Former The Voice Mega Mentor Ed Sheeran posted an Instagram video on Wednesday responding to the news that he won a recent copyright lawsuit claiming he plagiarized part of his song “Shape of You” from songwriter Sam Chokri.
Ed Sheeran Wins Plagiarism Lawsuit Over ‘Shape of You’
A judge ruled on Wednesday that Sheeran “neither deliberately nor subconsciously copied” Chokri’s song “Oh Why.” Chokri had claimed that his song inspired the hook in Sheeran’s “Shape of You.” After an 11-day hearing, the judge dismissed the lawsuit.
Sheeran took to Instagram after the ruling to share a video responding to the accusations, explaining that he wasn’t able to talk about it when the case was ongoing. He shared his belief that “claims like this are way too common now,” calling it “damaging to the songwriting industry.”
“There’s only so many notes and very few chords used in pop music,” Sheeran said. “Coincidence is bound to happen if 60,000 songs are being released every day on Spotify. That’s 22 million songs a year. And there’s only 12 notes that are available.”
Sheeran added that he’s “not a corporation,” but a human being. He shared his hope that this ruling will discourage future “baseless claims,” and hopes that he and co-writers Steve Mac and Johnny McDaid can “get back to writing songs, rather than having to prove that we can write them.”
Sheeran Reacts to Song ‘Bad Habits’ Hitting 1 Billion Streams
A few days before winning the plagiarism case, Sheeran posted another Instagram video reacting to the news that his song “Bad Habits” had reached 1 billion streams on Spotify. He released the song as a single last year before it appeared on his newest album.
Sheeran shared that “Bad Habits” is the tenth song of his to reach 1 billion streams. Sheeran thanked his fans for listening, sharing his amazement that that the song hasn’t even been out for a year yet. He said he’s “really proud” of the track.
The singer recently collaborated with fellow The Voice mentor Camila Cabello on the song “Bam Bam.” He also released a remix of his song “The Joker and the Queen” featuring his friend Taylor Swift.
Words by:
Jill O'Rourke Jill O’Rourke is a contributor at Talent Recap, writing news stories and recaps for shows like ‘AGT,’ ‘The Voice,’ and ‘American Idol.’ She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and Film Studies, and has been writing about pop culture since 2012, with previous bylines at Crushable and A Plus. Jill spends her free time binge-watching sitcoms and daydreaming about life as a hobbit
