Dua Lipa Controversy Explained: As She Faces Another Copyright Lawsuit Over Her Smash Hit Song ‘Levitating’
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“Levitating” singer Dua Lipa faces a second copyright lawsuit. This time, there are claims that she lifted lyrics from two decades-old disco tracks. Another group of songwriters has filed a separate lawsuit for the same song. This happened a few days after English musician Dua Lipa was hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit.
Dua Lipa Faces Second Lawsuit Over Levitating
This is the second time Dua Lipa is facing a lawsuit over her smash hit song “Levitating”. The plaintiffs are claiming she borrowed material from two decades-old disco tracks. Songwriters L Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer sued Dua Lipa in federal court in Manhattan on Friday (March 4). They accused Lipa of copying their songs, “Wiggle and Giggle All Night” and “Don Diablo”. According to them, the opening melody to “Levitating” is a “duplicate” of their own.
Levitating is TOP 5 in the US 🌕✨ new music coming soooooooooooon <3 pic.twitter.com/KD2OhIzIeV
— DUA LIPA (@DUALIPA) February 1, 2021
Their lawyers claimed that defendants have levitated away plaintiffs’ intellectual property. This lawsuit came just days after Lipa faced a different copyright suit over “Levitating”. The song was a massive hit and has remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for 68 consecutive weeks. Furthermore, they cited press interviews in which Dua Lipa admitted to taking inspiration from earlier music. According to them, the singer took the signature melody, which became viral in TikTok videos, from earlier songs.
Other Lawsuits Against The Singer
Earlier this year, a Florida reggae band called Artikal Sound System sued her as well. Their lawsuit claimed that the pop star had copied “Live Your Life,” a little-known 2017 track. During the newer lawsuit, the defendants stated that Lipa had “admitted” to imitating previous eras and “taking inspiration” from earlier music in order to create the “retro” sound.
Lipa’s 2020 single “Levitating” from her second studio album, Future Nostalgia, reached No. 2 on the Hot 100. However, it is still among the top Hot 100 song of 2021. A female artist has never had a song on the top 10 chart for as long. A number of disco tropes were in the song, including nu-disco and electro-disco influences. Dance-pop, pop-funk, power pop, space rock vibes, and pop and R&B from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s were among its favorites.
Levitating Lawsuit Explored
According to the lawsuit, the “signature melody” from the song’s beginning – just a few seconds after Lipa begins singing, “If you wanna run away with me… “- has been infringed upon by recording artists. Likewise, the accusers pointed out that the repeated section of the song was crucial to making “Levitating” a viral hit on TikTok.
According to the lawyers, Signature melodies are what make works infringing recognizable and popular, and they play an important role in their success. Moreover, as TikTok creators often truncate the already brief sound clips, the signature melody accounts for fifty percent or more of these viral videos.
As stated in the current lawsuit, the defendants copied plaintiff’s work without attribution in their search for nostalgic inspiration. In addition to Warner Music Group and DaBaby, others who contributed to the song are defendants in this case.
Riddha Kundu
I'm Riddha Kundu, a 23-year-old aspiring Chartered Accountant from Kolkata, and I'm passionate about writing contents.
