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No.1 Songs That Have Been Accused Of Plagiarism Or Copyright Infringement | Billboard News
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11 months ago
With the recent news of Miley Cyrus' No.1 hit "Flowers" being accused of copying Bruno Mars' "When I Was Your Man," we're looking at 5 times No.1 songs were accused of plagiarism or copyright infringement.
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With the recent news that Miley Cyrus' Hot 100 No. 1 hit Flowers has been accused of
00:04
allegedly copying Bruno Mars' When I Was Your Man, we're taking a look back at five other
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Hot 100 No. 1s that have been accused of plagiarism or copyright infringement.
00:14
Olivia Rodrigo saw a ton of chart success in 2021
00:17
and earned her second No. 1 on the Hot 100 that year with Good 4 U.
00:21
But Olivia's success didn't come without controversy,
00:30
as many thought Good 4 U sounded a lot like Paramore's Misery Business.
00:40
Olivia retroactively gave writing credits to Paramore's lead singer Hayley Williams
00:44
and ex-guitarist Josh Farro for Good 4 U.
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The sour singer had already faced plagiarism accusations for her song Deja Vu,
00:55
after mentioning how Deja Vu's bridge was inspired by Taylor Swift's Cruel Summer
00:59
while writing the song. Another Hot 100 No. 1 hit with plagiarism claims is Lizzo's Truth Hurts.
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The song hit No. 1 in September 2019, nearly two years after its release,
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becoming Lizzo's first No. 1 on the chart. As the song rose up the charts in 2019,
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Lizzo was accused of plagiarizing the opening lyrics of the song by two different parties.
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Singer Mina Lioness accused Lizzo of stealing the line from a tweet she wrote in February 2017
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that read,
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Despite Lizzo saying a meme on Instagram inspired the lyric,
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and she had never seen Mina Lioness' tweet, Lizzo did end up giving Mina Lioness writing
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credits on the song. Another huge hit that was accused of copying lyrics, Ed Sheeran's Shape of
01:54
You. The song became Ed Sheeran's first No. 1 on the Hot 100, staying No. 1 for 12 non-consecutive
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weeks, and Billboard named it the best-performing song of 2017. In May 2022, Sheeran was taken to
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court by artists Sam Chokri and Ross O'Donoghue for allegedly copying lines and phrases from
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their 2015 song, Oh Why. Ed Sheeran was able to win the copyright case against him and said this
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about winning.
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Another superstar who dealt with a big copyright case is Katy Perry with her 2013 hit, Dark Horse.
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Dark Horse hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 in February 2014,
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becoming Katy's ninth No. 1. That same year, Christian rapper Flame sued Katy,
02:54
Capitol Records and her co-writers for copyright infringement for his song, Joyful Noise.
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In 2018, a jury initially found that Katy had copied Flame's song,
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but the judge overturned the jury's decision in 2020.
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The next song was the longest-running single in 2013 and stayed No. 1 on the Hot 100 for 12 weeks,
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Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines featuring T.I. and Pharrell.
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The estate of Marvin Gaye accused Robin Thicke and Pharrell of copying the feel and sound
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of Gaye's Hot 100 No. 1, Got to Give It Up.
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A jury came down on the side of Marvin Gaye's estate and awarded the family $7.4 million
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in damages, which was later reduced to $5 million. Pharrell opened up to Rick Rubin
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in 2019 during a GQ interview about the impact of the case.
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To see a full list of songs, head to Billboard.com. Don't forget to hit the
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