In the words of Picasso, “good artists borrow, great artists steal.” All art is inspiration—we only have six main colors, twelve musical notes, five basic tastes—the creativity comes in how you combine these things in interesting ways. But how much inspiration is too much, and where do we draw the line at originality and plagiarism?
Today we’ll be listening to some popular tunes I’ve heard similarities between and analyzing if they’re more likely to be a rip-off or just a coincidence. Some artists want to make an easy hit knocking off familiar work, and some record companies want to squeeze a some extra cash out of an innocent musician by winning writing credits. It’s interesting to follow cases and draw your own conclusions as to where your favorite artists’ songs draw inspiration from and what parts are truly original. For this list I will only be including similarities I’ve heard myself, and haven’t found in my research to have resulted in a lawsuit or internet controversy. In the same vein, I’m excluding anything that is credited as a sample or interpolation on the song. Hopefully that will mean most of these are new to hear about. Let’s go!
10. Fall Out Boy vs. Harry Styles
Our first soundalike is “The Last of the Real Ones” by Fall Out Boy vs. “Adore You” by Harry Styles. I was familiar with “Adore You” from the radio, but when I got around to listening through Mania, I immediately heard a familiar tune in “The Last of the Real Ones”. Mania Isn’t a favorite among FOB fans, but I personally have a soft spot for it, and “Last of the Real Ones” is one of my favorite tracks off of it. And Mania released in 2018, with “The Last of the Real Ones” being the first single releasing the year prior, making Harry’s 2019 single “Adore You” the potential copy. You can hear the similarity between Harry’s melody “I’d walk through fire for you, just let me Adore You” and the third quarter of Fall Out Boy’s chorus “I’m here in search of your glory, there’s been a million before me”.
So, how similar are they on paper? Well, both songs are in G# Major. The line in “Last of the Real Ones” begins on G#, while Harry Styles’s jumps from D# to A#. However, past that, we hear a prolonged G note, a short F, another G, and a finishing F in both songs. So besides the beginning note, the lines are identical.
How likely is it that this a coincidence? In the end, the melodies are only three notes, and one of those three don’t match. However, the pattern and rhythm are also identical. There is reportedly an unreleased song Fall Out Boy and One Direction collaborated on for the latter’s album Four, so the two clearly are familiar with one another. Maybe Harry or one of his associates had FOB in their head while working on the song, but it is a small melody in two otherwise unrelated songs.
9. Mykola Leontovych vs. Colbie Caillat
You may not be familiar with composer Mykola Leontovych, but you surely know his famous Christmas tune “Carol of the Bells” (the popular performance by Lindsey Stirling featured for this example). However, another popular song by folk pop singer/songwriter Colbie Caillat bears a striking similarity to the classic song. “Try”, a 2014 track off her album Gypsy Heart, features a melody in the verse resembling the carol’s four-note ostinato.
Let’s take a look at the notes. “Try” is in C# Major and starts on C, and “Carol of the Bells” is in G Minor, which has the relative major of A# Major, and starts on A#. However, they have a suspicious pattern in common: They both follow the exact pattern of their first note, a half step down, and back to the starting note followed by a step and a half down. The rhythm is also the same, although it is admittedly too simple to count as a similarity. It starts with a long note, followed by three short notes. In other words? If you transpose “Try” down two half steps, you have an exact replica of “Carol of the Bells”.
What does this mean? Well, in the end it is just a simple and short line, and “Try” has lots of other parts that follow it. However, the similarities are hard to deny. Logistically, there is an important fact to consider; “Carol of the Bells” is old, and while the lyrics and name are still protected under copyright, the actual composition is public domain. There is no obligation to credit an interpolation of the song since it’s free to use. Therefore, Colbie has no obligation to credit Leontovych. So did she use the carol line and choose not to credit him? It seems clear that some inspiration was drawn, since “Carol of the Bells” is a Christmas classic. However, it’s only a small bit of “Try”, which I think lands the track firmly in the inspired-but-original category.
8. Green Day vs. Blake Neely
2014 saw the release of a CW live-action take on DC superhero’s The Flash, super-fast hero of Central City. “The Fastest Man Alive (Always Late)” reflects the character’s superhuman speed with a quick-paced arpeggiated melody and soaring choral vocals. However, if you listen to the entire version of the song, you hear a movement before the main theme that is a bit too close to another intro, namely Green Day’s “21 Guns”. Is Blake Neely, soundtrack composer, free to use this intro? Or does Green Day deserve a cut of the song?
