Songwriters Sue HYBE and NewJeans, Allege "How Sweet" Copied Rejected Demo

Songwriters sue HYBE, NewJeans, claiming elements of ‘How Sweet’ were taken from their rejected demo

May 11, 2026 By Mandy Dalugdug

Four songwriters based in Los Angeles have filed a copyright lawsuit against HYBE, NewJeans, ADOR, and more, alleging that the K-pop group’s 2024 single How Sweet was built in part from a demo that the plaintiffs submitted and were told wasn’t selected.

The complaint was filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California. The plaintiffs are Grammy-nominated producer Aidan Rodriguez ; Adam Gokcebay , a songwriter and A&R; Audrey Armacost , a singer and songwriter; and Michael Campanelli , a producer.

According to the complaint, which you can read here , Armacost was sent an instrumental track from NewJeans in January 2024 and was asked to write a “topline” for it to be considered for use by the group. A day later, the four plaintiffs jointly created a song they called One of a Kind, which Armacost then sent to her publisher, Pulse Music Group .

The filing alleges that her publisher then sent One of a Kind to BANA — via BANA A&R Hanna Cho and BANA CEO Keyon Kim — for NewJeans’ consideration. BANA then confirmed receiving the demo and told the plaintiffs their topline was liked but would not be used. BANA is an independent creative agency that produced songs for NewJeans.

> “BANA stated that while they listened to and liked One of a Kind ’s topline, it would not be selected or included as the final topline for the to-be-released song using the preexisting instrumental track.” Songwriters’ Complaint

“BANA stated that while they listened to and liked One of a Kind ’s topline, it would not be selected or included as the final topline for the to-be-released song using the preexisting instrumental track,” according to the complaint.

In May 2024, How Sweet was released as a single and as part of New Jeans’ album of the same name. Hanna Cho and Keyon Kim , who the plaintiffs said received and listened to One of a Kind, are credited as vocal directors of How Sweet.

The lawsuit alleges that BANA, Cho, Kim and another defendant, Sarah Aarons , incorporated One of a Kind’s verse one topline to create How Sweet.

The complaint further laid out alleged similarities in musical terms such as both songs are in 4/4 meter in the key of B flat minor. Both contain an approximately eight-bar, 31-note melodic sequence consisting of four series of notes with similar beats.

“Thus, following the creation of One of a Kind and gaining access to the same, Defendants, and each of them, included elements in How Sweet ’s musical composition (and sound recording embodying that composition) that are strikingly and/or substantially similar, and indeed virtually identical, to original elements from One of a Kind , without a license from or compensation to Plaintiffs,” according to the lawsuit.

The filing also cited a statement from New Zealand singer-songwriter Benee , one of How Sweet’s credited co-writers, who described the song as “a mix of three people’s songs merged into one.”

The complaint also quoted a former CEO of ADOR , the HYBE unit that manages NewJeans, describing BANA’s Keyon Kim as having “produced all of NewJeans’ songs,” and that “In the process of collecting songs, completing them, and refining the details, I exchange various opinions with [Kim], not the composers.”

Coca-Cola is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, which stems from the plaintiffs’ allegation that Coke, in partnership with UMG and in collaboration with NewJeans members, HYBE , ADOR , BANA and YG PLUS , “solicited the creation of How Sweet to be prominently featured in Coke advertising campaigns targeting this judicial district, among others, that coincided with the release of How Sweet. ”

> “After confirming with BANA, which handled the songwriting and production of the track, we were informed that there was no plagiarism involved.” ADOR (via Korea herald)

The plaintiffs are seeking claims for copyright infringement, vicarious copyright infringement, and accounting. They argue that they are entitled to their pro rata share of the profits that the defendants have each gained from the exploitation of How Sweet.

ADOR denied the allegations on Saturday (May 9), telling Korea Herald: “After confirming with BANA, which handled the songwriting and production of the track, we were informed that there was no plagiarism involved.

“ADOR and the (NewJeans) members also plan to actively respond to the lawsuit in line with BANA’s position.”

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_Originally reported by [Music Business Worldwide](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/songwriters-sue-hybe-newjeans-claiming-elements-of-how-sweet-were-taken-from-their-rejected-demo/)._