Adam Young of Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen perform on NBC's "Today" at Rockefeller Plaza on August 23, 2012 in New York City. (Getty Images)more pics »Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Good Time" may sound like completely inoffensive blissed-out summer pop to most, but it's got one Alabama-based singer-songwriter suing mad.
Singer-songwriter Alyson Burnett believes some of "Good Time" was lifted from her tune "Ah, It's a Love Song." In other news, her song is getting a lot more attention now. (via Twitter)
Allyson Nichole Burnett
has filed a lawsuit against Jepsen, Owl City's Adam Young, and a bunch of music publishers and performing companies for alleged copyright infringement, as she believes part of "Good Time" was lifted from her own 2010 tune "Ah, It's a Love Song."
The part in question is, hilariously, when Jepsen yodels through a number of "Ohs." Burnett claims Jepsen stole her "unique vocal motif," which "has a catchy pop vibe that both draws people in and sticks in people's heads."
There's also a musicology breakdown of the similarities to the two segments in the suit, which notes that while the "Ohs" are sung in different keys, they have identical pitch sequence, melodic contour, and rhythmic construction, among other things. Burnett also claims to have suffered "emotional and psychological damage" from Jepsen and Young fans who have accused her of copying "Good Time."
Somewhere out there Katy Perry is rolling her eyes and reminding everyone she did "Oh" yodels first with "California Gurls."
Check out the two songs below. It's worth noting that Burnett has disabled commenting and voting on her track, likely to avoid emotional distress from those super-rude Carly Rae fans.
Burnett's case seems even flimsier compared to these classic cases of song soundalikes:
1. Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" vs. The Rubinoos' "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend"
Um, it'd be easy to dismiss the allegation that Avril had plagiarized The Rubinoos' 1979 single "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" on the basis of simple songwriting. But then there's the similarity of subject matter: "Hey! You! I don't like your girlfriend!" versus, "Hey! You! I wanna be your boyfriend!"
2. Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" vs. Queen feat. David Bowie's "Under Pressure
Countless hip-hop songs sample beats and melodies from previous hits, but when Vanilla Ice sampled Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure" for his 1991 hit "Ice Ice Baby," he did so without crediting the writers or offering royalties for use of the song. He tried to argue that the bassline was different thanks to one extra note, but no one really listened to him and he later recanted his statement, saying it was a joke.
3. Fergie's "Fergalicious" vs. J.J. Fad's "Supersonic"
Fergie's solo album
The Dutchess was one of the best-produced albums of 2006. She'd enlisted the help of her fellow Black Eyed Pea, Will.I.Am, on several of its tracks, including her 2nd single, "Fergalicious." The track features elements from several different songs, but it borrows most heavily from J.J. Fad's "Supersonic," right down to the rhyme.
4. The Kinks' "All Day & All of the Night" vs. The Doors' "Hello I Love You"
The Doors eventually had to pay royalties to The Kinks for their hit "Hello, I Love You." Because The Kinks wrote it first, natch.
No comments:
Post a Comment