One Direction has been the subject of possible
plagiarism in the past, but that’s generally due to the music the boy band
puts out itself, not their music videos.
However, that’s what an Australian production
company is accusing with the group’s new clip for “You & I”.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Australia’s
OhYeahWow claims the video is suspiciously similar to one the company created
for Melbourne synthpop act Clubfeet. In the video, the five guys morph
into each other as they walk along a deserted oceanfront pier.
Toward the end of the video, the quintet, now
together as a group and in separate bodies, pull off a stunt in which they meet
up with their own bodies, which are posed along the pier in different stances.
The Clubfeet video takes a slightly different
approach in terms of location, but the facet of meeting up with one’s body is
widely explored throughout the video and is pulled off in a similar style, with
the camera rolling along in front of them as the effect is displayed.
In a statement, OhYeahWow addressed the
similarities.
“It seems that the chaps of One
Direction have taken it upon themselves to regurgitate our original concept, as
seen in our award-winning clip for Clubfeet’s ‘Everything You Wanted,’” the
statement reads. “Don’t get us wrong, we here at Oh Yeah Wow are big One
Direction fans and are envious of their ability to maintain flawless hairdos.
To be crystal clear, OYW has nothing against creative evolution.
Artists constantly reinterpret other works that have inspired them and we’re
fine with people taking a technique and using it to create something new…The
wider problem is, that plagiarism and copycatting is becoming increasingly
common and acceptable.”
“You and I” was sent to contemporary hit radio last
week as the new single from One Direction’s third album, Midnight
Memories.
The videos
are included above.
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