Plagiarism controversies surface in the K-pop world all the time. Once again, it has happened with NCT Taeyong’s first solo album WYLD. Many fans stated that the teaser video for his album looks quite similar to BTS’s ‘Swim’ music video concept. While some accuse it of plagiarism, others are defending the K-pop idol and his album. Read on to know all about the online drama!
Explained: NCT Taeyong WYLD Teaser Plagiarism Row With BTS SWIM
Recently, popular K-pop group NCT’s Taeyong released a teaser video for his first solo album titled WYLD. It created a massive buzz online but not all for good reasons. The teaser video received a lot of criticism because the teaser looked similar to BTS’s title track ‘Swim’s music video. Fans, aka ARMYs, pointed out the ship scenes and theme and expressed their anger.
But NCTzens quickly came to their defence. They simply stated that the ocean theme or concepts are very common and have been used in many songs and movies for a long time. NCTzens also added that Taeyong joined the Navy, so a sea-themed album made sense for him.
Well, this is not the first time such issues have surfaced. Last month, NCT Wish released their album Ode to Love and fans noticed that one of their songs had the exact same title as BTS’s hit song ‘2.0’. Not just this, they also thought that the lyrics sounded similar.
Following which, fans brought up old cases. They compared NCT Dream’s song ‘Life Is Still Going On’ with BTS’s ‘Life Goes On’ and said both the titles and the visuals looked almost the same.
Many fans feel angry and upset with SM Entertainment. They want the company to create original content and stop stealing ideas from others. However, some fans say that such themes and concepts are common in the K-pop world.
FAQs
When is Taeyong’s WYLD album going to be released?
Taeyong’s first full-length solo album WYLD is scheduled for release on May 18, 2026, at 6 PM KST, which is 2:30 PM IST.
When did BTS release ‘Swim’ and its music video?
BTS released the music video for their title track 'Swim' on March 20, 2026. It is the main song from their full album ARIRANG and was filmed in locations like Lisbon.
What is the plagiarism controversy about?
Fans say the WYLD teaser looks similar to BTS’s ‘Swim’ MV. Some people call it copying, while others say the themes are very common in the industry.