Sam Smith wins copyright lawsuit battle over hit song Dancing With a Stranger

07 September 2023 , 17:40

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Sam Smith and hit-maker Normani won their copyright infringement legal battle in California (Image: Getty Images)

Sam Smith and Fifth Harmony singer Normani have triumphed in a copyright lawsuit battle over hit Dancing With a Stranger.

The pair prevailed in their infringement fight over their 2019 collaboration after a conclusion of the case was announced. Sam and Normani were sued by songwriters Jordan Vincent, Christopher Miranda and Rosco Banlaoi in March 2022 over their 2015 track of the same name.

They argued Dancing With a Stranger, which was co-written with songwriter Jimmy Napes, copied the ‘lyrics, pitch sequence, melodic contour, metric placement of the syllables, rhythm, feel, and structure’ of their song. They filed the grievance using a group name, Sound and Color, LLC.

“The hook/chorus in both songs – the most significant part and artistic aspect of the works – contain the lyrics ‘dancing with a stranger’ being sung over a nearly identical melody and musical composition,” the complaint read. Released four years ago, Dancing with a Stranger reached number three in the UK and seven in the US. It spent 45 weeks in the chart.

Lawyers for Sam, 31, and Normani, 27, wanted the case thrown out back in September last year. Now, 12 months on, a federal judge agreed to dismiss the complaint. Brit Sam’s legal team previously labelled the claim as 'nonsensical’ and ‘rambling’ - and claimed the accusation ‘relied on hyperbole and ignores established circuit law’.

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According to Rolling Stone, Judge Wesley Hsu ruled that ‘most if not all of the Plaintiff’s claimed similarities were not protectable by law'. He found that the phrase Dancing with a Stranger was not 'unique enough to be protected by copyright'.

Jordan Vincent, Christopher Miranda and Rosco Banlaoi's track has been on YouTube since 2017. During the case, fans took to social media to compare the two and one person wrote: “This is a very good song, and I’m glad it’s getting noticed… but copyright infringement? Errr, no.”

Another posted: “Nice song, but very different from Sam’s and Normani’s,” while a third wrote: “This one definitely sounds like a huge reach to me. The concept of the video looks a little familiar but the tempo, pitch, everything else… not at all similar.”

Back in May, it was decided Ed Sheeran did not copy Marvin Gaye's hit song Let's Get It On when penning one of his own tracks. The performer, 32, had been sued by the heirs of the late Ed Townsend, who's credited as having written Let's Get It On, which was released in 1973. It was claimed that Ed's song Thinking Out Loud - released in 2014 - plagiarised the other tune's harmonic progressions as well as melodic and rhythmic elements.

Sam Elliott-Gibbs