Copyright lines can be blurred and it can be hard to know if a song is phareally original or not (I was forced to write that by none other than my own self).
Anyway, here are some examples of that and the true stories behind them.
Queen/David Bowie and Vanilla Ice
Under Pressure and Ice Ice Baby
Definitely Copyright Infringement
To loosely quote Chandler Bing, "Could this be anymore infringed?" Vanilla Ice barely owned up to it and reluctantly paid Freddie Mercury and David Bowie and also gave them writers credit. This should really reflect negatively on Mr. Ice's listenership, but with that said, which song do you think I can karaoke to without the lyrics...word to your mother.
Abba and A*Teens
Not Actually Copyright Infringement
As a teen, I thought myself wise beyond my years recognizing that Dancing Queen was not an A*Teens original and therefore the group was not worth listening to. Come to find out, if my angst-y teen self had done a little research, I would have discovered that A*Teens is actually an Abba tribute band called Abba Teens. That's on me.
Huey Lewis and the News and Ray Parker Jr.
I Want A New Drug and Ghostbusters
Copyright Infringement
These two songs are super similar and were released in the same year. It's especially shady, because Huey Lewis was first approached to do the Ghostbusters theme. This ended up settling out of court. Also, I’m sorry, but have you even heard of the song I Want A New Drug? Who really won here?
Beyonce and Kelly Clarkson
Halo and Already Gone
What?
Already Gone is one of those songs when it first comes on you think it’s something else…Halo. Both songs were written in 2008 and released in 2009, so it’s hard to believe that there was the possibility of Kelly Clarkson ripping off Her Majesty the Queen Beyonce, except…THEY HAVE THE SAME CO-WRITER! Apparently Kelly Clarkson confronted Ryan Tedder about it and tried to get the song removed from the album, but it was already in print. We all know if it was Her Majesty the Queen Beyonce, that song would have been removed from the album after print, and replaced by a 10-15 minute excerpt of her breathing and it would still be number one on Billboard today.
Madonna and Lady Gaga
Express Yourself and Born This Way
Hissy Fit
(skip to around 2:20)
[az_video_embed class="" link=" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr2gfnmGFK4"]
To innocent outsiders, this looks like a beautiful mash up of two songs with powerful messages done by a less than average baton twirler. In actuality, it's a giant slap in the face to Lady Gaga. Meanwhile, has anyone even bothered asking the "ain't no Hollerback Girl" Gwen Stefani about the marching band uniform, where is the news on this feud?
All of these feuds and accusations are ridiculous, much like Pharrell and his hat, and, like Pharrell and his hat, they have just
Got to Give it Up.
[starbox]
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