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On Wednesday, March 6, NCT DREAM rolled out the concept photos for their upcoming album, DREAM()SCAPE. While the fans excitedly tuned in to get a glimpse of the same, they couldn't help but notice the pictures' stark similarities to Red Velvet's latest concept photos for their third studio album, Chill Kill.
Many netizens pointed out that the two sets of concept photos share similar aesthetics and color schemes and also radiate the same psychological-horror vibes. Given that NCT DREAM has not delved into a genre of this kind, netizens immediately called them out for initiating Red Velvet's work. However, fans soon came to their defense.
Fans explained that the same photographer, Cho Gi-seok, captured both the group's album concept photos, and he is known to follow a particular aesthetic with the photos he takes. Therefore, fans defended the group by stating that the similarities were not due to plagiarism.
Additionally, many also expressed that both groups are housed under SM Entertainment, which naturally leads to them sharing the staff that work behind their album reactions.
Netizens divided as they debate over the alleged stark similarities between Red Velvet and NCT DREAM's album concept photos
In November 2023, Red Velvet released their third studio album, Chill Kill, and fans immediately fell in love with the concept as it involved several dark themes that perfectly fit the K-pop girls' group's music style. Given that the group has always been intricate and unique with its album concepts, fans have always found joy in decoding their images.
As many fans kept the Chill Kill concept photos close to their hearts, they were naturally disappointed that a similar aesthetic was being adopted by NCT DREAM for their upcoming album's concept photos, DREAM()SCAPE. Netizens expressed that there were too many similarities between the concept photos, such as the setting, the outfits the members wore, the props that were included in the shoot, the color scheme that was followed, etc.
However, the similarities resulted in two kinds of reactions from netizens. On one hand, fans expressed that they loved NCT DREAM adopting Red Velvet's aesthetics, and they were even delighted to call the two 'sibling groups'. On the other hand, some netizens were angered at the similarities and accused the NCT subunit of plagiarism.
Given that Red Velvet's concepts and themes are something that fans cherish greatly, they were displeased with NCT DREAM allegedly initiating the group's album concepts. However, many fans soon came to the group's defense. They stated that similarities might be due to both the album concept photos being shot by the same photographer, Cho Gi-seok.
The photographer is a renowned person in the industry who's worked with several K-pop artists such as LE SSERAFIM, XG, I'LL-IT, and more. He is also known to follow a particular aesthetic that sets his work apart from the crowd, and these elements are seen in both NCT DREAM and Red Vevlvet's concept photos.
Therefore, fans have been requesting netizens to put their plagiarism accusations on hold since it doesn't necessarily fall as the group's fault. Additionally, given that both groups are housed under SM Entertainment, fans expressed that sharing similar aesthetics shouldn't be a problem.
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