SHINee's Taemin Faces Plagiarism Accusations for Coping BTS’s Jimin

On August 16, SHINee’s Taemin released the first teaser for his highly anticipated solo track "Sexy In The Air." However, what should have been a moment of excitement quickly turned contentious as some BTS fans, known as ARMYs, accused Taemin of plagiarizing BTS’s Jimin.

The allegations surfaced on social media, with comparisons being drawn to Jimin’s previous works, including "Like Crazy" and "Set Me Free Pt. 2."

😭? https://t.co/TMOMEqPVIf pic.twitter.com/vRiOeOScHT

— 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𓂀¹³ (@Acesjik00k) August 15, 2024

copied taehyung & jimin that's why ppl call him taemin https://t.co/iUa0Waqweq

— gracè (@badguy4yew) August 15, 2024

Like crazy ve set me free pt 2 collab yaptı da bizim mi haberimiz olmadı bu ne https://t.co/IDxzMcKgdQ

— lost jam||💜🌌 (@army7ever) August 15, 2024

As the accusations began to circulate, fans of Taemin and other netizens quickly rallied to the idol’s defense. They pointed out that the visual and thematic elements seen in the teaser are consistent with concepts Taemin has explored in his previous works.

Taemin getting accused of copying Taemin-inspired solos is my villain origin story https://t.co/5JJk8tkBwF pic.twitter.com/lY5DUy8pVe

— TaemATE⁶ᵛ⁶ (@taemacious) August 15, 2024

Many noted that if there were any similarities, it was because Taemin was building upon his own artistic style rather than copying another artist.

He's referencing his own past concepts. If you find it similar to your fav's stuff I have some news for you 😂😭 https://t.co/euoqK0agwj

— Poohzuru (@Poohzuru1) August 15, 2024

Imagine my surprise when I found out armys think taemin would copy this...pic.twitter.com/ZFWia6lDQY https://t.co/gFs2HvCopr

— ⋆ (@baecix) August 15, 2024

Additionally, fans were quick to highlight the close friendship between Taemin and Jimin, suggesting that any attempt to create fan wars between their supporters was unnecessary and misguided.

putting taemin and jimin against each other... some of yall need to open your history books https://t.co/0R0uajRZce pic.twitter.com/LybDQ0eTTK

— unidad básica park sieun (@500daysofgyu) August 15, 2024