Fans Show Proof SHINee Taemin’s ‘Guilty’ Album Copied BTS V’s ‘Layover’

KEY POINTS

SHINee member Taemin just released the design for the physical copy of his fourth mini-album, “Guilty.” But the K-Pop community quickly noticed its uncanny similarities to BTS’ V’s “Layover,” leading to accusations of plagiarism against SM Entertainment.

Earlier this month, the 30-year-old South Korean artist announced that he was finally making a comeback after two years since “Advice” in 2021. He has since been releasing teaser photos for his upcoming album and most recently shared the concept for the album’s physical release.

In the photo, uploaded via SHINee’s X (formerly Twitter) account, it could be seen that the album’s case was a shoebox, which also included shoelaces that read the words “Guilty” all over. The photos also had a vintage-inspired style.

The track list was also unveiled in the teaser, which included a total of six songs: the main track “Guilty,” “The Rizzness,” “She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not,” “Not Over You,” “Night Away” and “Blue.”

However, the album design sent the K-Pop community into a frenzy, most notably the fans of BTS — known as ARMYs, as they couldn’t help but compare it to V’s solo debut album released in early September. Though Taemin’s was inspired by a shoebox, they claimed that it still had a similar concept and vibe to “Layover’s” mailbox. The hashtag “#ApologizeToTae” also trended on X along with tags “#plagiarSM” and “SMplagiarSMLayover.”

“‘Can I copy your homework?’…,” one user wrote on X, attaching a side-by-side comparison of “Guilty” and “Layover,” which included the concept photos and the physical album copy.

Another observed, “Is this even legal [at this point]? Literally [copy-and-paste] and the fact track 6 is actually called ‘Blue.'”

“This is CRAZY, Taehyung needs to start suing people [because] what the actual f—k ????” a third user said.

“‘Guilty’… yeah for plagiarizing,” a fourth user quipped.

Another commented, “[No] but what cheap copy is this? Literally, the only thing missing is Yeontan (V’s et dog) for it to be another version of ‘Layover.’ He even copied the aesthetics, and they didn’t lie when they said that Tae was the standard.”

“What a coincidence right? The photo shoot, the album cover, the track ‘Blue’ EVERYTHING IS SO SIMILAR. WHAT A F—KING COINCIDENCE. Everyone’s [trying to] coy the king,” a sixth user said.

“[What The Hell] is wrong with them… If you can’t come up with any idea about your freaking album that doesn’t mean you can copy someone’s hard work… This is not done… WE LOVE TAEHYUNG,” a seventh user added.

Meanwhile, many SHINee fans — known as Shawols — defended Taemin on social media.

“Taemin’s albums are so original and unique. There’s nobody like him,” one X user said.

Another wrote, “Taemin the legendary soloist gets critical acclaim with every work he puts out. Words and praises from credible people drowning out [the] noise from pathetic stans.”

“Taemin we love you! The Ace is back!” a third user said.

SM Entertainment has yet to address the plagiarism allegations. But “Guilty” is set to drop on all music streaming platforms and local stores on Oct. 30, Monday, at 6 p.m. KST.

TAEMIN 태민 The 4th Mini Album ‘Guilty’ | Teaser Image 1 샤이니SHINee/Facebook