After a career of fielding attacks from Mariah Carey fans for allegedly copying the legendary diva’s vocal stylings, Ariana Grande is headed from the charts to the courtroom according to recent documents indicating the pint sized powerhouse has been sued for her song ‘One Last Time’ (featured on her second chart-topping album ‘My Everything’).
Written by David Guetta, Rami Yacoub, and Carl Falk and released on Republic Records (part of the Universal Music Group family), the suit – brought forth by songwriter Alex Greggs – names Grande, Guetta, Yacoub, Falk, and the labels as the perpetrators who intentionally plagiarized a song he wrote for Boston-bred pop artist Skye Stevens called ‘Takes All Night.’
He’s seeking a whopping $150,000 per infringement in damages. More details below:
‘…Greggs alleges that “One Last Time” and “Takes All Night” bear similarities “so striking that it is highly likely the works were not created independently of one another,” noting the chorus and lyrics of Grande’s version as a primary catalyst for the legal action.
The lawsuit states, “Although the rhythm of the two compositions may differ to accommodate the prosody of the lyrics, there is substantial similarity on the most important rhythmic placement of the pitches on strong melodic and harmonic beats…” as well as “the use of the lyric statement ‘take(s) [or taking] you home’ as the final lyric statement…”‘
Listen to the two below and tell us if you agree with Greggs’ assessment:
Note: This isn’t the first time the donut-licking diva has been slammed with claims of plagiarism. She’s fielded allegations for ‘One Last Time’s video (read more here), her song ‘Be Alright’ (read more here), and a number of other reported claims of copying.