Wilber Pan’s new song suspected of plagiarism

Taiwanese Mandopop singer Wilber Pan has recently released his new album illi on August 11th after returning from his hiatus following a head injury sustained in 2015. However, netizens were quick to point out that the song ‘Insomnia’ sounded similar to a song by Korean idol Yong Jun-hyung. They claimed that the chorus sounded identical to a song composed by the Highlight (formerly known as B2ST) member in an episode of their reality show Showtime back in 2014.

‘Insomnia’ was composed by Wilber himself as well as Fang Zheng Gang, who has a history of plagiarism. Zheng Gang, who follows the Highlight members closely on his Instagram, has been previously suspected of plagiarising the Korean boyband multiple times. Even though only one line was similar to Jun-hyung’s song, fans from both sides were outraged at the situation and demanded answers.

Wilber has since issued out a letter on Monday (Aug 14), apologising on behalf of both himself and Zheng Gang. He also said that he was working quickly to take the song down.

Zheng Gang has also stepped out and apologised for the issue. He said that he really admired Highlight and often listens to them and therefore could have unintentionally used the same tune from his memory. He also apologised to Wilber and said that he was willing to accept responsibility for it.

Highlight’s company has also spoken out regarding the matter and proposed two solutions, one being that the song is taken down in Taiwan immediately and the other being that Wilber’s company pay the copyright fees.

Photo: PBE Media

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