Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Did Usher plagiarise Homer Simpson? R&B star accused of stealing Springfield star's song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgCo5DVX3XQendofvid

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By GEORGINA LITTLEJOHN

Doh! Two lines from Usher's OMG sound exactly the same as Homer Simpson's Christmas song from an episode in 2003
A video playing two lines from Usher's smash hit song OMG was cut together with two lines from a Christmas carol that Homer attempts to write in an episode called Dude, Where's My Ranch? from 2003.


He's one of the biggest R&B stars in the world with one gold and five platinum albums to his name.

But despite his lauded songwriting abilities, it would seem that even Usher is not safe from being accused of plagiarism.

And the artist in question that he has been accused of stealing from? Homer Simpson.

Usher - who collaborates with Black Eyed Peas star will.i.am on the song - is heard singing: 'honey got a booty like pow, pow, pow. Honey got some boobies like wow, oh wow.'

The video then cuts to a still of Homer on a giant keyboard as the two lines from his song are played which go: 'Christmas in December, wow wow wow. Give me tons of presents , now now now.'

Then the video has a mash-up of the two, and shows that it is either a massive coincidence or Usher has stolen the hook, been massively inspired by Homer's song or just paid homage to the lovable character.

The discovery was made by breakfast show DJs at Y101, a radio station that broadcasts out of Jackson, the capital of US state Mississippi.


Pow pow pow: Usher struts his stuff while singing the lines in the video for OMG


They cut the video and posted it on YouTube which led to hundreds of comments on the site and fan forums everywhere.

On buzzfeed.com, someone wrote: 'I read the title and in my head, I immediately went. CHRISTMAS IN DECEMBER WOW WOW WOWWW.'

Another wittily added: 'One song is awesome and funny, the other song is talentless and annoying as f***. Which is which?'

But Usher fans also came out in full support of the star on the Entertainment Weekly website one wrote: 'I see the connection, but I bet Usher has more important stuff to do then watch a seven year old Simpsons episode and think “That’d be a great song!”. It doesn’t make any sense.'


Christmas carol: Homer dances on a keyboard as he sings his lyrics in his made up festive tune


However, this is not the first time that usher has been accused of stealing someone's song, as last month, a singer called Wadena Pyatt filed a lawsuit against him and singer Alicia Keys, claiming his hit song, 'Caught Up', was stolen from her.

She claims got a record contract with Alicia Keys’ MBK Entertainment label in 2003 and wrote the cut for inclusion on her debut album but when she heard the song on Usher’s Confessions album, but she was not listed as one of the songwriters.

Pyatt is demanding damages for profits received from sales of the track, which was released as a single in 2004.




source: dailymail [endtext]