Ed Sheeran

The singer began giving live evidence on Monday as part of his legal battle with two songwriters.

Mr Chokri and Mr O’Donoghue allege that Shape Of You infringes “particular lines and phrases” of their song, released in 2015. Mr Sheeran said he receives “hundreds of thousands of tweets”, but that he didn’t “look through it”. He continued that “if Mr Sutcliffe would have done his research”, he would have known there were “lots” of unknown artists he had cleared parts of songs with.

The star serenades London's High Court in an attempt to prove he didn't copy his hit Shape of You.

"I want to know how you got that." "I didn't want to put it out and I was subsequently proved wrong." "It was all of us three bouncing back and forth in a circle," he said. "That's a song I wrote last January. How did you get that?" "I'm a music fan, I like music, I listen to music," Sheeran said. Asked whether his final melody bore a similarity to Chokri's song, he added: "Fundamentally, yes.

Sheeran has spent two days in the witness box at the High Court. The singer-songwriter and two co-writers are accused of copying parts of Oh Why, ...

Sheeran said this was not the case. Sheeran replied: "I'm trying to clear my name here... During his evidence, Sheeran told the court that he had initially not been a big fan of Shape Of You as he felt it "stuck out like a sore thumb" on his third album, Divide, and was not overjoyed when he was told it would be a first single. Sheeran was in court to give evidence for a second day as part of a legal battle with Sami Chokri and Ross O'Donoghue, who accuse him of copying parts of their track Oh Why in his 2017 hit Shape Of You. Ed Sheeran has told the High Court he is there to "clear my name" and denied starting legal action to intimidate two songwriters who allege he has ripped off part of their work. Sheeran has spent two days in the witness box at the High Court. The singer-songwriter and two co-writers are accused of copying parts of Oh Why, a track written by Sami Chokri and Ross O'Donoghue, for his 2017 hit Shape Of You.

A snippet of an unreleased Ed Sheeran song was accidentally played during the Suffolk star's copyright trial at the High Court in London.

That was how it originated.” Mr Chokri and Mr O’Donoghue allege that Shape Of You infringes “particular lines and phrases” of their song Oh Why. The singer has previously denied that he was “talent spotting” and “plugged in” to the UK music scene in 2015, when Mr Chokri was making a return after a two-year absence. “Three people could not create the germ of the melody,” Mr Sutcliffe claimed, but Sheeran replied: “Why can’t three people create a melody?” Andrew Sutcliffe QC, representing Mr Chokri and Mr O’Donoghue, asked the singer: “It was a phrase you already had in your head after listening to the chorus of Sami’s song Oh Why, wasn’t it?” Grime artists Mr Chokri and Mr O'Donoghue claim that a central “Oh I” hook in Shape Of You is “strikingly similar” to an Oh Why refrain in their own composition.

The star serenades London's High Court in an attempt to prove he didn't copy his hit Shape of You.

"I want to know how you got that." "I didn't want to put it out and I was subsequently proved wrong." "It was all of us three bouncing back and forth in a circle," he said. "That's a song I wrote last January. How did you get that?" "I'm a music fan, I like music, I listen to music," Sheeran said. Asked whether his final melody bore a similarity to Chokri's song, he added: "Fundamentally, yes.

What is the court case about? Chokri and O'Donoghue's barrister Andrew Sutcliffe QC, claimed that Sheeran treated lesser-known songwriters differently from ...

This is because I want to treat other songwriters fairly.” Mr Sutcliffe said Sheeran was aware of Chokri before Shape Of You was written because the grime artist had tweeted Sheeran directly. If there is a reference to another work, I notify my team so that steps can be taken to obtain clearance. It was alleged that Sheeran had given a shout out to Sami Switch on stage in 2011. Chokri and O’Donoghue’s barrister Andrew Sutcliffe QC, claimed that Sheeran treated lesser-known songwriters differently from famous ones. He offered several examples where he has acknowledged lesser-known artists including Shivers and Visiting Hours.

Musician in high court facing accusations of copying parts of his 2017 hit Shape of You from a 2015 song called Oh Why.

“Even though I felt that I had done nothing wrong, we decided to settle the case because of the money and time it would take to fight it. The decision to settle felt morally weird given that we were innocent of the allegations made. Sheeran paid the pair $5m and gave them 35% of his gross publishing revenue – shares they have since returned. “I have always tried to be completely fair in crediting anyone who makes any contribution to any song I write,” he told the court. This was not unusual for him, he told the court, referencing a recent week-long songwriting session with the National’s Aaron Dessner that produced 25 songs. “I do refer to other works on occasion when I write, as do many songwriters.

Singer is facing lawsuit from songwriters who claim he took inspiration for song from their 2015 track.

Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Ed Sheeran has refuted allegations that he “alters” and “borrows” musical ideas from other artists as he appeared in court in his ongoing “ Shape of You” legal case. Sheeran denied the claim, saying that “if Mr Sutcliffe would have done his research”, he would have known that there were “lots” of unknown artists he had cleared parts of songs with.

Ed Sheeran says he is "scrupulous in giving credit", but prosecutors say he treats unknown artists in a very different way to stars.

In his written evidence, Sheeren said: "Both are, in my view, entirely commonplace. Sheeran's lawyer, Ian Mill QC, asked the singer if accusations of "borrowing ideas" was true. Sheeran said that case had left him feeling "bruised" and "with a very bad feeling". He said he had settled on the advice of his lawyers. In the current case, Mr Chokri and Mr O'Donoghue argue that a central "Oh I" hook in Shape Of You is "strikingly similar" to an "Oh Why" refrain in their song. He also said that he had "quit" social media in late 2015, staying "off" social media for "the whole of 2016" and was using a "flip phone from Tesco". As for the speed of his composing, he told the court: "Almost all of my songs are written in under two hours," adding "if I haven't written a song within two hours, I see it as a failure".

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We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on sign up to our newsletters and get a curated selection of our best reads to your inbox every day. It was incredible.” If there is a reference to another work, I notify my team so that steps can be taken to obtain clearance. But he is also a magpie,” Mr Sutcliffe added. A message from the editor:Thank you for reading. This is the defendants’ case. In his written statement, the producer described the singer “spontaneously singing a stream of melodic and lyrical ideas” and being “a whirlwind of ideas”. “There is a cost on our mental health. The stress this causes on all sides is immense. Chokri and O’Donoghue claim that a central “Oh I” hook in Shape Of You is “strikingly similar” to an “Oh Why” refrain in their own composition. Shape of You is original. We did not copy the defendants’ song”.

The pop star was facing questions over how his hit single 'Shape of You' was created when the wrong track was played. | ITV News Anglia.

That was how it originated.” Mr Sutcliffe earlier suggested that Sheeran was “an obsessive music squirrel” who “consumed music voraciously in 2015 and 2016”. A clip of an unreleased Ed Sheeran song was played by mistake in the High Court during a copyright trial over his 'Shape of You' hit.

Glancing at his lawyers, Sheeran said: 'That's a song I wrote last January. How have you got that?'

That was how it originated.” Mr Chokri and Mr O’Donoghue allege that Shape Of You infringes “particular lines and phrases” of their song Oh Why. On Tuesday, he told the court he had “disappeared for the entire year” in 2016 and “got rid” of his phone in late 2015. The singer has previously denied that he was “talent spotting” and “plugged in” to the UK music scene in 2015, when Mr Chokri was making a return after a two-year absence. Mr Sutcliffe earlier suggested that Sheeran was “an obsessive music squirrel” who “consumed music voraciously in 2015 and 2016”. Mr Chokri, a grime artist who performs under the name Sami Switch, and Mr O’Donoghue, claim that a central “Oh I” hook in Shape Of You is “strikingly similar” to an “Oh Why” refrain in their own composition.

The Shape Of You copyright trial continues at the High Court, with Ed Sheeran giving a second day of evidence. The star is involved in a legal battle with ...

The star is involved in a legal battle with two songwriters, Sami Chokri and Ross O'Donoghue, who accuse him of ripping off parts of their track, Oh Why. Again, he put it to Sheeran that he was able to create the "Oh I" refrain in Shape Of You as he already had Oh Why "firmly in his mind". On Monday, Sheeran denied hearing the song before his own track was released. The singer has started a second day of giving evidence in court as part of a legal battle with two songwriters, Sami Chokri and Ross O'Donoghue, who are accusing the star of ripping off parts of their track Oh Why in his 2017 hit Shape Of You.

Performing the song in an attempt to demonstrate how common the melody it uses is, Sheeran also sang part of Nina Simone's classic “Feeling Good”.

Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Also during the trial, Sheeran revealed that “Shape of You”, which is the most listened to song on Spotify, was not originally supposed to be on his Divide album: “I thought this song clashed with ‘Castle On The Hill’. It doesn’t fit with the rest of the album, I didn’t want to put it out and I was subsequently proved wrong.” He also admitted that an earlier version of the song was too similar to “No Diggity”. He said: “We thought it was a bit too close to a song called ‘No Diggity’ by Blackstreet. I said that was a bit close to the bone [and] we should change it.”

Achieving fame and wealth is usually the moment at which things start to go wrong.

Society has told them, at length, that this prospective money will cure the pain of being human. If you write a song that even accidentally resembles a song too much, and that song is proven to have been written first, you can be sued. And lawyers at work are the pain of being human personified. We are told many times that a lot of money and being recognised on the street is the answer to all problems. “Levitating” spent what feels like nine years at No 1 and “Shape of You” was the first track on Spotify to reach three billion streams. Someone once said that people will believe anything that famous people say, except that being famous is horrible.