Alicia Keys Sued For Two Seconds Of Copyright Infringement In “Girl On Fire”

Alicia Keys is being sued for copyright infringement by songwriter Earl Shuman, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Shuman claims Keys’ hit song “Girl On Fire” repurposes part of the song “Hey There Lonely Girl,” which he co-wrote as a remake of his original 1962 song “Lonely Boy.”

Specifically, Shuman argues that a two-second snippet of the bridge, when Keys sings “She’s a lonely girl / And it’s a lonely world,” is lifted from “Lonely Girl.” Actually, Shuman didn’t argue that, a writer for Showbiz411 argued it in a November post noting the phrasing’s similarity. So Shuman is now building his defense around that one blogger’s keen ear. Even though in that very same post, said blogger incorrectly stated Shuman was dead.

Keys’ “lonely girl” phrase isn’t a recurring hook of the song, it’s literally two seconds of the 233-second track, so odds are stacked in her favor. Not to mention: different lyrics.

Side note: Do you think Shuman knows that The Black Keys have a song that’s also called “Lonely Boy”?

[via The Hollywood Reporter]

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