Pop star Demi Lovato has been accused of lifting musical elements of Sleigh Bells’ 2010 track Infinity Guitars.
In a complaint filed on 22 August in California federal court, Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller of the alt-pop duo Sleigh Bells claim that Lovato’s track Stars, featured on her 2015 album Confident, features elements taken from their 2010 single.
According to Hollywood Reporter, the complaint reads: “A comparison of the two songs reveals that, at the very least, the combination of the hand claps and bass drum, structured as 3 quarter beats and a rest, with the bass drum providing a counter-rhythm to the hand claps, is at least substantially similar in both works … This infringing material repeats throughout the Defendants’ song.”
Lovato, UMG Recordings and producers Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub are named as defendants in this case.
Following the release of Lovato’s single last year, Sleigh Bells first made their allegations on twitter. “Demi Lovato flattered you guys sampled Infinity Guitars & Riot Rhythm for Stars but we were not contacted. Gotta clear those,” they wrote.
Lovato’s representatives responded to this claim, denying the use of samples. “We did not use any samples in Demi Lovato’s song Stars. Demi was also not involved with the production,” producer Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub said. “She only wrote top line.”
Lovato has yet to publicly respond to Sleigh Bells’ new claims.
