Famous artists who have been accused of plagiarism

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Lana Del Rey - ‘Get Free’​

The 'Creep' saga didn't stop there. In 2017, people were quick to point out how similar Lana Del Rey's track 'Get Free,' from her album 'Lust for Life,' was to Radiohead's song. The band didn't press charges but asked to be credited.

 

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Robin Thicke - ‘Blurred Lines’​

Robin Thicke's hit tune was engulfed in controversy for many different factors, but the main one may have been when Marvin Gaye's family sued him and Pharrell Williams for copyright infringement, claiming it was too similar to the late musician's song 'Got to Give It Up.'

 

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Jet - ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’​

Many Iggy Pop's fans accused Jet of plagiarizing Iggy's 1977 song 'Lust for Life.' The band denied all accusations.

 

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David Guetta - ‘Play Hard’​

Guetta's 2012 song ‘Play Hard’ allegedly "heavily sampled" from Dutch group Alice DeeJay's single 'Better Off Alone.'

 

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Jay-Z - ‘Big Pimpin'​

Jay-Z has had his fair share of plagiarism accusations, and one of them was about his hit 'Big Pimpin,' whose underlying hook comes from the song 'Khosara Khosara,' by Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi.

 

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Bruno Mars - ‘Treasure’​

In 2012, musician Breakbot blasted Bruno Mars, claiming the pop star's smash hit 'Treasure' was awfully similar to his own song 'Baby I'm Yours.'

 

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Oasis - ‘Whatever’​

Musician Neil Innes claimed 'Whatever' had lifted from his song 'How Sweet to Be an Idiot,' and he was given a cowriting credit after hitting Oasis with a lawsuit.

 

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Simple Plan - ‘Your Love Is a Lie’​

Simple Plan are huge fans of Green Day... some may say even a little too much. People were quick to point out their 2007 song was a tad too similar to Green Day's 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams.'

 

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Katy Perry - ‘Roar’​

The dispute over whether Katy Perry had borrowed from Sara Bareilles's 'Brave' only ended when the latter stepped in and said they were friends and there was no reason to freak out.

 

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Led Zeppelin - ‘Stairway to Heaven’​

After all these years, Zeppelin were accused of stealing the intro of their classic from fellow rockers Spirit's song 'Taurus.' Jimmy Page has since called the claims "ridiculous."

 

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Led Zeppelin - ‘Whole Lotta Love’​

When the band recorded 'Whole Lotta Love' in 1969, they sampled Muddy Waters's 'You Need Love,' but they didn't credit songwriter Willie Dixon, who ended up suing them.

 

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Coldplay - 'Viva La Vida'​

The Grammy-winning song won them praise, but also trouble. Coldplay had to settle out of court with guitarist Joe Satriani, after he realized they had used "substantial original portions" of his song 'If I Could Fly.'

 

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Avril Lavigne - 'Girlfriend'​

Lavigne was hit with a suit from 1970s pop group The Rubinoos, who claimed she borrowed from their song 'I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.'

 

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The Doors - ‘Hello, I Love You’​

Legendary band The Doors had to pay royalties to fellow legendary band The Kinks for lifting their riff from 'All Day and All of the Night' for their classic 'Hello, I Love You.'

 

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Nirvana - ‘Come As You Are’​

Kurt Cobain was reportedly nervous for making the grunge anthem as the single for their album for its similarities to Killing Joke's 'Eighties.' The latter opted not to sue.

 

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Katy Perry - ‘Dark Horse’​

Rap group Flame, alongside rapper Lecrae and John Reilly, filed a suit against Katy Perry, claiming she lifted from their Christian rap track 'Joyful Noise.'

 

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The Beach Boys - ‘Surfin' U.S.A.’​

Chuck Berry might be one of the most sampled artists ever, and this time it was The Beach Boys who grabbed his song 'Sweet Little Sixteen' and made it their own. The band's manager gave Berry the tune's copyright to avoid a lawsuit.

 

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Jay-Z & Kanye West ft. Frank Ocean - ‘Made in America’​

The trio were accused of plagiarizing Joel McDonald's track 'Made in America,' but they ended up winning the case in 2016.

 

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Eminem - ‘Rap God’​

Eminem and MC Raymond Jones, from the group Hot Stylz, reportedly reached an agreement after Jones claimed Slim Shady had used a 25-second sample of one of his songs in 'Rap God.'

 

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Jay-Z & Beyoncé - ‘Drunk in Love’​

Hungarian folk singer Mitsou sued the couple in 2014, claiming they had lifted the vocals from her song 'Bajba, Bajba Pelem.' The case went to court and Mitsou lost.