Copied Or Inspired: Indian Singer Ipsitaa Blatantly Ripped Off BTS, Blackpink, IVE, Taeyeon In Her Music Video?

There's a very thin line between inspiration and plagiarism. Building something new and fresh often requires taking cues from the past. However, what happens when the imitation becomes too close and originality is compromised? Well, you get a music video that looks like a mashup of every K-pop group's video. What are we talking about? Have you heard of Ipsitaa? The Indian singer has been making headlines lately, and it's not for good reasons. Ever since her Kadar Na Jaane music video dropped, the singer has been facing massive backlash. Why? Well, numerous scenes from her music video resembled iconic moments from BTS, TWICE, IVE, Blackpink, and Taeyeon's music videos.ALSO READ: Let’s start with the most blatant instance of plagiarism in Kadar Na Jaane’s music video. Ipsitaa’s team took a major chunk out of IVE’s I AM music video, including Wonyoung’s iconic jump scene, without understanding its meaning. Yes, IVE’s music video does look visually stunning. However, airplanes are used in IVE's I AM for a reason.

So, did she copy all these groups? 100 percent! However, according to the singer, she was simply inspired by numerous K-pop acts. In the description of her music video, Ipsitaa states, “This one's inspired by K-pop music videos by some extraordinary female groups and artists. We wanted to recreate and play with the worlds they've built, introducing them to India for the first time.” Unfortunately, she crossed the line between inspiration and plagiarism with her music video. Using the worlds built by K-pop idols and their teams (which requires years of effort and creative output) without comprehending what each scene represents is plagiarism. Also, let’s not try to hide behind the nakab of wanting to “introduce them to India.” How is this helping them? She’s getting the clicks and views, not them. Also, let's not act like K-pop isn't popular in India. ALSO READ: A great example of a music video that is inspired by another piece of media is Red Velvet’s Comic. The group drew inspiration from the 2019 film Midsommar for Cosmic’s music video. How did they get this right? Firstly, they credited the film in the music video, not the description box. Additionally, Red Velvet did not simply pick up scenes from the film. Instead, they combined the lore and imagery from the film with their own, creating a unique interpretation. Even the outfits they donned in the MV were not the exact same as the ones sported by Florence Pugh in the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyG21rXCxlY

If Ipsitaa was inspired by the works of K-pop artists, elements from their music videos could have been incorporated into hers with proper credit. However, copying entire scenes, along with costumes, is just plain plagiarism. And giving K-pop a half-hearted credit while discrediting its success in India is not how to avoid allegations.