Heartbreaker (G Dragon album)

Information

Although initially scheduled to be released in April, the released date was pushed back to August to coincide with his 21st birthday. G-Dragon collaborated with several artists, including Teddy Park of 1TYM, Tae Yang of G-Dragon's own group, and CL and Dara of 2NE1. His song "The Leaders" (which featured Teddy and CL) also referenced Girls' Generation's song "Gee", SS501's Kim Kyu Jong's "Wuss Up", as well as 2NE1's "I Don't Care." Additionally, the song "Sonyeoniya" featured the thoughts and struggles he had to go through as a young boy who started as a YG trainee at the age of 12. The lead single "Heartbreaker" has reached number-one on various charts, including the Mnet and Melon Music chart, while "Breathe" was ranked in the Top 20.

Controversy

G-Dragon was accused of plagiarism by Sony Music, as his tracks "Heartbreaker" and "Butterfly" are similar to Flo Rida's "Right Round" and Oasis's "She's Electric", respectively. EMI1, who also has rights to "Right Round" said that they saw no similarities between these two songs. Sony Korea has denied G-Dragon the ability to promote the track any further without paying reparations. On September 21, 2009, Sisa Magazine, a news program on MBC, stated that officials from Sony reportedly sent YG Entertainment warning letters about plagiarism. Sony's legal representative stated, "It was a hard decision for the music critics." However, they decided that there were similarities and accordingly issued a warning letter to the production company and composers. They have also denied YG Entertainment the permission to promote these songs. However, YG Entertainment claims that nothing has been decided or legally determined and that the "letter" which YG received from Sony is not considered legal action; the company has also stated that they have not received a direct response from the American publishers regarding this matter. On March 6, 2010, YG Entertainment announced that they personally contacted Flo Rida's representatives and Flo Rida is going to appear as a featuring artist in a new version of Heartbreaker, to be released as a bonus track on G-Dragon's Live Concert Album. Then on May 22 G-Dragon appeared as a special guest at Flo Rida's Korea concert and performed the new version of Heartbreaker featuring Flo Rida.