Sam Smith, Normani Plagarism Suit 'Nonsensical,' Lawyers Argued With Evidence [Details]

Sam Smith and Normani's lawyers are responding to a copyright lawsuit that accuses the artists of ripping from an earlier song for their 2019 hit "Dancing With a Stranger," calling the allegations "rambling" and "nonsensical."

In their initial response to a lawsuit filed in March alleging that Smith and Normani (real name Normani Kordei Hamilton) stole the hit from an obscure 2015 song of the same name, the stars' attorneys asked a federal judge to dismiss certain claims made in the lawsuit, such as the assertion that the stars should be required to pay significant "statutory damages" if found liable.

They also refuted the lawsuit's main allegations, saying that many of the supposed similarities between the two songs (such as the claimed melody's form) were merely generic musical conventions or abstract concepts that are not protected by copyright law. And they claimed that the musicologist report submitted as part of the case really backed their claims.

Interestingly, the report states that the chord progressions in the two songs-Dancing with a Stranger and the plaintiff's song-are distinct, but it also claims that a "rotation of the chords"-that is, a change-can make the two songs sound "nearly identical." In any case, identifying similarities in chord progressions and modifying them to make them different is useless because chord progressions are likewise not protected.

It can be remembered that back in May, a group of songwriters have launched a copyright complaint against Sam Smith and Normani over their 2019 hit "Dancing With a Stranger," claiming that the song is "strikingly identical" to an earlier song with the same name and refrain.

The songwriters Jordan Vincent, Christopher Miranda, and Rosco Banlaoi claimed that Smith and Normani had stolen the essence of their 2015 song "Dancing With a Stranger" in a complaint they filed on Friday in federal court in Los Angeles.

The lyric "dancing with a stranger" is spoken over a nearly identical melody and musical arrangement in both songs' hooks/choruses, which the artists called "the most significant portion and creative aspect of these pieces." The title, hook, chorus, lyrics, and musical structure of both songs are identical and repeated throughout the song, the complainants alleged.

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