group NewJeans (aka NJZ) member Danielle, admitted plagiarizing a song in her first mini-album “Meanwhile” just four months after making her debut as a singer.
Marsh, who debuted as a singer in October last year, released “Meanwhile” on Feb. 13 under MPLIFY, a label under Warner Music Korea.
One of the songs in the album is “Backseat.” In the song, Marsh is credited for the lyrics, composition and arrangement along with Andrew Choi (lyrics), and Freez and Prime Time (composition and arrangement).
Olivia Marsh (Instagram)
Olivia Marsh is listed as songwriter in the song "Backseat" (Instagram)
However, American singer-songwriter Isaac Dunbar took to Instagram to say that Marsh’s “Backseat” was similar to his song “Onion Boy.”
"My song I wrote in my bedroom in 2019 was completely stolen," he wrote, SBS Star reported.
Singer-songwriter Isaac Dunbar (Dunbar's Instagram)
Following the plagiarism allegations, MPLIFY posted on Instagram, “We are aware of concerns raised regarding [Backseat] and allegations of plagiarism. We take these matters very seriously and are committed to upholding artistic integrity and originality in all our work.”
“At this time, we are conducting a thorough review of the situation to understand the concerns and ensure transparency. We respect the rights of all creators and will address this matter appropriately. We appreciate the patience and understanding of our listeners and the wider music community. Further updates will be provided as we gather more information,” the label said.
MPLIFY's first statement on the plagiarism issue (Instagram)
On Feb. 24, MPLIFY released a statement about the plagiarism issue.
"Hi, we would like to address the recent issue involving Olivia Marsh. One of the double title tracks from her first album 'Meanwhile,' released on the 13th, 'Backseat,' sparked controversy over its similarities to Isaac Dunbar's 'Onion Boy,'" it said.
It added, "After comparing the two songs, we acknowledged that Isaac Dunbar's claims were valid. We've since reached an amicable agreement with him and are currently handling the necessary steps, including negotiating songwriting credits and updating official credits, to ensure the original creator's rights are respected."
"We're taking this as a serious learning experience and will thoroughly review our internal processes to prevent something like this from happening again. We sincerely apologize to Isaac Dunbar and to all fans who were disappointed by this situation."
Meanwhile, members of NewJeans are in legal dispute with their agency ADOR and changed their name to NJZ. The court case is ongoing.
NewJeans' Danielle (Instagram)