Sweet!
Adam Levine is sticking up for Olivia Rodrigo as she continues to face plagiarism claims for her debut album Sour. In the months since her record-shattering album was released in May, the Disney Channel star has faced backlash for tracks sounding way too similar to hits by Taylor Swift, Paramore, and Elvis Costello. Not to mention Courtney Love called her out for “twinning” photoshoots.
Most recently, the 18-year-old added Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Joshua Farro to the writing credits of her single Good 4 U — after a mashup of the song mixed with Paramore’s Misery Business went viral for their similarities. Before that, the Cali native also added T-Swift and her writing partner to the credits of Deja Vu and 1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back.
Related: Olivia Rodrigo Says She Only Saw White Girl Pop Stars Growing Up
Listen to the mashup (below)!
Addressing these latest controversies, the Maroon 5 frontman hopped on his Instagram Story Friday to share his thoughts on the backlash. As a songwriter in his own right, Adam mused:
“There’s all this drama about Olivia Rodrigo. Look, these are tricky things, and anyone who’s ever written a song knows that sometimes you rip something off inadvertently, and it makes it to tape, and then it gets released, and then there’s a lawsuit.”
Not concerned about fairness at all, The Voice alum added:
“It’s a natural thing for it to happen, and sometimes it gets ugly, and sometimes it’s warranted that people take legal action. Sometimes it’s not warranted that people take legal action, and… the gray area has reared its ugly head these days.”
So what does he think about this particular “gray area”?? A lot.
The three-time Grammy winner cited a 2015 lawsuit that saw Marvin Gaye’s estate win a $7.3 million settlement against Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke. A judge agreed that the duo’s widely popular hit Blurred Lines ripped off Gaye’s Got to Give It Up.
Not wanting to stir up too much drama, the singer decided not to give his opinion on that legal battle — which only makes us wonder what he thinks about it more, TBH. Must be a seriously controversial opinion if he’s holding back! But regardless, the 42-year-old didn’t bring up the case for nothing. He used the example as a way to plead for some more “compassion” in the music industry, continuing:
“Without giving an opinion on… how that one turned out, I do think that we [could] probably meet this with a little more compassion and understanding.”
If only that were so easy to come by in the entertainment industry! Especially when grown adults are confronting a teenager who’s brand new to the business! On all the “s**t” going on, Levine added:
“All this calling out and s**t, it’s like, music is a creative thing, and I just hate to see it crushed…”
Unlike many online trolls, the performer actually sees benefit in Olivia’s alleged plagiarism, suggesting:
“When you take someone who’s a newer artist, and she’s doing things that emulate the ones from generations removed, I don’t know how bad that is. I think it’s kind of a cool thing to introduce the whole generation of young people to different musical ideas… That’s just my opinion.”
Honestly, he’s got a point! But we know for sure some artists disagree with a burning passion, like Courtney Love. Earlier in the year, she slammed the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series lead for allegedly copying her cover artwork from a 1994 Hole album, sharing side-by-side photos of both the cover and photoshoot to the ‘gram and demanding an explanation.
The actress responded to the criticism with nothing but love for the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band, eventually telling GQ:
“To be honest, I’m just flattered that Courtney Love knows that I exist.”
LOLz! That’s definitely NOT the reaction Love was hoping for. The 57-year-old was coming full-force at the Gen Z pop star and all she got was a compliment… Not even those flowers she oddly requested!
Related: Evan Rachel Wood Responds To Kanye West Inviting Marilyn Manson Onstage
On the “aggressive” nature of lawsuits and fighting for ownership over creative ideas, Adam concluded his IG post by reflecting:
“I just hate to see it become this huge thing where people get really aggressive about it. I don’t know — maybe I’m just not as territorial about that kind of stuff. I’m almost flattered when people rip me off. But I’m sure I’ve ripped people off too… It’s music. It’s a beautiful thing.”
One famous superstar seems to agree that music shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Costello, whose guitar riff from his 1978 song Pump It Up has been compared to the angsty opening of Brutal, couldn’t care less about the alleged plagiarism. In June, he tweeted:
“This is fine by me. It’s how rock and roll works. You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy. That’s what I did.”
Such a good way to put it! And seriously, would anybody even care about Sour if not for Olivia’s ability to turn her inspiration into a “brand new toy”?But then again, we know this is all a business and greed takes over — so, it’s no wonder Liv’s faced such controversy.
What do U think about this mess, Perezcious readers? Did Olivia intentionally plagiarize? And whether or not you think she did, should she now be forced to give those artists writing credits on her album? Sound OFF in the comments (below)!
[Image via MEGA/WENN & Olivia Rodrigo/Instagram]
The post Adam Levine Supports Olivia Rodrigo Amid Numerous <i>Sour</i> Plagiarism Claims appeared first on Perez Hilton.
