But netizens remain divided.
43 minutes ago
It is one thing to be born around talent. It is another thing to have your work chosen when no one knows your name. That is the point Epik High‘s Tablo is now making as nepotism accusations surrounding his daughter, Lee Haru, continue to spread online.
| @blobyblo/Instagram
Recently, it was reported that Haru was credited as the sole lyricist for RIIZE’s upcoming title track “Do Your Dance.” The song is part of the SM Entertainment boy group’s second mini album, II, which is scheduled to be released on June 15.
The news immediately drew attention, as Haru is the daughter of Epik High’s Tablo and actress Kang Hye Jung. Many fans were shocked to realize that the child who once appeared on The Return of Superman had all grown up and was now participating in a major K-Pop release.
Haru on “The Return of Superman” as a lot of viewers remember
While many praised her talent, the credit also sparked debate. Some netizens accused Haru of benefiting from nepotism, arguing that even being given the opportunity to submit lyrics for an SM Entertainment title track could already be considered an advantage.
However, Tablo has now personally clarified the situation.
Epik High Tablo’s Daughter Credited As Lyricist For Popular SM Idol Group’s Title Track
According to a post that began circulating on the Korean online community theqoo, Tablo stated that Haru’s lyrics were selected through SM Entertainment’s blind review process. In other words, the lyrics were reportedly chosen without the reviewers knowing who had written them.
Fan: It’s impressive she’s the sole lyricist for that song. From what I’ve heard, SM is blind selection.
Tablo: Yep. That’s how she got picked.
The clarification quickly became a hot topic, with many netizens defending Haru and pointing out that SM Entertainment is known for selecting lyrics through blind evaluation. Some also noted that even SM artists themselves have to submit lyrics through the same type of process before their work is chosen. Many netizens praised Haru’s talent, especially given her young age.
- Tablo has been writing songs and lyrics since he was in his teens LOL. Her dad is Tablo and her mom is Kang Hye Jung, so nepotism…? Even if she benefited from her genes, I don’t know if that counts as nepotism LOL. Plus, SM supposedly picks lyrics through blind reviews.
- Oh, Haru is so cool!!
- Wow.
- She’s Tablo and Kang Hye Jung’s daughter, so it’d be weirder if she didn’t have it in her LOL. Genes are honest LOL.
- She’s cool.
- I think SM has always picked through blind reviews. They said that even when full members submit lyrics, it’s all done blindly.
- Wait… how old is she? Isn’t she still a baby? She’s definitely still a baby in my memory…
- Since SM doesn’t commission lyrics from the start, and the final selection is made blindly without knowing whether it’s from a famous lyricist or an SM member, it’s just impressive if her lyrics were chosen.
- If her dad is Tablo, her artistic sense is definitely genetic.
- SM has always done lyric blind reviews. Kim Eana confirmed this once, too.
- I guess talent is genetic.
- Looks like some people don’t know what nepotism and blind selection mean.
Others, however, argued that the debate was not completely settled. Some felt that while the blind review supported the idea that Haru’s lyrics were selected on merit, the opportunity to submit lyrics in the first place may still have been easier for her because of her family background.
- Even if it’s blind, getting the opportunity to make it to that blind review process isn’t easy, so I do think it’s nepotism… The people standing ahead of her all worked extremely hard to build connections and submit their work. That’s how this field works.
- What kind of comments are these, like something from the Mary Shelley era?
- Talent inherited from parents and background are important, but since professionals are watching, if there’s anything she’s curious about or stuck on, she’ll always be able to get advice and improve quickly… I’m excited to see Haru grow musically after her dad. 🥺
- The starting line is already different when you get an opportunity like that. Thinking it’s fair just because it’s blind is funny LOL.
- Haru is so cool!!!!
- Then how do other lyricists submit their work? Is it not publicly open? I’m genuinely curious.
- I don’t know if all other lyricists are like that, but someone I know is a regular person who works an ordinary job. They went to a lyric writing academy and had that on their resume for a long time, so they were steadily given chances to demo songs for SM artists and participate in blind lyric tests.
- Most people don’t even get the opportunity to hear a demo and write lyrics for it. It’s even a title track from a major agency artist.
- Haru is definitely talented, but it’s also true that even getting access to that blind test is difficult. To some extent, lyricists need connections to get demos in the first place.
- Sure, what’s impressive is the blind part, so that means the kid’s talent is real. But isn’t the opportunity to get the demo for a famous idol title track already something that’s hard for an ordinary high school sophomore to get? That opportunity itself is nepotism. When you listen to stories from regular aspiring lyricists, many of them pay to attend academies just to receive demos, and even then, they say getting that opportunity isn’t easy. I’m not saying she has no talent, especially since she already co-wrote something her dad produced, but I do think you have to acknowledge that if it weren’t for her dad, that opportunity wouldn’t have been easy to get.
Meanwhile, “Do Your Dance” will mark Haru’s first solo lyricist credit for a title track. She had previously participated in writing KiiiKiii’s “To Me From Me” alongside Tablo.
Watch RIIZE’s “Do Your Dance” teaser here: