Britney Spears & will.i.am Legal Drama Sees UK Singer Awarded Huge Payout

will.i.am and Britney Spears were dealt a damning blow by a British court today.

For, a judge ruled in favor of a UK singer who alleged that a song she co-wrote was snatched and re-worked into the pair’s hit ‘Scream & Shout.’ And she never received a credit. But that’s all about to change.

Full story below…

The singer in question is former NDubz star Tulisa.

She launched legal proceedings soon after the track’s release in 2012 after realizing that it sounded familiar.

See, she initially co-wrote the song with will’s producers – at which time it had a working title of ‘I Don’t Give A ****.’

However, her version wasn’t liked by all involved and it was scrapped from her album ‘The Female Boss’ (which went on to bomb). It was eventually re-worked into will and Britney’s chart-topping smash.

Upon release, though, Tulisa’s name was omitted from the writing credits. Instead it solely read: will.i.am, Jef Martens and Jean Baptiste.

At the time of her filing, will (who was one of the names being sued) actually admitted:

“Tulisa wrote to that song before I did – this is the truth. But the producers of the beat … didn’t want her to have it.”

Perhaps even more endorsing to Tulisa’s case was the revelation that her vocals were still detectable alongside Spears’ in the released version of the song.

As for her rewards, she’ll now be listed as an official co-writer and will receive 10% of the song’s publishing royalties and overall income.

Intriguingly, all profits from the song were frozen when she launched her case in 2012. And given how big the song became (huge hit worldwide and a UK #1), Tulisa is likely in for a huge payday. [Source]