Ed Sheeran Shares Why Jay-Z Turned Down Guest Appearance on “Shape of You”
ED SHEERAN
Ed Sheeran Details Jay-Z’s “Respectful Pass” To Feature On “Shape Of You”
With a career spanning nearly 30 years, it’s shocking that Lil Baby collected a diamond plaque before Jay-Z. The Brooklyn-born rapper broke a number of records throughout his career, including becoming the first billionaire in hip-hop, though not a single one of his songs or albums have moved 10M units. However, that might’ve not been the case had he accepted an offer from Ed Sheeran to hop on “Shape Of You.” The British singer recently revealed that Jay-Z turned down the record, claiming that it didn’t need rap vocals.
During a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the “Photograph” singer revealed Jay-Z refused to hop on the record, largely because he didn’t think it made sense. However, Sheeran said that it was a “very natural, respectful pass.” “We were in touch,” Ed Sheeran said of his attempt to get a Jay-Z feature. “I sent him the song, and he said, ‘I don’t think the song needs a rap verse.’ He was probably right. He’s got a very, very good ear. He usually gets things right.” Eventually, the song landed a verse from Stormzy, who would later decline a verse from Jay-Z, for the official remix.
Jay-Z & Beyoncé Assist Ed Sheeran
Jay Z and Ed Sheeran attend Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life – An All-Star GRAMMY Salute at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on February 10, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)” class=”wp-image-652091″ srcset=”https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-463168800.jpg 3973w, https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-463168800.jpg?resize=300,248 300w, https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-463168800.jpg?resize=768,634 768w, https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-463168800.jpg?resize=1024,845 1024w, https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-463168800.jpg?resize=1536,1268 1536w, https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-463168800.jpg?resize=2048,1691 2048w, https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-463168800.jpg?resize=1500,1238 1500w” sizes=”(max-width: 3973px) 100vw, 3973px” />Though Jay-Z turned down a collaboration with the British pop star, Beyoncé previously assisted on Ed Sheeran’s single, “Perfect.” However, the power couple’s impact on Ed Sheeran is far deeper than his career. During an interview with Apple Music 1, he explained that Jay-Z and Beyoncé played a role in his relationship with his now wife, Cherry Seaborn. He explained that Jay and Bey invited him to dinner after a show in Brooklyn, where Seaborn actually joined them for dinner.
“I learned [‘Empire State Of Mind’] for a Live Lounge. And then Jay-Z and Beyoncé came to a gig that I did in Brooklyn,” Ed Sheeran recalled. “It was like the day after we’d had our first date. And she was there with my friend Martha and this guy, Foy Vance. So we went to dinner and then we went to this bar and I remember a guitar was getting passed around between me and Foy. And I remember playing that [‘Empire State of Mind’]. Five of us in a room with Jay-Z and Beyoncé. I gave Beyoncé a Jägerbomb.”
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The Most Anticipated Albums Of Spring 2023
It’s time to shake off the snow because spring is here (at least for our purposes, for which we’re considering spring to be from March 1 to May 31). Our purposes? To look at what albums set to drop this season we’re looking forward to most.
Indeed, there are a lot of albums to anticipate this March, April, and May. The No. 1 single “Flowers” has made Miley Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation an especially major release, the Boygenius reunion is in full swing, and Lana Del Rey and Yves Tumor are coming through with album titles that feature so many words.
Instead of giving everything away in the intro, let’s get into the list below. Here are the most anticipated albums of spring 2023.
Kali Uchis — Red Moon In Venus
Release Date: March 3
Uchis apparently has two albums planned for 2023, but for now, the one that’s been officially announced is Red Moon In Venus. She launched the project in January with a revealing “I Wish You Roses” video, and joining her elsewhere are Omar Apollo, Don Toliver, and Summer Walker, who are making guest appearances on the album.
Lana Del Rey — Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
Release Date: March 10
Lana Del Rey’s dad Rob Grant has his debut LP coming out this summer, but the spring is all about Lana. There’s a lot going on with Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (which somehow almost had an even longer title): Father John Misty, Bleachers, and Jon Batiste are among the features on the project, and it includes songs with names like “Taco Truck X VB” and “Grandfather Please Stand On The Shoulders Of My Father While He’s Deep-Sea Fishing.”
