Was Ed Sheeran’s 'Shape of you' plagiarized? The singer goes to court to defend his music

Ed Sheeran has gone to court to try to prove the authorship of one of his most successful songs, “Shape of you.” The artists Sami Chokri and Ross O'Donoghue accused the British singer of copying the rhythms of their song “Oh Why,” published in 2015. 

The accusers claim that Sheeran's hit, released in 2017 and subsequently became the most listened to hit of the year, sounds "strikingly similar" to theirs, with very similar or the same lyrics and phrases. To defend his integrity, the four-time Grammy Award-winning musician denied any connection to the track “Oh Why.” 

To further explain his case, Sheeran has outlined how his creative process works to the judges.

While Ed Sheeran claims that he has negotiated lyrics with many unknown artists, the indictment claims that the singer took advantage of the fact that the songwriters of “Oh Why” were not very popular to copy part of the track without the owners' permission, reported BBC. 

Ed Sheeran, who was present during the hearing, something not often seen in this type of trial, gave an example of well-known artists going through the same situation.

The “Castle on the Hill” singer explained to the lawyers that he wrote Shape of You with Steve Mac and Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid, who were also in the room.

This is not the first time Ed Sheeran has been sued for plagiarism. In 2016 his single “Photograph” was challenged, and two years later, he was back in court for “Thinking Out Loud.” While the first case was closed privately, the second continues to await deliberation. We will have to see how this third one develops.