K-pop starlet HyunA’s new single “From When Until When” was pulled from all music service websites on Friday, following controversies regarding a set of lyrics that supposedly “pay homage” to veteran K-pop quintet g.o.d.

The song, included on the starlet’s latest EP “A Talk,” includes lyrics that are taken straight from g.o.d.’s single “The Reason Why Opposites Attract.”

However, controversy arose after g.o.d.’s Kim Tae-woo revealed that the starlet did not gain prior consent to use the signature lines.

“Though we are very grateful for the respectful sentiments of a homage to us, we were a bit unsettled that it was done without any prior agreements or consent, and that we found out about the ordeal afterward,” Kim Tae-woo said.

In response, the starlet’s agency Cube Entertainment released an official apology through a press release on Friday.

“‘From When Until When’ will be taken down from all music service websites starting from 11 a.m., Friday. The song will be excluded from copies of HyunA’s new album produced from this point on as well. We again express our deepest apologies for causing trouble with this issue,” the agency said.

“From When Until When” was cowritten and cocomposed by B2B’s Lim Hyun-sik and HyunA and includes the original lyrics by g.o.d.: “Perhaps I’m more attracted because you’re the opposite because you’re different / Does it catch my attention, because it’s new.”

Lim wrote on his Twitter account on Friday: “Dear producer Park Jin-young and members of g.o.d., I initially wrote the song seeking to pay homage to a great song by g.o.d., a group I have respected for a long time. However, I failed to inform you in advance about such moves and I sincerely apologize for my inconsiderate actions.”

A homage in music is a gesture of respect or acknowledgement toward an artist, typically in the form of cover or tribute songs.

Meanwhile, the music video of “Red,” the lead track off HyunA’s new EP, continues to rank No. 1 on the K-pop section of YinYueTai’s V-Chart, China’s biggest music video website. The song remains on the top 10 lists of local music charts as well.

By Sohn Ji-young (jiyoung.sohn@heraldcorp.com)