Miley Cyrus — Endless Summer Vacation
Release Date: March 10
Cyrus is in the midst of a career high as “Flowers” is her second No. 1 single, following “Wrecking Ball” back in 2013. Amping up the anticipation for Endless Summer Vacation even more is the fact that “Flowers” is so far the only song from the album that we’ve actually heard, so who knows what else is going on here. It’ll be interesting, too, to hear how Cyrus works with her batch of collaborators this time around: Brandi Carlile and Sia are the only features on the album, but there are also songwriting contributions from folks like James Blake and inaugural Songwriter Of The Year Grammy winner Tobias Jesso Jr.
100 Gecs — 10,000 Gecs
Release Date: March 17
Before the enigmatic 100 Gecs head out on tour in April, they’re gonna drop 10,000 Gecs, the duo’s second album that arrives nearly four years after 2019’s 1000 Gecs. Gecs can embody completely different genres in different songs. On “Hollywood Baby,” for example, they go in a pop-punk-leaning direction, but they could do just about anything else on the rest of the album.
Yves Tumor — Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)
Release Date: March 17
Lana Del Rey nearly had the long album title throne for spring before Yves Tumor came through. Tumor, of course, has been one of the most fascinating musical innovators for years now because, like they do on recent single “Heaven Surrounds Us Like A Hood,” they don’t let the need for stylistic experimentation get in the way of just plain old good songcraft.
6lack — Since I Have A Lover
Release Date: March 24
6lack had a breakout moment with his second album, East Atlanta Love Letter, which managed a No. 3 peak on the Billboard 200 and spawned the J. Cole collaboration “Pretty Little Fears.” That was back in 2018, though, and fans have been waiting for new material from him (save for the number of collabs he’s done in recent years). Just days ago, though, he revealed that Since I Have A Lover is dropping later this month.
Fall Out Boy — So Much (For) Stardust
Release Date: March 24
We’ve had Fall Out Boy in our lives for over two decades at this point, and in case you haven’t been paying attention, they haven’t stopped pumping out No. 1 albums. Their past three LPs have all topped the charts and it’s clear Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, and company are still having a lot of fun doing it, like with their Easter-egg-packed “Love From The Other Side” video.
Boygenius — The Record
Release Date: March 31
Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker are three of the most respected artists in their field, so it’s naturally always exciting when they find time to revive their collaborative project, Boygenius. Reviving it they are: Their 2018 self-titled EP caused a frenzy, so their upcoming full-length record is sure to draw even more enthusiastic support.
Chlöe — In Pieces
Release Date: March 31
Since forging her own path outside of Chloe x Halle, Chlöe has turned herself into a genuine star, and it’s all set to culminate with her debut album. There’s still an aura of mystery surrounding the project, though, as we don’t even have a proper album cover or tracklist yet. What we can say, though, is that based on the singles and collaborations Chlöe has dropped over the past couple years, it’ll be worth paying attention to learn more about what’s going on with In Pieces.
Daniel Caesar — Never Enough
Release Date: April 7
When it comes to Caesar’s upcoming third album, he’s stayed mostly mum on it, save for a mysterious teaser he dropped in February. He did say in a previous interview, though, that some people he’s been working with have breathed new life into his music: “As far as other artists, there’s no one I would leak right now, but I have met a few people who have made me excited about making things again.”
Wednesday — Rat Saw God
Release Date: April 7
Wednesday made a major move last year by signing with Dead Oceans after earning acclaim with the first four albums. The group hasn’t given themselves much time to rest — Rat Saw God will be their fourth album since 2020 — but they don’t sound tired on songs like the shoegaze-y recent single “Bath County.”
Metallica — 72 Seasons
Release Date: April 14
A fortuitous Stranger Things placement has helped put the long-running metal group back in the pop culture spotlight, and now they’re ready to capitalize on it with a new album. On lead single “Lux Æterna,” James Hetfield and company proved that despite how long they’ve been in the game, they’re far from ready to start phoning it in and just collecting paychecks with pedestrian material.
The Smashing Pumpkins — Atum: A Rock Opera In Three Acts
Release Date: April 21
Speaking of tenured groups, Smashing Pumpkins is another one that hasn’t stopped adventuring. Atum will be their twelfth album and its release is actually already in progress: The first act dropped in November 2022, the second arrived in January, and the project-completing third will be here in April. Bands less seasoned than Smashing Pumpkins lose their creativity all the time, so power to Billy Corgan and company for keeping their imaginations alive.