Let’s analyze. The Flash theme is in A Major, whereas “21 Guns” sits in F Major. But despite the key, the notes are identical. Not key shifted. Identical. We have four notes: F, D, A, E, played in pairs. It’s a straightforward melody, which means it’s definitely possible that it could have been invented organically without being familiar with “21 Guns”. However, there is a significant detail; it’s the only thing in the composition in the intros. It makes sense if the harmonies are different, or there are different elements in the mix. But isolated from any other parts, there isn’t much of an excuse for them being original to one another besides that they are only a quantity of four individual notes in a simple pattern.
I will admit, I don’t know what to think on this one! Are they too close, or is it too simple? As always, it is up to you to decide. Besides the similarities in the intro, “The Fastest Man Alive (Always Late)” is a good track and a great theme song, and the carrying part is the main part of the song. The intro is barely an afterthought—Or perhaps a before-thought?—in the context of the whole song. The same is true about “21 Guns”. The good part of the song is the chorus, not the short intro line.
7. Dragonforce vs. TheFatRat and Anjulie
TheFatRat has built fame from his many copyright-free tracks such, as “Xenogenesis”, “Timelapse”, and “Monody”, prominently featured on YouTube. However, the chorus in one of his best songs, “Close to the Sun” featuring vocals by Anjulie, sounds reminiscent of power metal classic “Through Fire and Flames” by DragonForce. You can hear in TheFatRat’s “So when I’m gone, oh when I’m gone…” we can hear a similarity to “So far away, we wait for the day” in “Through Fire and Flames”. The phrase following is also similar, but it is a pretty obvious response to the first line, so I will focus on that for now.
What notes are we looking at? Both songs climb their respective keys in a fairly straightforward manner, ascending by two steps in the key and ending on a single step. From there, both descend down the key with small variations. “Through Fire and Flames” is written in C Minor, while “Close to the Sun” sits on C# Minor, only a half step higher. The two melodies are near identical. However, an important note is that they are very linear to the key. It would be easy to make a melody just by playing notes up the key, and then back down with some creative flourishes, which is exactly what we see in these songs, without having heard “Through Fire and Flames” before.
In conclusion? There is a possibility that TheFatRat is familiar with DragonForce’s hit track, and had it in his head while working on “Close to the Sun”. What I think is more likely is that he made a simple melody working off of the key. There is another similarity between the songs; this simple, easy-to-take-in melody serves as a rest from the more dynamic parts of their respective songs. The gentle sung line in “Close to the Sun” is followed by an instrumental drop that brings up the energy and is the primary hook of the song. In “Through Fire and Flames”, the chorus melody is a rest from the famous hyper-speed guitar riff that propels the rest of the song. In each song’s context, we need a little pause from the high-intensity elements we hear in different sections, which is a perfect place to use simplicity and easily meeting expectations to create a sense of release.
6. The Immortals vs. MARINA
In 2012, MARINA (then known as MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS) released her second album Electra Heart, featuring hits “Primadonna”, “How to Be a Heartbreaker”, “Power and Control”, and “Teen Idle”. However, an underrated and one of my favorite tracks from the album, “Living Dead”, bears a striking resemblance to an unexpected song many of us know. The line appears in the intro of the track, an arpeggiated synth line that sounds close to the intro and a repeated element in “Techno Syndrome” by The Immortals (formerly Austin Jons and the Immortals), commonly known as the theme song from Mortal Kombat. It’s a short line in the intro, but the similarity is uncanny. Or is it?
“Techno Syndrome” begins with an arpeggiated rhythm in G Major, going back and forth between A, C, A, D, A, E, A, and D. It’s not that complex of an element, but I think it is unique to the song. However, I don’t have anything to compare this against, as my search for the notes in “Living Dead” came up dry. I don’t have the natural musical ear to say for certain if the melodies are the same or just familiar to one another. But we do know that Living Dead is in G Major, the same key as its soundalike. It’s not unlikely they fall on the exact same notes, or close ones.
Does that mean they’re the same? Like many others on this list, it’s a simple structure. There is a chance one could come up with it organically, working off of the key. However, there is still a striking similarity between them. MARINA was 9 years old when “Techno Syndrome” released, and the song has gotten worldwide exposure from its use in Mortal Kombat. My personal opinion is that MARINA is familiar with the track and used its intro as inspiration for her own song. I still think MARINA is a great artist, and she only used the melody briefly in her own work. Still, a credit may have been appreciated.
