Ed Sheeran Performs Hit Song During Copyright Trial: Did It Work?

Ed Sheeran has been involved in a copyright infringement case that was filed against him by the heirs of Marvin Gaye's co-writer Ed Townsend.

According to reports, the lawsuit details how a chord progression-as well as other elements-of Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" sounded a little too similar to Gaye's "Let's Get It On."

This trial has been going on for several days now, and several surprising details have been reported since, but this is arguably one of the biggest updates in the case.

While the singer was testifying in court, he casually pulled out his guitar and played the 2014 hit song to the jury and the rest of the court.

"I'm singing out loud," he sang as smiles began to grow on the faces of the Manhattan federal courtroom.

'Thinking Out Loud'

"Thinking Out Loud" was released as a single off of Sheeran's "X (Multiply)" album; it was written by the singer himself along with Amy Wadge and produced by Jake Gosling.

In 2015, it was one of the most streamed songs on Spotify, garnering over 500 million streams on the music streaming app.

It was nominated for Record of the Year; it won Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2016 Grammy Awards.

Apparently, the song came to life when Sheeran heard his co-writer play some chords, "I remember thinking we have to do something with that," he said.

"Amy definitely started strumming the chords," he added. "It's a collaboration."

Elsewhen during his testimony, the singer also revealed that he "can't read music" because he was "not classically trained in anything."

This is why when his own lawyer asked him why he thinks the plaintiffs called for an expert to show the chords of the two songs resembled each other, Sheeran simply replied: "He was saying that because it helps his argument."

Not His First Rodeo

According to reports, this is in fact Sheeran's second time heading to court over copyright infringement allegations.

This is his third time being accused of copying another song; the first came in 2016 when songwriters Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard sued him over the song "Photograph."

The second came in 2022 when songwriters Sami Chkri and Ross O'Donoghue accused him of using several parts of their song "Oh Why" in his hit song "Shape Of You."

In the first case, Sheeran reached a settlement with the songwriters, while in the second, he won.

Given his track record of copyright infringement cases, it seems like Sheeran will eventually shake this one off too.

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Ed Sheeran