Miley Cyrus Faces Plagiarism Accusations Over ‘Redlights,’ Amanda Lear Calls Her a ‘Copycat’
Miley Cyrus is facing a plagiarism accusation. The Flowers singer recently released her new song, Redlights, as part of her latest album, Bass Persuades. French singer Amanda Lear has pointed out a striking resemblance between the track and her 1978 song ‘The Sphinx.’
Lear first called out Cyrus over allegedly copying her decades-old song in an Instagram post. She shared the 33-year-old’s album cover and wrote, “Thank you, Miley, for this tribute to my song The Sphinx. I am flattered.” She further used hashtags to call Cyrus a “copycat.”
Her accusation prompted mixed reactions online, with some users defending Lear and others rejecting her claim. An Instagram user penned, “I wish Miley fans could support her without disrespecting the original artist, Amanda, and their original and legendary piece of work.” Another fan commented, “I can see lots of Cyrus’ fans upset here, but the chords, melody, and progression are indeed the same.” Many others came forward to note that they could see the similarities between the two tracks.
On the other hand, Cyrus’ fans were fuming over Lear for her alleged claims. An Instagram user accused Lear of copying another track. They wrote, “Claiming plagiarism, Amanda? Be careful because ‘The Sphinx’ (1978) is a direct copy of the Peruvian melody ‘El Cóndor Pasa’ (1913) by Daniel Alomía Robles.” The user further claimed that the French singer never credited Robles in her song.
According to Rolling Stone Canada, Lear spoke to Agence France-Presse about the controversy. “I’ve never been litigious,” she said as the song’s publishers are reportedly seeking formal recognition of her claims. Instead, she argued, “I simply pointed out the situation by thanking Miley Cyrus and adding that I was flattered.”
While Lear has reportedly not taken any legal action against Cyrus, she took to social media to prove her claim. The French singer shared a clip of her music video for The Sphinx from her album Never Trust A Pretty Face. She wrote, “There is my original version,” in the caption.
Eventually, the French artist was widely criticized for her claims. A Cyrus fan penned, “Miley’s song is so much better,” while another Instagram user wrote, “Two totally different songs.” “Well I still prefer the Miley version or whatsoever,” a third user wrote.
Some took an even more brutal jab at Lear, calling her “grandma.” A critic penned, “It’s not even similar, Granny, move on,” while another user noted, “You’re having your moment of notoriety, but it becomes a little repetitive!! Please, stop it! It’s getting ridiculous.”
Lear previously claimed that Cyrus was influenced by her work. Besides the Hannah Montana star, she also believed Beyoncé and Rihanna inherited her influence.
The plagiarism claim was no news to Cyrus. According to Entertainment Weekly, the Party In The U.S.A. songstress was accused of plagiarizing Bruno Mars’ track When I Was Your Man for her Grammy-winning song Flowers.
Mars was not directly involved in the lawsuit. Instead, Tempo Music Investments, which owns a copyright stake in the track, sued Cyrus and her co-writers.
Eventually, the singer’s legal team is asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit. They argued that the similarity between the two tracks was based on unprotectable “commonplace tropes in breakup songs.” They also claimed that Flowers helped increase Mars’ song streams.
