Levitating isn’t alone: Here are 14 huge hit songs that also had to face plagiarism lawsuits

Uptown Funk has faced FOUR

2 years ago

This week, Dua Lipa has had a lawsuit filed against her by reggae band Artikal Sound System, who claim that her megahit single Levitating is a “carbon copy” rip off of their 2017 single Live Your Life. Whilst Dua Lipa or Warner Records haven’t yet commented on the lawsuit or the allegations publicly, Twitter has been alive with discussions and debates on whether Levitating is a rip off of Live Your Life and how it will be resolved. Disputes like this happen a *lot* in the music industry – here are 14 other big songs with plagiarism disputes brought against them and how they were resolved.

Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne

The Canadian queen of pop punk faced a plagiarism lawsuit in 2007 when Tommy Dunbar of 70s band The Rubinoos filed a plagiarism lawsuit, claiming that the chorus of Girlfriend was copying the chorus of the band’s song I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend. The two sound extremely similar – with the famous “Hey hey, you you” being almost identical. Avril and her manager denied it was plagiarised, but in the end it was settled for a disclosed amount in 2008.

Viva la Vida by Coldplay

Coldplay’s big hit Viva la Vida faced a couple of plagiarism disputes from artists claiming they ripped off their songs, with most being denied or taken back. One that potentially got settled was from American guitarist Joe Satriani – who claimed that Viva la Vida incorporates direct melodic moments from his instrumental track If I Could Fly. Coldplay denied it, but the case was still settled out of court. Listen to the two tracks compared here.

Yeah 3X by Chris Brown

It’s weird to think of a time where Calvin Harris was relatively an unknown in the States, but that’s what the context was when Calvin Harris accused Chris Brown of ripping off his track I’m Not Alone on Yeah 3X. Calvin Harris tweeted “Choked on my cornflakes when I heard [the] new Chris Brown single this morning. Do you know what I mean? I don’t care that you call me a nobody. Stealing is still stealing, doesn’t matter who you are! Because Chris Brown is an international celebrity doesn’t make it OK to rip off a guy from [the] UK not many people have heard of.”

Calvin Harris said also that although Chris Brown would have never heard of him, the producer of Yeah 3X definitely would have. Eventually, Chris Brown reached out to Calvin Harris and added his name to the songwriting credits.

Waka Waka by Shakira

The World Cup official song was surrounded in controversy, with Shakira being accused of plagiarising Zamina mina (Zangaléwa) by Golden Sounds. However, responding to the controversy, members of Golden Sounds spoke out supporting Shakira and that she had readapted the song after meeting an agreement with Golden Sounds and their manager and Shakira and Sony Music.

My Humps by the Black Eyed Peas

My Humps was pulled intro controversy when DJ Lynn Tolliver accused them of plagiarising his 1983 single I Need A Freak. The lawsuit was swiftly settled with a $1.2million lawsuit and 75 per cent songwriting credits.

Treasure by Bruno Mars

Treasure, a huge hit for Bruno , got pulled into being one of the songs with plagiarism disputes when French musician Breakbot accused Treasure of ripping off his song Baby I’m Yours. Clearly, the similarities were accepted because Breakbot got songwriting credits. Listen to Breakbot’s single below and hear the similarities for yourself:

Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke, Pharrell and T.I

I don’t want to give much platform to this song, due to its lyrical content meaning it should be cancelled off the face of existence. However, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams, who produced the track, entered into a huge legal battle with Marvin Gaye’s family estate after they accused Blurred Lines of ripping off Marvin’s Got To Give It Up. It was swiftly established that Thicke was “inebriated on Vicodin and alcohol” when he went to the studio to record and that his songwriting contributions were minimal and Pharrell lead the process.

In the trial, Pharrell successfully passed a rule in court that Got To Give It Up couldn’t be played aloud to the jury or the rest of the people present, as the lawsuit was attacking the actual sheet music and no other elements of similarity needed to come into play. The jury eventually found Robin Thicke and Pharrell liable for copyright infringement, and they received a whopping $5.3million payout and songwriting credits. T.I. was not guilty.

