Ariana Grande sued for copyright over '7 Rings' by Josh 'Dot' Stone, lyrics and rhythm allegedly identical
Ariana Grande was sued on Thursday for stealing lyrics and musical elements from American hip-hop producer, songwriter and rapper Josh "Dot" Stone for her song '7 Rings'. Stone claims the American pop singer straight-up ripped off the lyrics of a song he recorded two years earlier, titled 'You Need It, I Got It.'
According to TMZ, Stone notes in the lawsuit that the hook to Grande's song is, "I want it, I got it, I want it, I got it" whilst his lyrics are, "You need it, I got it. You want it, I got it."
Additionally, he claims that the two songs have identical metrical placement of the paired phrases. According to Variety, he says, “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”.
Stone says he had meetings with music industry executives and producers, including Universal Music Group chiefs. Universal Music Group are the same company that ultimately published '7 Rings'.
Stone says he had a meeting in 2017 with Tommy Brown, who worked with Grande on each of her five studio albums. Stone also says Brown showed interest in the song and liked it a lot.
Grande’s song is an extended reinterpretation of 'The Sound of Music' score 'My Favorite Things', with the song having royalties signed to a total of 10 writers, according to the New York Times.
Two of the writers, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, control 90 percent of the songwriting royalties. Stone wants profits from '7 Rings' and an order from a judge prohibiting '7 Rings' from its own existence.
The lawsuit cited musicologist, Dr. Ronald Sadoff, a professor at NYU, who states "the music and lyrics present in the hook and chorus sections of ‘7 rings’ would likely not have been composed without prior knowledge of 'You Need It I Got It'".