J Balvin lightstick slammed for copying BTS' ARMY Bomb design

J Balvin is embroiled in yet another controversy regarding the BTS' ARMY Bomb' merchandise and has become the talk of the town. On March 19, the K-pop boy band's fanbase recognized an identical lightstick (ARMY Bomb) being sold in official reggaeton stores.

Fans of BTS, known as ARMY, were naturally alarmed and began raising the seriousness of the situation for possible plagiarism of the merchandise originally invented by the South Korean idols.

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What is a lightstick?

In the world of K-pop, lightsticks are products of identity for artists and their fans. They are often used in concerts, and each musician or group has a different lightstick design and color.

This unique merchandise gets updated from time to time, so various versions are created for fans to purchase.

K-pop lightsticks also have the group's logo and characteristic color of the fan club. The artists or their management agency decides the shape, and these products are not just cheerleader sticks but also have a meaningful message of showing support.

BTS' lightstick, known as the ARMY Bomb, stands out in a white spherical design with BTS inlays above, and the back of the handle is black. This symbol represents the group's ambition to conquer the world with their music.

With the new version, fans can also connect the lightstick to Bluetooth and change the color of the lights.

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J Balvin under fire by BTS ARMY for concert merchandise plagiarism

On March 19, Colombian rapper and singer J Balvin came under fire from BTS fans for possible plagiarism of the K-pop boy group's concert merchandise, i.e., the lightstick.

The artist's name began trending on Twitter for this particular object advertised as a "light white handle" for his JOSE Tour 2022 in the official J Balvin online store. The product also states that it is an "exclusive artwork created by J Balvin."

Eagle-eyed fans of the K-pop group slammed J Balvin for copying the ARMY Bomb used by the BTS fanbase during their concerts and other official events. Soon enough, the Colombian artist's official website immediately took down the product from the online website to curb social media outrage.

Fans are enraged by the possible violation of BTS' copyright and have sent emails to alert BIGHIT MUSIC, the K-pop group's agency, and HYBE.

Interestingly, the Colombian artist is one of the musicians from the HYBE portfolio.

In April 2021, it became official that Ithaca Holdings, led by Scooter Broun, had been acquired by HYBE. For this reason, the SB Projects agency started being managed by HYBE's subsidiary agency in America.