This has been happening to me all too much lately. I hear a new song on the radio, and I think "Wait a minute, I know that song." So yes, there have been chord sequences that have been abused, and lyrics repeated to no end ("Put your hands in the air, and wave them like you just don't care"), but I have been hearing way too many songs, which have an exact replica (melody and harmony) of another hit, of not too long ago. I guess if you see something successful, copy it and take the credit for it, why not? Here is a list of songs I've noticed, ranked by flagrancy of theft:
  1. Kylie Minogue's new single, Please Stay actually inspired me to write this node. What the hell is this? Remember Belinda Carlisle's Circle in the Sand?
    Kylie sings, "No matter what, and no regret, I'll do all that I can...", where Belinda sings, "And it will be a part of me, our love is all we need." Note for bloody note.

  2. Robbie Williams - Supreme. Would he even bother to deny the entire verse is exactly the same as I will Survive (by Gloria Gaynor)? The chords are the same, even his melody is almost note to note identical. He even says: "You will survive" just when the original song says "I will survive"! You're not fooling anyone, Robbie.

  3. Britney Spears couldn't find anyone better to rip off than the Backstreet Boys. OH MY GOD! In Lucky, she goes into a falsetto-ish bit which seems to have been forced into the song to make it cool. She sings "Then why do these tears come at night?" to the exact same tune, (and chords) as "And that makes you larger than life." (Except for the last note or two).

  4. Sonique - Sky. The verse is the same as the chorus of David Bowie and the Pet Shop Boys' Hello Spaceboy. Well, at least Sonique went back a few years for her rip-off. Maybe she expects teenagers not to remember music of two years ago.
    (If you're having trouble comparing - compare "So bye bye love" and "So come with me".

  5. Not from the current charts, but: Who stole from whom? Depeche Mode's Master and Servant has almost exactly the same melodic line on the keyboard as The Cure's Let's Go To Bed. I always thought The Cure stole from DM, but that's probably because I heard Master and Servant first.
Mind you, those first four! are all from songs that are in the top 20 in many countries right now!

P.S. If I muddled up any lyrics, I'm sorry, I don't have Kylie's exciting new album, it's what I could make out from MTV.


P.S.2 bigmouth_strikes has just informed me that Max Martin wrote both the Britney Spears and BackDoor Boys songs. Can he be stealing from himself? If it's the same person, that makes it even more pathetic, I think.

P.S.3 the above was written at least a day before Accipiter added his insight. I hate it when people don't read to the end before writing a reply, and even more when they reply in the node body when a /msg (like bigmouth_strikes wrote) is enough. Oh well....

P.S. 4 achtung man says "Ironically enough, BsB has also covered Britney. "The Call" uses the exact same chord progression for the chorus as "Hit me Baby One More Time". Again, Max Martin copies himself.

P.S. 5 Matt_t_hat says might I point out the famous: "(everywhere you go) I'll be watching you" with "I'll be missing you" which other than a slight change is identical to the former!