Singer The Weeknd faces rough weeks ahead over allegations of plagiarism
PHOTO: The Straits Times
PUBLISHED ONApril 03, 2019 9:17 PM
NEW YORK - Canadian singer The Weeknd has been sued by three British songwriters over claims he copied their work to produce his hit A Lonely Night.
Songwriters William Smith, Brian Clover and Scott McCulloch sued the singer, Universal Music Group and others in a Los Angeles court.
The song appears on The Weeknd's Grammy-award-winning album Starboy.
The British songwriters allege that he borrowed from their song I Need To Love.
They are seeking unspecified damages.
They edited the two songs together in a sound clip which they said showed the similarities.
The lawsuit said that in 2004 and 2005, they pitched their song to various artists around the world. A division of Universal Music bought the rights in 2008
In 2016, the songwriters were told by the label that the song had not been used and that it was relinquishing all rights to their work, according to the lawsuit.
Two weeks later, The Weeknd and Universal released Starboy.