Indigo De Souza — All Of This Will End
Release Date: April 28
De Souza’s Saddle Creek debut Any Shape You Take was an Uproxx favorite in 2021, and while it’s a tough act to follow, it appears All Of This Will End is up to the task. “Younger & Dumber” was certainly a prime choice for a lead single, as the evocative song is a lovely and thoughtful reflection on youth that sets the table for more greatness to come.
The National — First Two Pages Of Frankenstein
Release Date: April 28
Aaron Dessner apparently devoted a pocket of time to take a break from becoming one of pop’s newest go-to collaborators: The National have a new album ready to go. First Two Pages Of Frankenstein will be the band’s first since 2019 and Dessner’s connections actually helped here, too, as Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers (and Sufjan Stevens) make appearances.
Ed Sheeran — – (Subtract)
Release Date: May 5
This one’s a late addition to the list, as Sheeran just announced it yesterday (March 1). – (aka Subtract) will round out Sheeran’s series of mathematically named albums and while we have no clue what the LP sounds like yet, we do know that the vulnerable projects stems from Sheeran’s difficult early 2022, which featured “a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art.”
Arlo Parks — My Soft Machine
Release Date: May 26
In 2021, Collapsed In Sunbeams made Arlo Parks a star in her native UK and a Grammy-nominated critical favorite in the US. Part of Parks’ appeal is her vulnerability and it appears there’s plenty of that on the new LP: She previously described the project as confronting “the mid-20s anxiety, the substance abuse of friends around me, the viscera of being in love for the first time, navigating PTSD and grief and self-sabotage and joy, moving through worlds with wonder and sensitivity.”
The Kid LAROI — The First Time
Release Date: TBD
The Australian teenager has a major moment in front of him: His debut proper album. (F*ck Love and its various expanded editions were technically mixtapes.) It remains to be seen if The First Time will yield a single as globally popular as the Justin Bieber-featuring “Stay,” but either way, songs like “Kids Are Growing Up (Part 1)” show LAROI progressing through life and continuing to discover a more mature side of himself.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Adele & Ed Sheeran Both Say “No” To King Charles III
Adele and Ed Sheeran are two of the most important musical figures in modern music in the United Kingdom. Adele, born in the Tottenham region of London, is coming off a massive year. In Nov. 2021, she ended her six-year album drought with her studio album 30. Celebrated all throughout 2022, 30 was a huge triumph for Adele, who had experienced major changes in her life since 2015’s 25. Additionally, she was honored on music’s biggest stage for this album. At the Grammy awards in early February, she won Best Pop Solo Performance for 30‘s lead single “Easy on Me.”
As for Ed Sheeran, he too put out an LP in late 2021. The star from Halifax, a town in England, released his fourth official studio album = in Oct. 2021. Then, throughout 2022, he did a bit of genre-hopping for some eye-opening collaborations. In April 2022 he released his single “2step” which featured rapper Lil Baby. Then in July 2022, he landed on Afrobeat icon Burna Boy’s album Love, Damini for the song “For My Hand.” That same month, he linked with rapper-producer Russ for his single “Are You Entertained.” Now, Ed Sheeran is embarking on his U.S. “+-=÷x Tour” with recent collaborator Russ, as well as Khalid and others.
Adele & Ed Sheeran Decline
Along with Adele and Sheeran making tons of noise in 2022, their home country was going through a bit of a rough stretch. After King Philip passed away in early 2021, his wife Queen Elizabeth II met the same fate the next year. Elizabeth trivially passed away at age 96 in Sept. 2022. This left the throne empty and in need of a successor. Thankfully, Elizabeth and Philip’s eldest son Charles III was able to assume the throne. Now 74, King Charles is currently looking for performers for his official coronation ceremony on May 6. The ceremony will be followed by a festival on May 7, but it will unfortunately not feature two of Britain’s finest musicians. On Saturday (Feb. 18), OK! reported that both Adele and Ed Sheeran will forgo the opportunity to honor King Charles’ crowning.
In the case of Adele, she declined the invitation without further comment. According to sources provided by OK!, this was not welcomed news for the royal family. “The King has suggested a number of people he would like to perform, and Adele and Ed were on that list. He was very keen that they were part of the concert,” sources said. “There is a team set up to get the talent signed up, so they approached the two of them, but got replies saying that they were unavailable, which was a massive disappointment. They are titans of the showbiz industry and are quintessentially British, but also known across the globe. It’s such a shame.”
