Adam Levine has defended Olivia Rodrigo over a series of song copying allegations.
Last week, representatives from Warner Chappell Music revealed Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams and former guitarist Joshua Farro had been added as co-writers on the rising star’s hit track Good 4 U.
When Good 4 U was released back in May, a number of fans had been quick to underline the tune’s similarities to the rock group’s 2007 song Misery Business.
But in light of the news, Maroon 5 frontman Levine has insisted Rodrigo deserves the benefit of the doubt.
“It’s a natural thing for it to happen, and sometimes it gets ugly and sometimes it’s warranted that people take legal action,” he posted on his Instagram Stories. “Sometimes it’s not warranted that people take legal action. And I think there’s definitely become more of a gray area that’s reared its ugly head these days.”
Levine went on to refer to one of the more prominent plagiarism disputes in recent years – the bitter legal case Marvin Gaye’s family took against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over their song, Blurred Lines, which they claimed copied the music icon’s 1977 single, Got to Give It Up. Williams and Thicke were found liable for copyright infringement in March 2015, and Gaye was awarded posthumous songwriting credit based on the royalties pledged to his estate.
“Without giving an opinion on what I think as far as how that one turned out, I do think that we should probably meet this with a little more compassion and understanding and try to find a way…,” the singer continued. “All this calling out, it’s like, music is a creative thing and I just hate to see it crushed.”
It’s not the first time Olivia has had to give a retroactive credit on a song, as she added Taylor Swift and producer Jack Antonoff on 1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back as it contains an interpolation of the superstar’s 2017 track New Year’s Day.
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