A Florida-based reggae band is suing British pop star Dua Lipa for alleged plagiarism, Billboard reports.
In a short complaint filed in the Los Angeles federal court, the band Artikal Sound System claimed that Lipa’s 2020 hit Levitating was so similar to their 2017 song Live Your Life that it was “highly unlikely that Levitating was created independently”.
It claimed that Lipa had “access” to their song, but did not detail how the musician – or cowriters Clarence Coffee Jr, Sarah Hudson, Stephen Kozmeniuk and cowriter/producer Stuart Price would have encountered it.
Live Your Life is not on Spotify and has 34k plays on SoundCloud. A new upload to YouTube attracted 12k views in 10 hours, presumably from curious listeners seeking to compare the two recordings.
The band also named parties including Lipa’s label, Warner Records, as defendants. They seek profits from Levitating in addition to damages.
The Guardian has contacted representatives for Lipa for comment.
Taken from Lipa’s second album, Future Nostalgia, Levitating reached No 5 on the UK singles chart and No 2 in the US Billboard Hot 100, where it became the longest-running Top 10 hit by a female artist. It has been streamed 446m times on Spotify.
Artikal Sound System formed in 2012 and released the song Live Your Life on their 2017 EP Smoke and Mirrors.
Lipa recently split from her long-term management company, Tap Management. Her father, Dukagjin Lipa, will reportedly take over management duties.
