As FIFTY FIFTY's hit song "Cupid" continues to gain worldwide popularity, Turkish singer Evrencan Gündüz has taken to Instagram to suggest that the K-pop girl group may have plagiarized his song, "Sen Aşkımızdan."

Gündüz's Instagram Post Sparks Controversy In an Instagram post on April 26, Gündüz drew attention to the similarities between "Cupid" and his 2017 song "Sen Aşkımızdan." He wrote, "FIFTY FIFTY made a great song. Let's listen to it together. However, it sounds familiar from somewhere."

He also uploaded a video where he can be seen listening to "Cupid" and then seamlessly transitioning to his own song, implying that the two tracks share striking similarities. This indirect accusation has led to heated debates among fans of both artists.

FIFTY FIFTY's fans have defended the group, arguing that the resemblance between the two songs is minimal and not enough to be considered plagiarism. They maintain that the songs diverge significantly after the introduction and that any similarities are likely coincidental.

However, Gündüz's supporters have disagreed, claiming that the similarities between the two songs would be more apparent if not for the language difference. Fellow singer Duygu Soylu has also chimed in, noting that "even the tone is the same."

Previous Accusations and Music Expert's Opinion This is not the first time "Cupid" has faced plagiarism allegations. Some have previously pointed out similarities between the song and Mina Okabe's 2021 release "walk away" and Neiked, Mae Muller, and Polo G's 2022 track "Better Days."

A Korean media outlet sought the opinion of a music expert on the matter, who concluded that "it's similar if you break it down, but I don't think this will be enough to argue (with plagiarism)."

FIFTY FIFTY's Agency Addresses the Issue

In response to the controversy, an official from FIFTY FIFTY's agency, ATTRAKT, has stated that they are in contact with the composers of "Cupid" to discuss the issue. The song's composers, Adam Von Mentzer, Mac Felländer-Tsai, and Louise Udin, are all based overseas. The agency plans to release an official statement on the matter soon.

FIFTY FIFTY has experienced a meteoric rise to fame, particularly in the US, thanks to the viral TikTok challenge featuring "Cupid." The group, which hails from a small company, has reportedly signed a partnership with major US record label Warner Records and is preparing to make a splash in the North American market.

What Do Korean Netizens Say?

"Isn't it just a common melody flow?"

"Seriously, it's ridiculous. After all, the intro is Cupid, and those songs have similar choruses, but the progressions and such are totally different, so it's not plagiarism, and it's not just insisting that only the chords are similar, that's actually correct; why do people who aren't experts say things like 'disgusting defense'? Do you even know if it's defending or just feeling it's different? If you don't know well, just say it's similar, it's really messed up."

"If the original composer says there's a problem, just wait for the result."

"Looking at the initial comments, you can see how much reactions differ depending on whether there's a history of plagiarism or not."

"The original composer said it's similar, but armchair experts keep going on about the chords. It's a shame for the company and singer. It seems like the company is passionate about picking good songs out of 1100 for the album, but now it's a plagiarized song? If it's concluded as plagiarism, they should sue the composer."

"Why do people keep saying the songs are the same, and that they're trying to bury or hide it? It just sounds the same, and if they say it's the same here, is that group being buried?? I don't understand why they're exaggerating it. If the composer of the problematic song raised the issue, they should just resolve it well and have a win-win situation for both parties."

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