5. MGMT vs. Capital Cities
The 2010s were the cultural peak for iconic synth lines since the 80s, from Avicii to Robyn. However, it sounds like two classics of the era have a clashing element; or, more accurately, an element that sounds a little too similar between them. In 2008 we got Oracular Spectacular, MGMT’s first album including hits “Electric Feel”, “Time to Pretend”, and significant here, “Kids”. Three years after “Kids”, Capital Cities released their single “Safe and Sound”. The similarity comes in the verse of both songs; they feature an octave-jumping synth line behind the vocals that sounds very close.
How similar? “Safe and Sound” is in a comfortable key of C Major, and “Kids” is in A Major. The pattern in “Kids” is eight notes, every other note being played in a lower octave, before changing to a new note. The notes go F#, D, A, G#. However, the notes in “Safe and Sound” are entirely different while following the same pattern: F, up to C, A, and G. You can’t copyright doing octaves on a single note, there are thousands of songs that use the same structure. But maybe the notes aren’t as far off as we think. Let’s transpose the second note in “Safe in Sound”, C, down an octave. That gives us F, down to C, up to A, and G. By dropping one note, they now both have the same structure of the first note, down, up to the top, down, and down to the first note to start over. Now transpose the Capital Cities line up half a step? F#, C#, A#, and G#. The first and last match identically, and the middle two are within a half-step of one another.
Conclusion? The lines are comparable, but relatively simple in structure. If we ignore the similarities in the octave pattern, we have four notes that are only loosely comparable. However, there is an important part of the composition we’re also overlooking; the sound. Both songs use a very similar-sounding synth saw in their harmony. So, we have two pretty close rhythms, with somewhat close notes, on a similar instrument voicing, both from indie pop duos. While it is feasible both songs were invented separately, I think it is more likely Capital Cities heard “Kids” and thought they’d incorporated part of the instrumental into their own song. However, the good part of “Safe and Sound” isn’t the verse, it’s the easily-recognizable synth horns in the chorus. I think Capital Cities did enough work changing up the octave line to qualify it as inspiration that could do with a bit more push toward originality.
4. The Byrds (and Bob Dylan) vs. One Direction
Despite their popularity, One Direction has faced various controversies arisen over their undeniable inspiration from various sources. In fact, almost all of their hits bear similarities to some classic rock song: Take “Midnight Memories” and “Pour Some Sugar On Me“, or “Best Song Ever” and “Baba O’Riley“, among others. However, one that I haven’t seen much reference to is “Night Changes” off of their 2014-released fourth album Four. While the song is good, the chorus is hauntingly reminiscent of “Mr. Tambourine Man” by Bob Dylan (Example being the popular 1965 cover by The Byrds for clarity).
But is it just an illusion? Let’s take a look at the note structure. “Mr. Tambourine Man” is in F Major, while “Night Changes” is in G#. While the key differences make the notes different, the intervals in both songs are identical: The first note repeats a few times followed by a half-step down, A whole-step, a step and a half, a half-step up, and finally another whole step. The Bob Dylan melody diverges there, while the 1D one repeats with new lyrics. The pattern is somewhat simple, rolling down the key three notes and then climbing up it to the bottom note. However, even the half-steps in the key align. Sorry Directioners, it looks like “Night Changes” might swipe its catchy chorus from Bob Dylan!
While researching for this list, I realized there was another place I’d recognized “Mr. Tambourine Man”‘s melody, in P!nk’s “Turbulence” off her 2023 album Trustfall. The inspiration is less obvious than “Night Changes”, as the melody only appears in a short line toward the middle of the chorus. Again, the structure of the intervals is identical, although transposed to C# Major. Whether intentional or not, it seems professional songwriter Madison Love and/or songwriter and producer Matthew Koma had “Mr. Tambourine Man” in their head while working on the project. it’s cool to see how influential a single line out of a classic song can be generations after its first release!
3. Christopher Cross vs. Harry Styles
It seems Harry Styles can’t catch a break on drawing either accidental or intentional influences. His 2020 single “Golden” is a solid track, but the standout element is the catchy vocal hook in the chorus. The first time I heard it, I realized it was very familiar. The song I was thinking of was Christopher Cross’s blowup debut 1980 single “Ride Like the Wind”. These songs feature a unique challenge in the debate of original vs. copy. Let’s get into it!
For starters, the actual notes are very, very simple. The vocalization in “Golden” is just four notes, B sung three times, and a resolution on A. It repeats near-identically from there, where Christopher Cross’s line stays on four A#s and climbs up to C and D after that before dropping to different notes in the same pattern. The similar part is the four beginning notes. They’re not the same, and you certainly can’t copyright four of the same note in a row. However, the real similarity is the intention and the usage. It sounds the same because it’s sung in the same way with that “Da da da da” consonant. One can’t copyright singing “Da da da da” either, because it’s a common and natural vocalization. There is an argument that the melody is very simple, but also an argument that Christoper Cross came up with it first regardless, and it’s interesting to consider where we should draw the line.
