Ariana Grande is facing a copyright lawsuit over “7 rings,” nearly a year after the track reached No. 1 on the Hot 100. LA-based performer Josh Stone (who uses the stage name Dot) alleged that the pop star’s team lifted his 2017 song “YOU NEED IT I GOT IT.”
According to Variety, Stone claims that he previously played his song for music executives—including Tommy Brown, who’s credited as a producer on “7 rings” under the name TBHits. The suit, which was filed in New York federal court, alleges that Brown plagiarized core elements of Stone’s song.
“Literally, every single one of the 39 respective notes of ‘7 rings’ is identical with the 39 notes of ‘I GOT IT’ from a metrical placement perspective,” the plaintiff stated in the suit. “Said another way, the rhythm and placement of the notes and lyrics are identical.”
Stone’s repetitive hook echoes his song title:
You need it, I got it
You want it, I got it
You need it, I got it
It’s all for the profit
You need it, I got it
Meanwhile, Grande’s ode to materialism by way of sisterhood includes this chorus:
I want it, I got it, I want it, I got it
I want it, I got it, I want it, I got it
You like my hair? Gee, thanks, just bought it
I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it (Yep)
The FADER notes that the suit cites musicologist Dr. Ronald Sadoff, a professor at NYU, who said, “the music and lyrics present in the hook and chorus sections of ‘7 rings’ would likely not have been composed without prior knowledge of ‘YOU NEED IT I GOT IT.’”
Later this month, Grande will perform at the Grammys—and “7 rings” is nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. The suit claims that the smash hit has already gained $10 million in revenue.
“7 rings” interpolates the melody from The Sound of Music’s “My Favorite Things.” Last year, The New York Times reported that in order to clear her interpolation, Grande handed over 90 percent of the songwriting royalties to the estate of Rodgers and Hammerstein.
She ended up alluding to the stark royalty split on her song “Monopoly” with Victoria Monét:
Work so fuckin' much, need a twinny twin twin
You’d be straight for life if I gave you my pin
Even though we gave up that 90 percent for the win
Monét addressed this line in a Verified Genius annotation:
The Dot dustup isn’t the first time “7 rings” drew controversy for its likeness to other artists’ songs. Her trap take on The Sound of Music also sparked comparisons to Princess Nokia’s “Mine,” Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em’s “Pretty Boy Swag,” and 2 Chainz’ “Spend It” (along with his Pretty Girls Like Trap Music cover art).
2 Chainz previously talked to Genius’ Rob Markman about how he resolved the issue over “7 rings”—and ended up on the remix. At the time, her manager, Scooter Braun, reached out to him. “In this particular case, I’ve known her manager for a very fucking long time,” he said. “So they set it up so we could actually meet and talk face to face… I think that kind of changed everything because I started getting what was going on, having a clear understanding of what was going on. She was more or less saying that, ‘Well, yeah, I thought people knew I took it from you.’”
Watch Genius’ interview with 2 Chainz below.
Catch up on all the lyrics to “7 rings” on Genius now.
