There was always something immediately recognisable about the opening seconds of NewJeans‘ ETA. The horns arrive first. Loud, clipped and insistent, they cut through the song before the vocals have a chance to settle in. Underneath them, the drums move with the restless energy of Baltimore club. It is one of the reasons “ETA” stood out on the group’s EP “Get Up”, even among a run of songs that helped turn NewJeans into one of the biggest pop acts in the world.
As first reported by Billboard, those horns are at the centre of a lawsuit, as All Surface Publishing has filed a copyright infringement complaint alleging that “ETA” copied elements from a song titled “Samir’s Theme,” a 2005 track by Baltimore producer DJ Debonair Samir. The lawsuit names the NewJeans members, their label, parent company HYBE and several people and companies involved in the song’s creation and distribution. The claims remain allegations and have not been determined by a court.
According to the complaint, the similarities extend beyond a single sound, as All Surface alleges that “ETA” uses a combination of syncopated melodic horns, bass drums and rhythmic structures that are substantially similar to the earlier track. The accusation is striking because the connection between the two songs was never exactly hidden from public discussion.
When “ETA” was released in 2023, critics immediately heard “Samir’s Theme” in it. It was such an open secret that various outlets even described the song in the context of its Baltimore club sound, while some went further, describing its blaring horn line as coming from the 2000s club track. “ETA” itself has long been characterised by its choppy air horns and fast-moving drum breaks. That does not, by itself, answer the legal question.
Dance music has always been built through circulation, as a drum pattern moves from one city to another. A sample is chopped, pitched and recontextualised. A local club sound becomes a global pop language. Baltimore club, Jersey club, jungle, garage and house have all grown through this kind of musical conversation. NewJeans were particularly effective at bringing those conversations into pop.
At a time when much of mainstream K-pop was still built around maximalism and dramatic structural changes, NewJeans moved in the opposite direction. Their songs were softer and more economical, as they drew from UK garage, Baltimore club, Jersey club and other dance traditions, then compressed those influences into sleek pop songs that rarely overstayed their welcome. “ETA” was one of the clearest examples: two and a half minutes of air horns, nervous percussion and melodic restraint.
Copyright disputes often come down to questions of ownership, access and protectable expression, where a genre cannot be copyrighted, neither can a general mood or production style. But a sufficiently original combination of musical elements may be protected, and All Surface is arguing that the combination heard in “ETA” crosses that line.
What do you think of NewJeans’ ETA? Does it sound similar to Samir’s Theme? Let us know on X (formerly Twitter) @CelebMix!
