Ariana Grande is being sued for copyright infringement over her mega-hit ‘7 Rings’.
The 26-year-old pop superstar and her label Universal Music Corp. are headed to court after hip-hop star DOT – whose real name is Josh Stone – accused the ‘Thank U, Next’ hitmaker of ripping off the chorus to his 2017 track, ‘You Need I Got It’.
The claim, which was filed at a US District Court in New York on Thursday (16.01.20), alleges that ‘7 Rings’ co-producer Tommy Brown had heard DOT’s track and had lifted parts of the chorus and used them on Ariana’s song.
The chorus for the latter’s track is: "I want it / I got it / I want it / I got it," whilst DOT’s track uses the line: ""You need it / I got it / You want It / I got It."
DOT employed two forensic musicologists who identified that the tracks share the same "rhythm" and "identical notes and lyrics placement".
The court documents state that: "Literally, every single one of the 39 respective notes of ‘7 Rings’ is identical with the 39 notes of ‘I Got It’ from a metrical placement perspective.
"Said another way, the rhythm and placement of the notes and lyrics are identical."
Ariana is up for two Grammys, Record Of The Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, for ‘7 Rings’ on January 26, whilst the hit has broke several records, including amassing the most Spotify streams in 24 hours.
And, according to Billboard, the song has earned an impressive $10 million in revenue to date.
DOT wants to prevent Ariana Grande and her co-defendants – which lists the songwriters and producers behind the song and several labels – from "continued acts of infringement", and to offer up ‘7 Rings’ to the rapper for "actual damages and profits attributable to the infringement" or to pay out damages and the cost of his legal fees.
DOT’s attorney, Tamir Young, has insisted she and her client’s intention is "protecting" his art from violation.
The lawyer told Fox News: "This lawsuit is about protecting artists and their work.
"Josh’s song was taken and used without his consent, without his knowledge and without a license.
"Many people made a LOT of money on Josh’s work.
"And that is wrong. It is copyright infringement.
"Laws were specifically created to protect artists like Josh from copyright infringement.
"Those laws were violated and Josh has rights that we are now exercising to right that wrong."
Ariana Grande and Universal are yet to comment on the lawsuit.
Ariana Grande sued for copyright infringement over 7 Rings
