Singer Donnalyn Bartolome has responded to accusations that she plagiarized a K-Pop song by Jeon So-Mi aka SOMI.
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A netizen had criticized Donnalyn for allegedly lifting the beat of SOMI’s “Birthday” song for her song “HBD,” the music video of which was posted on her YouTube channel four months after SOMI’s.
Donnalyn replied to the allegation, explaining that her song had actually been produced and released as a single in 2017 before being part of the complete album titled “Surprise” in 2018. SOMI’s “Birthday” was released in 2019.
Donnalyn also expressed her sadness over her fellow Pinoys accusing her of copying a song just because she was a smaller artist.
“I know I spent long hours in the studio with my producer Andales specifically instructing what and where to add the elements to my song HBD. CUSTOMIZED. This is ORIGINAL PINOY MUSIC,” she said.
(ALSO READ: Donnalyn Bartolome Defends Alex Gonzaga, Says She’s ‘Humble’ and ‘Kindhearted’)
She also urged fans not to attack SOMI in light of the issue.
She also took time to thank the K-Pop fans who reached out and apologized to her on behalf of her critics. “Who am I to not forgive? We are all human, only reacting to what’s thrown at us,” she shared. “What’s important is a lot of them showed manners despite the uproar proving that not all of them are toxic.”
As of writing, the music video, released on October 10, has reached 5 million views and is currently #5 on trending on YouTube.
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