[Via]
Ed Sheeran, Lizzo, Mumford & Sons, And More Are Set To Headline The 2022 New Orleans Jazz Festival
Last week, Bonnaroo, Boston Calling, and Coachella kicked off announcements for the spring 2023 festival season. Now it’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival’s turn, and the event has big shoes to fill after 2022’s epic return. This year’s event, set to take place between April 28 and May 7, doesn’t look like it will disappoint. Amongst the 5,000 musicians listed to perform at the Fair Grounds Race Course are Ed Sheeran, Lizzo, Mumford & Sons, Santana, and The Lumineers, to name a few of the headliners.
But just as the event’s name highlights, several jazz acts will grace one of the event’s five stages, including Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave, Rebirth Brass Band, Chistone “Kingfish” Ingram, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and more. Other notable performers include Melissa Etheridge, Jazmine Sullivan, HER, Big Freedia, and Durand Jones.
Jazz Fest 2023 Music Lineup!
GA Weekend Passes and VIP Packages on sale now! View the full lineup and purchase tickets at https://t.co/dApNCrwnOx#jazzfest pic.twitter.com/T0Ii71zTXF— New Orleans JazzFest (@jazzfest) January 13, 2023
The festival will also feature several international artists, including La Tribu de Abrante, Plena Libra, Pirulo y la Tribu, Atabal, and more.
In addition to the musical performances, the festival will feature several crafting activities for children and families and a wide array of food trucks for attendees to explore New Orleans’ staple dishes.
Tickets for the New Orleans Jazz Festival 2023 are on sale now. Head here for more information.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The Most Anticipated Concert Tours Of 2023
The touring industry is exploding right now. In a blog post written earlier this year, Lorde astutely noted how basically all of the artists who couldn’t tour during the pandemic are now all hitting the stage all at once. And that massive influx of high-profile concert tours is continuing into 2023. From long-awaited concert tours to anniversary celebrations to high-profile comebacks, these are the most anticipated concert tours of 2023.
Arctic Monkeys
For the first time in nearly ten years, Arctic Monkeys released a new album. The Car, is a cinematic melodrama enacted as debonairly as possible in the way that only Alex Turner and company can. They’re set to make 22 tour stops in North America at the tail end of summer and Dublin’s Fontaines D.C. are opening for them.
Beyoncé
While Beyoncé hasn’t announced any plans to tour in support of Renaissance yet (or release any music videos from it for that matter) she dropped a $20,000 hint that a tour is coming this summer. You see, at the WACO Theater Wearable Art Gala in October, Beyoncé put up an extravagant package for the charity auction. For $20k, the package description included airline tickets and a meet and greet to, “Beyoncé’s Renaissance 2023 tour.” Shout out to the Bey Hive member who sussed out this caper.
Big Thief
In a year that saw them releasing another dynamite album in Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, Big Thief announced an active schedule of concerts across four continents. But they really made waves this past week in laying out a plan to invite teachers and students to their soundchecks along the tour. The band wants to provide young people with opportunities to engage in learning experiences around creativity, music, playing shows, and songwriting. Awesome.
Blink 182
Not only is Blink 182 back, but guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge has rejoined the band making for a full reunion tour. Delonge, drummer Travis barker, and bassist/singer Mark Hoppus are also set to headline a slew of South American festivals, as well as the When We Were Young emo nostalgia fest in Las Vegas. Oh, and a new Blink 182 album is apparently on deck as well.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band are hitting the road in 2023 for the first time since 2017. Yet when news of the US tour dates hit, Ticketmaster’s flexible pricing model sent some seats soaring in the thousands of dollars range and fans were none too pleased. Springsteen answered the critics essentially saying that the imperfect system is what it is, but, “If there’s any complaints on the way out, you can have your money back.” They don’t call him The Boss for nothing.
Death Grips
For the first time in four years, horrorcore trailblazers Death Grips will be going out on tour. The experimental rap trio of Zach Hill, MC Ride, and Andy Morin put on an electric live show, with MC Ride an always visceral presence on the microphone.
