Olivia Dean’s ‘I’ve Seen It’ copied melody of Bill Withers classic ‘Just the Two of Us,’ lawsuit alleges
NBC News • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Olivia Dean is accused of copying the melody from Bill Withers’ Grammy-winning song “Just the Two of Us” for the closing track “I’ve Seen It” on her latest album, according to a lawsuit filed in California federal court.
- Mattie Music Group, which controls Withers’ catalog, alleges that a musicologist found “substantial similarities” between the two songs and claims the defendants continued to exploit the allegedly infringing work despite being notified in August.
- The lawsuit names Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, Sony Publishing, and Kobalt Music Publishing America as defendants, but Dean herself is not named in the suit.
- “Just the Two of Us,” released in 1981 and performed by Grover Washington Jr. with vocals by Withers, was a major hit and won a Grammy for Best R&B Song; Mattie Music Group argues the defendants had ample opportunity to hear the song before creating “I’ve Seen It.”
- Dean’s song appears on her album “The Art of Loving,” which earned her the Grammy for Best New Artist earlier this year.
