I, like many others, was absolutely ecstatic when Lorde’s new song, “Green Light” was released yesterday on iTunes and Spotify. “Green Light” is the first single off of the 20-year-old phenomenon’s sophomore album, Melodrama, which will drop this summer. Lorde’s fans are expecting great things from this new album, since her first one, Pure Heroine, was internationally acclaimed – the smash hit, “Royals” was the first New Zealand single to reach number 1 on the US Billboard 200 since 1987, and Pure Heroine itself peaked at number 3.
“Green Light” is definitely going to be a popular dance song at parties, while still retaining the eloquent, introspective prowess that rose Lorde to fame in the first place. It has a well-produced beat and catchy background vocals, and the lyrics drip with passion and heartbreak (“I know about what you did and I wanna scream the truth ” and “She thinks you love the beach/You’re such a damn liar” to name a few).
However, the opening of “Green Light” – several piano chords that resonate with Lorde’s smoky voice – bears an uncanny resemblance to another song, “Sloppy Seconds” by Watsky. In fact, the instrumentals are exactly the same. Below are the two songs for you to compare.
Though it’s not entirely clear yet whether Lorde received permission from Watsky to sample his song, judging from a recent tweet, Watsky seems to have implied that she didn’t.
I don't truly believe @lorde ripped off Sloppy Seconds but regardless I would be happy to accept a million dollars!
— ?sky (@gwatsky) March 2, 2017
Regardless, let’s hope that credit is given where credit is due, and Watsky is paid for the instrumentals that Lorde samples in her latest song.
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