My conclusion is that while the chorus vocals are very likely taken from Christopher Cross, the rest of the song is solidly original, so I don’t think a writing credit is on the way for the inspiration.
2. Three Days Grace vs. Billie Eilish
In 2019, upcoming artist Billie Eilish released her blowup hit “bad guy”, which is credited for its moody composition and interesting production. However, the hook of the song comes in the form of a catchy synth line in the chorus. However, this melody is reminiscent of a different song, “Animal I Have Become” by Three Days Grace in 2006. The song begins with a suspiciously familiar bass riff, which builds throughout the rest of the song. Are the melodies too similar to be coincidental?
Both melodies are composed of seven notes: Two quarter notes, followed by five more. In both songs, the last five notes follow a hill pattern, the first three climbing to the peak before the last two descend from the top. Billie Eilish uses two notes at the beginning, jumping from G to D, where Three Days Grace play a pair of Es. This would be easily overlooked if the second half were exactly the same, but it’s a bit more complicated than that. “Animal I Have Become” plays two Es, followed by a climb up and down B, C, and a higher E. However, in “bad guy”, after the initial G and D, we drop back to G, then up to C#, D, and down to C#, then A#. While the rhythm and basic shape is the same, the notes don’t align cleanly with a key transposition. “Animal I Have Become” is more spread out and linear, where “bad guy” stays closer together but is more eclectic in note pattern.
It’s hard to say whether Billie Eilish and co-songwriter and producer Finneas were subconsciously inspired by “Animal I Have Become”, which released a few years before Finneas began writing songs. The idea is similar, but the execution is far enough off that we can comfortably say they are unique to one another. And although they’re technically different enough to be original, it’s fun to hear how similar they sound to the ear nevertheless because of their interesting shared structure.
1. Miki Matsubara vs. Green Day
Finally, one of my favorite soundalikes…”- Cupid -” by Miki Matsubara vs. “Wake Me up When September Ends” by Green Day. Both are classics in two very different genres, yet they share a line distinctly similar to one another. Listening to Ms. Matsubara’s jazzy intro to “- Cupid -“, you can hear the sung melody “Wake Me up, When September Ends” enclosed in a couple of accent notes. In “- Cupid -“, the intro moves into a funky bassline, and then into the rest of the song. However, “Wake Me up When September Ends” uses this melody to sing the title of the song in the chorus. What notes are we looking at?
“Wake Me up When September Ends” is written in G Major, while “- Cupid -” is in F# Minor (with a relative major of A Major). The former begins on D, with a step down to C, then to G. This pattern then repeats before climbing up to A and finishing on B. Unfortunately, I can’t compare the melodies as I have failed to find any reference to the notes in “- Cupid -“. To the ear they sound undoubtably similar to me, but it could be an illusion, so I can’t make any strong convictions on that basis. So, what other evidence do we have? F# Minor doesn’t have the notes required to make the melody in Green Day’s song, but a key transposition would easily fix that. In “- Cupid -“, we can hear three notes descend, another three notes descend, and then an ascension following that continues upward where “Wake Me up When September Ends” melody finishes. So the pattern is very reminiscent of one another, if not exact. If the notes are the same I can’t definitively tell, but either way there are definitely similarities present in the track.
Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day singer and the lyricist of the featured song, was born in 1972, and would have been young around the time Miki Matsubara was first releasing her songs in the early 80s. Whether her primarily Japanese hits reached him in the US is unknown, but it is possible he or another of the band’s members heard it and either intentionally or subconsciously incorporated it into their ballad. What do you think? Are you a loyalist to Green Day or to Miki Matsubara, and do you hear similarities/differences between the two songs?
Conclusion
A quote came up from RoomieOfficial while I was researching if any of my similarities here had already been talked about. About “Midnight Memories” by One Direction compared to “Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leppard: “How far can you go with everything?“. It’s a short quote, but an interesting question…and I think it encompasses some of the subtleties of musicological study. Even if there is no obvious “it’s a match”, can there be a copyright on a style, or a sound?
It’s hard to tell definitively, since there are a lot of factors in every song we hear. That’s why we have musicologists to carefully study songs that might deserve writing credits from other songwriters. By taking it case by case, we can capture and examine the subtleties in music to extract a conclusion. Maybe taking a look at some of these soundalikes has sparked your interest in music and music analysis, and maybe it’s opened your ears to some fun trivia on your favorite songs.
And please, someone tell me, as I can’t figure it out…where have I heard this melody before?