Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Jacob Stolworthy

Oh Why: The song Ed Sheeran is accused of stealing parts of ‘Shape of You’ from

Getty images / YouTube

Many Ed Sheeran fans are rushing to hear the song he is accused of stealing from for his hit single “Shape of You”.

The singer-songwriter has appeared in court this week after standing accused by Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue.

They allege that Sheeran stole elements of 2017’s “Shape of You” from their own song, titled “Oh Why”.

The pair claim that Sheeran’s song has taken “particular lines and phrases” from their own, claiming that his refrain of the words “Oh I” is “strikingly similar” to their delivery of the words “Oh why”.

Judge Antony Zacaroli listened to both songs in court, with Chokri and O’Donoghue’s lawyer, Andrew Sutcliffe, telling him they “sound almost identical”.

However, Sheeran argued this was not the case, going so far as to perform other songs, including Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” and Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good”, in an attempt to demonstrate how common the song’s melody is.

The song, performed by Chokri under the name Sami Switch, is available on YouTube here.

It was Sheeran and his team who first launched legal proceedings over the song in 2018, requesting the High Court declare they had not infringed Chokri and O’Donoghue’s copyright.

Sami Switch has accused Ed Sheeran of stealing parts of his song ‘Oh Why’ (YouTube)

However, Chorki and O’Donoghue retaliated by issuing their own claim of “copyright infringement, damages and an account of profits in retaliation to the alleged infringement”, which is the basis of the current trial

Sheeran’s lawyers previously told the court that the singer and the song’s co-writers have no memory of ever hearing the song “Oh Why”.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.