Depeche Mode
It was a tough year for Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan and Martin Gore when longtime keyboardist Andy “Fletch” Fletcher died in May at the age of 60. But Depeche Mode are still planning on releasing their new album Memento Mori, this spring. “Fletch would have loved this album,” Gahan said. The Memento Mori World Tour begins in March in the US and only ends in August in Europe.
Ed Sheeran
With albums entitled +, =, ÷, and x Ed Sheeran is bringing the theme full circle with his North America megatour dubbed the Mathematics Tour. He’ll be playing gigantic stadium sets at venues like Houston’s NRG Stadium, Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, and Detroit’s Ford Field. Meanwhile, he has curated a diverse set of tour openers in Khalid, Maisie Peters, Russ, Rosa Linn, Cat Burns, and Dylan.
GloRilla
Hopefully, GloRilla is planning on giving her assistant a raise, because she’s going to be plenty busy with her first-ever headlining tour in 2023. The Anyways, Life’s Great Tour is tabbed as GloRilla “with friends,” so we’ll see who decides to pop up on stage with the Memphis rapper. Could one of those friends be Cardi B at some point? The pair collaborated on the track “Tomorrow 2” which hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2022.
Janet Jackson
When Janet Jackson announced the Together Again Tour for 2023, she also promised that “there will be new music.” Not that we really need any, considering how many #hits she’s turned out across the decades, but it definitely adds to the mystique of what the always explosive “That’s The Way Love Goes” singer does on stage. Ludacris is joining her as the opening act, cause why the heck not?
JID and Smino
Both JID and Smino dropped albums in 2022. JID’s Forever Story places him in the conversation of today’s best, while Smino’s incredibly unique Luv 4 Rent features A-List featured guests like J-Cole and Lil Uzi Vert. Now the Atlanta and St. Louis connection will come to fruition on the 32-date cross-continent Luv Is 4Ever Tour.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Are King Gizzard the most prolific band in the world right now? The Aussie psycho rockers did just drop five albums in 2022. They’ve certainly become one of the most cultiish live bands on the planet regardless. They’re June 2023 tour begins at The Caverns Underground in Tennessee and ends with a three-hour “marathon set” at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
Metallica
The pioneering metal band from San Francisco have a new album due out on April 14th called 72 Seasons and the corresponding tour will stretch far beyond 2023. Metallica will be hitting the road this year, making stops in both Europe, the US, Canada, while picking it up again for a slew of 2024 dates in Europe and all of North America including Mexico. The shows will feature them playing 2 nights in cities, with no song repeats and an in-the-round staging.
Paramore
Paramore’s much-hyped sixth album, This Is Why, is due out on February 10th and the Hayley Williams-led band have a tour ready to rock for the summertime. Beginning in May, Paramore will be touring all throughout North America and have an illustrious cast of support acts in tow in Bloc Party (whom they cite as a primary influence), Foals, The Linda Lindas, and Genesis Owusu.
The Postal Service and Death Cab For Cutie
Not only is The Postal Service embarking on a 20th Anniversary Tour for their cult-classic album Give Up, but it’s a double bill with Death Cab For Cutie. Ben Gibbard will be pulling double duty, but he’s the quintessential rockstar on stage and can more than handle it. And as great as Death Cab’s latest album, Asphalt Meadows, is, the vibes will surely be highest as soon as Jenny Lewis joins Gibbard on vocals for Give Up’s opening track, “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.”
SZA
Sad hotties rejoice, SZA is going on tour! After an unfathomable number of teasers and delays, SZA’s new album S.O.S. finally dropped last month and she’ll be supporting it on tour with Omar Apollo as the opening act. We got a preview of SZA’s S.O.S. stage setup at Outside Lands festival 2022 in San Francisco this past summer and it’s thematic to the album to say the least.
Taylor Swift
Following the release of Midnights, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour will mark her first stadium performances in five years. By now, you’ve surely heard about how Taylor damn near broke Ticketmaster when tickets went on sale and the tour has already netted over a half billion dollars in sales. This will mark the largest run of US dates for Swift, so do what you have to do to get into the stadium. And if all else fails, maybe her cat can put you on the guest list?
The Walkmen
A decade since The Walkmen went on an “extreme hiatus,” the indie rock staples announced a comeback for 2023 with a limited number of shows in only New York City at first. The tour has since expanded to add multi-night residencies in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Washington D.C. in addition to New York City. This could potentially mean that Hamilton Leithauser, Peter Bauer, and company might finally have a new album by The Walkmen on the horizon. The plan will surely unfold on this long-awaited slate of live performances which begins in April.
