Carrie Underwood, ‘Something in the Water’ Co-Writers Sued for Song Theft
Carrie Underwood and her "Something in the Water" co-writers are being sued for song theft. Two Canadian songwriters filed a lawsuit against the country superstar and her co-writers in federal court recently.
Nashville's Tennessean reports that songwriters Ron McNeill and Georgia Lyons claim a song of theirs, also called "Something in the Water," was pitched to Underwood's producer Mark Bright in 2014. The two never heard back from Bright, but Underwood released her song "Something in the Water" in the fall of that year. The song hit No. 1 on both the country and Christian charts and received a number of awards nods.
McNeill and Lyons allege that "[t]he hook on the infringing work, as released on the album, is structurally and lyrically identical, and substantially similar melodically to plaintiffs' composition of the same title." They are suing Underwood, her co-writers Chris DeStefano and Brett James, their publishing companies and Sony Music Nashville, Underwood's label at the time of the release of "Something in the Water."
This lawsuit is not Underwood's first: In 2013, she and Brad Paisley, as well as the songwriters and publishers of their 2011 hit “Remind Me,” were hit with a copyright lawsuit from singer-songwriter Amy Bowen. Bowen alleged that Paisley and Underwood’s “Remind Me” was lifted from one of her own compositions.
In early 2014, Paisley and Underwood disputed Bowen's claims, and songwriter Chris DuBois counter-sued. They officially won the lawsuit in 2016.
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