One of Popstar Dua Lipa’s hit songs has officially taken off, levitated, and landed itself smack dab in the middle of a Los Angeles courtroom.
According to official documents obtained by E! News, Dua Lipa’s 2020 smash song Levitating has ignited a legal battle and the Grammy award-winning singer is facing a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement.
Dua Lipa and her record label are being sued by Artikal Sound System
While Dua Lipa has been singing Levitating on her nationwide tour over the past month, in the legal filing it’s claimed that the song is a “substantially similar” copy of an original Artikal Sound System song.
The reggae band from Florida filed a complaint against the artist and Warner Records comparing Levitating to their 2017 tune Live Your Life. The complaint alleges that “In 2020, on information and belief, Defendants listened to and copied Live Your Life before and during the time when they were writing Levitating.”
The document also goes on to say, “Given the degree of similarity, it is highly unlikely that Levitating was created independently from Live Your Life.”
The single comes from Artikal Sound System’s 2017 EP, titled Smoke and Mirrors. You can listen to the 2017 song below:
Meanwhile, here is Dua Lipa’s hit which the band claims has similarities:
Dua Lipa’s success on the hit song Levitating
Levitating took the world by storm after its release in 2020 and was named the top Billboard Hot 100 song in 2021. It ultimately went on to become the longest-running Top 10 song ever sung by a female artist — dominating the chart for 68 weeks.
Levitating also reached number two on the Billboard Global 200 chart, along with being awarded a Platinum certification in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry.
Dua Lipa shared the success of her chart-topping song with her Instagram followers with the caption, “wowweeee Levitating is the number #1 Billboard Hot 100 song of the year 2021!!! thank you thank you!”
Fans have mixed feelings on the comparison between Live Your Life and Levitating
Followers of the singer have been commenting their thoughts on the allegedly similar components between the two songs, while also highlighting what they say are differences in Dua Lipa’s defense.
One Twitter user showed they were on the fence with the situation by writing, “They clearly have very similar chord progression, chorus melody, and overall feel, yet when I hear the two side by side Levitating is clearly way more of a banger. There are MANY things that set Levitating apart from the original song. Tough call.”
User @youneedlove4, although a Dua Lipa fan, displayed a lean towards the band’s defense by replying, “Aww man, I’m totally on her side, but listening to the song, I can hear the similarities. I was hoping they were just being extra and it wasn’t true.”
Other fans have given their opinion by stating many musicians often piggyback off of standard recognized rhythms and chord progressions.
“It’s an incredibly basic melody that follows a standard, popular funk guitar rhythm, any experienced musician would recognize that,” another Twitter user wrote.
Whether the fans hear the similarities between the two songs or not, the decision ultimately resides in legal hands. According to E! News, neither Dua Lipa’s reps nor her record label has made any kind of statement regarding the lawsuit.