Stay With Me by Sam Smith

This one actually worked out really nicely. Tom Petty and Jeff Young reached out to Sam Smith’s team when they heard Stay With Me, due to its similarities to Petty’s melody on I Won’t Back Down. Sam Smith and team said they’d never heard it before, but admitted similarities and gave songwriting credits. Petty was never annoyed at the situation, and said “All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen. Most times, you catch it before it gets out the studio door, but in this case, it got by. Sam’s people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement.”

Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars

Uptown Funk has come up against FOUR lawsuits, with many different artists claiming that it borrows from or rips off their tracks. A major example is The Gap Band, who received 17 per cent publishing royalties for similarities to Oops Upside Your Head. Collage also came to an undisclosed settlement for copyright infringement on their song Young Girls. More Bounce To The Ounce by Zapp also came to an undisclosed settlement, and a current dispute remains unsettled over The Sequence accusing Uptown Funk of ripping off their song Funk You Up. Chaos!

Photograph by Ed Sheeran

Actually very obsessed with X Factor winner Matt Cardle taking on global superstar Ed Sheeran and WINNING? There was no admission of guilt from the Ed Sheeran camp, but the lawsuit was privately settled in April 2017 for an undisclosed amount.

Scream & Shout by Will.i.Am and Britney Spears

In 2018, Tulisa Contostavlos, THEE female boss and founding member of N-Dubz, won her battle for credit on Britney and Will.i.am’s megahit Scream & Shout – winning 10 per cent of the global publishing rights and sales and getting a songwriting credit. Before it became one of the songs with plagiarism disputes, it was originally intended for her debut album.

Dark Horse by Katy Perry

Christian rapper Flame accused Katy Perry and Juicy J’s song Dark Horse being a direct copy of his song Joyful Noise, claiming that Dark Horse was just “10 BPM slower in tempo and one higher in pitch.” He also said that Katy had defiled the song with black magic, witchcraft, paganism and Illuminati imagery (lol). Katy Perry claimed neither she, Max Martin or Dr Luke had ever heard the song.

After a huge debate and years of the suit, eventually Flame came out on top and the plaintiffs received $2.78million. But the best bit of the case was when technical difficulties happened in the court and they couldn’t play Dark Horse, so Katy Perry said “I could perform it live for you?” An absolute queen I fear.

Get Free by Lana Del Rey

The closing track on Lana Del Rey’s 2017 album Lust For Life faced a lawsuit from Radiohead, claiming that Lana ripped off their song Creep. Lana confirmed it on Twitter, and said Radiohead asked for (in a request I personally think is ABSURD) 100 per cent royalties for Get Free – refusing Lana’s offer of 40 per cent. Lana denied ever intentionally interpolating or being inspired by Creep when she made Get Free.

Radiohead themselves denied they were filing a lawsuit – and said that they just asked for songwriting credits. Lana announced to an audience when performing live that “My lawsuit’s over – I guess I can sing that song whenever I want.” No songwriting credits have ever been updated on Get Free. A mystery!

Good 4 U by Olivia Rodrigo

Three months after Good 4 U came out in 2021, and became a huge hit for Olivia Rodrigo, Hayley Williams and Josh Farro of Paramore were added as songwriting credits – citing similarities between Good 4 U and Paramore’s Misery Business. It was a widely disputed move – as many believe the song doesn’t rip off Misery Business but just takes inspiration and pays audial homage to that era of mid-00s pop punk.

On the subject of one of her songs becoming one with plagiarism disputes, Olivia Rodrigo said the following: “I think it’s disappointing to see people take things out of context and discredit any young woman’s work. But at the end of the day, I’m just really proud and happy to say that my job is being a songwriter. All music is inspired by each other. Obviously, I write all of my lyrics from my heart and my life first. I came up with the lyrics and the melody for ‘Good 4 U’ one morning in the shower.

“What’s so beautiful about music is that it can be so inspired by music that’s come out in the past. Every single artist is inspired by artists who have come before them. It’s sort of a fun, beautiful sharing process. Nothing in music is ever new. There’s four chords in every song. That’s the fun part — trying to make that your own.”