5 artists you didn’t know were shockingly accused of plagiarism

Plagiarism is something many artists and writers have dealt with throughout history. These accusations and copyright infringement lawsuits are nothing new in the music industry.

Several renowned singers have fought legal battles over smash hits, while others have settled outside of court.

Here is a list of celebrities that have been accused of plagiarism or faced lawsuits, take a look:

Radiohead vs. Lana Del Rey

In January 2018, Lana Del Rey claimed that Radiohead were suing her due to alleged similarities between their 1992 debut single Creep and her song Get Free from her 2017 album Lust for Life.

The band’s publishers, Warner and Chappell, denied taking legal action but did confirm that they requested credit for “all writers” of Creep.

At the time, The Guardian spoke to a professional composer to analyse the claims.

The composer noted that while the chords used are rare in pop music and that the melodies have some resemblance, it was eventually concluded that the similarities were likely unintentional.

During her 2018 electrifying performance in Lollapalooza Brazil, Lana addressed the crowd, hinting that the dispute had ended.

She said, "Now that my lawsuit's over, I guess I can sing that song any time I want, right?"

Josh Stone vs. Ariana Grande

Singer-songwriter Josh Stone filed a lawsuit in New York claiming that Ariana Grande copied the hook "I want it, I got it / I want it, I got it" for her hit song 7 Rings from his 2017 song You Need It I Got It.

Josh argued that Ariana’s hit featured an "identical metrical placement of the paired phrases," and sought profits from 7 Rings.

Justin and Jeremiah Raisen vs. Lizzo

Lizzo was accused by Justin and Jeremiah Raisen of failing to give them credit for helping to develop her famous song Truth Hurts signature lyric, “I just took a DNA test, turns out I'm 100% that b****.”

According to the brothers, they were involved in an early songwriting session with Lizzo and contributed to creating that line.

To clarify the situation, Lizzo's lawyer denied the claim, stating, "The Raisens are not writers of 'Truth Hurts'. They did not collaborate with Lizzo or anyone else to create this song."

Joe Satriani vs. Coldplay

In 2008, guitarist Joe Satriani filed copyright infringement lawsuit against Coldplay, claiming that their hit song Viva La Vida contained substantial portions of his 2004 instrumental If I Could Fly.

The case drew widespread attention due to the global success of Viva La Vida, but the lawsuit was eventually settled out of court.

Steve Ronsen vs. Lady Gaga

SoundCloud singer-songwriter Steve Ronsen accused Lady Gaga of lifting a portion of his 2012 song Almost for her 2018 Oscar-winning hit Shallow, co-written with Mark Ronson.

Steve claimed that Gaga copied a three-note progression for the hook and according to Page Six, sought "millions and millions" of dollars in a potential settlement.

The Born This Way songstress’s legal team pointed out that the progression is very common and appears in many others songs.

Her lawyer said that the acclaimed artist “will fight it vigorously and will prevail” if Steve Ronsen proceeds with a lawsuit.

Olivia Rodrigo vs. Taylor Swift

Although there was no official feud between Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift, fans noticed that the bridge of Olivia’s song Deja Vu resembled Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift.

This led to Taylor, Jack Anotonoff, and St. Vincent, being given songwriting credits on Deja Vu, acknowledging Cruel Summer as an inspiration.