Sam Smith and Normani have been sued for copyright infringement over their 2019 hit “Dancing With A Stranger.”
The song, released in January 2019, appears on Smith’s third studio album Love Goes.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of three songwriters, claims Sam Smith and Normani copied core elements of Jordan Vincent‘s 2015 song by the same name.
Vincent, Christopher Miranda and Rosco Banlaoi filed the complaint in Los Angeles federal court last week.
“The hook/chorus in both songs-the most significant part and artistic aspect of these works-contains the lyrics ‘dancing with a stranger’ being sung over a nearly identical melody and musical composition,” the songwriters wrote in the complaint. “In both songs, the title, hook, chorus, lyrics, and musical composition are all the same-and are repeated throughout the song giving both songs their identities.”
“When the extraordinary musical similarity between the songs is also factored in, it becomes even more apparent that it is impossible that the infringing composition and sound recording were independently created,” the lawsuit claims.
Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, and EMI Music Publishing also are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
(Photo: Steve Schofield)
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