Dua Lipa faces second copyright lawsuit over hit song, 'Levitating'
English singer and songwriter Dua Lipa has been hit with a second lawsuit over her smash hit song, Levitating. Two songwriters have alleged that Lipa picked up the "signature" melody in her song from a couple of their disco tracks that came out in 1979 and 1980, respectively. Notably, this suit comes days after a reggae band sued the singer for plagiarizing their track.
This is what lawsuit stated
According to Billboard, songwriters L Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer approached Manhattan federal court on March 4 to file a complaint. They alleged the opening melody of Levitating was a "duplicate" of their 1979 song Wiggle and Giggle All Night and the 1980 number, Don Diablo. "Plaintiffs bring suit so that defendants cannot wiggle out of their willful infringement," the suit read.
Warner Music Group, DaBaby also named defendants
Lawyers for Brown and Linzer stated how the opening melody amounted to Lipa's song going viral as it had been mostly used in TikTok videos. "The signature melody is the most listened to and recognizable part of the infringing works and plays a crucial role in their popularity." Warner Music Group, DaBaby, and other figures associated with Levitating have been named as defendants, too.
Earlier, Artikal Sound System accused Lipa of copying their song
On March 1, Florida-based reggae band Artikal Sound System had brought the first wave of legal trouble for the 26-year-old artist by accusing her of plagiarism. The band sued Lipa for copyright infringement at Los Angeles federal court, claiming Levitating was copied from their 2017 track, Live Your Life. The complaint said it was "highly unlikely that Levitating was created independently."
Released in 2020, 'Levitating' made quite a stir
The track Levitating was part of Lipa's 2020 album Future Nostalgia. The second studio album of the artist peaked at #2 on the Hot 100 chart and was named the "#1 Hot 100 song for 2021." The official music video has 47 crore views on YouTube and the song happens to be the longest-running top-10 song ever by a female artist on Hot 100.
Lipa-Megan Thee Stallion's song drops this Friday
Meanwhile, Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion have teamed up for a song, titled Sweetest Pie. On March 6, both the artists took to social media to announce their collaboration. Their respective posts further informed that Sweetest Pie will be released on March 11.