Wizkid
Weeks after dropping his latest album, More Love Less Ego, Wizkid already started teasing a new album called SaiLess. The promise of even more new music from the world-sweeping Afrobeats star will certainly drive the interest North American Tour. Beginning in March, Wizkid will be playing arena-sized venues like Houston’s Kia Center and Kia Forum in Los Angeles.
Zach Bryan
A noted critic of Ticketmaster’s purported monopoly and the exorbitant fees that they tack on concert tickets, Zach Bryan has decided to take matters into his own hands for his upcoming tour. “I’ve decided to play a limited number of headline shows next year to which I’ve done all I can to make prices as cheap as possible and to prove to people tickets don’t have to cost $450 to see a good and honest show,” the country music rising star said on Instagram. The dates have yet to be announced but Bryan has promised them “soon” and you’ve just got to admire the stance he’s taking.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Spotify Has A New Most-Streamed Song Of All Time, Ending Ed Sheeran’s No. 1 Run Of Over Five Years
The top ranks of Spotify’s most-streamed songs of all time don’t change too often. The last time we got a new song at No. 1 was in September 2017, when Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” passed Drake’s “One Dance” to become the new champion. Sheeran’s hit had about 1.3 billion plays at the time and since then, it became the first song to pass 2 and 3 billion streams on the platform.
Meanwhile, The Weeknd released “Blinding Lights” in November 2019 and it has been making its way up the list since then. Now, it has found the very top: On the evening of December 31, 2022, Chart Data noted that “Blinding Lights” had passed “Shape Of You” to become the most-streamed song in Spotify history. As of this morning (January 2), “Blinding Lights” has 3,332,163,962 streams and “Shape Of You” has 3,332,016,196.
.@theweeknd‘s “Blinding Lights” is now the #1 most streamed song in Spotify history, surpassing @edsheeran‘s “Shape of You” (3.332 billion).
— chart data (@chartdata) December 31, 2022
As for other songs that perhaps have a shot at someday taking over No. 1, Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” is the most-played 2020 song with about 2.2 billion streams, The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” is the top 2021 hit with 2.3 billion, and Harry Styles’ “As It Was” is currently the only 2022 song in the all-time top 100, with 1.7 billion.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Ed Sheeran To Stand Trial on Marvin Gaye Copyright Claim
A federal judge in Manhattan has ruled that a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against Ed Sheeran in connection with his song “Thinking Out Loud” may proceed to a jury trial, rejecting Sheeran’s attempts to have the case dismissed.
In 2018, Sheeran was sued by Structured Asset Sales, a company owning a one-third stake in the assets of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the song “Let’s Get It On” with Marvin Gaye. Structured Assets claimed Sheeran had stolen copyrighted portions from “Let’s Get It On” when he wrote, “Thinking Out Loud.” In response, Sheeran argued that the song elements he was accused of copying, namely, the chord progression and the harmonic rhythm, were not unique enough to receive copyright protection, and therefore he could not have infringed the copyright in the song. Structured Asset Sales asserted that the combination of both these elements are sufficient to receive copyright protection.
Judge Louis Stanton did not decide this issue, but wrote that “there is no bright-line rule that the combination of two unprotected elements is sufficiently numerous to constitute a copyrighted work.” He wrote further that “a work may be copyrightable even though it is entirely a compilation of unprotectable elements.” Ruling that he could not resolve the issue as a matter of law, Judge Stanton refused to dismiss the claims and ruled that the case would need to be presented to a jury.
This ruling represents a big victory for Sheeran’s accusers. It is always uncertain how juries will decide these types of cases, and in the past, juries have awarded large damage awards to plaintiffs under similar circumstances. For example, in March 2015, a jury awarded $7.4 million to the Estate of Marvin Gaye, finding that Robin Thicke had infringed the Marvin Gaye song “Got To Give It Up” in his song “Blurred Lines.”
Sheeran has been involved in this type of dispute before. This past April, he won a lawsuit in the UK in which he was accused of having copied another song when he wrote “Shape of You.”
The post Ed Sheeran To Stand Trial on Marvin Gaye Copyright Claim appeared first on The Source.