An update on the song that will always get stuck in your... Ed. We'll let ourselves out...
Courtroom witnesses say the judge picked up the gavel and tapped it down to the beat of "the club isn't the best place to find a lover so the bar is where I go" before declaring Mr Sheeran innocent.
Okay, the first part is an embellishment but the second part, the part about declaring Ed Sheeran innocent of plagiarising another artist's work, is true. So we can all bare a sigh of relief and get back to our regularly scheduled 'Shape of You' listening parties without all the guilt.
Musician Sami Chokri had accused Sheeran and co-writers Johnny McDaid and Steve McCutcheon of copying parts of his song 'Oh Why' released in 2015 under the stage name 'Sami Switch'. Today, Ed Sheeran lays the claims to rest with a courtroom victory and even releasing a video statement on Sky News, " There are only so many notes and only very few chords used in pop music" he explains, "coincidence is bound to happen".
It's not the first time Sheeran has been accused of borrowing from other musicians, stating today "I feel like claims like this are way too common now and have become a culture where a claim is made with the idea that a settlement will be cheaper than taking it to court, even if the claims are baseless".
Back in 2016, he was sued for 100 million dollars over the hit wedding first dance song 'Thinking Out Loud' which was accused of being a rip off of 'Let's Get It On' by Marvin Gaye. In a statement released by Sheeran, McDaid and McCutcheon in regards to their win today, they note the damaging affects that this kind of litigation has on "creativity" and "mental health", ultimately urging solidarity within the music industry, "Our message to songwriters everywhere is: please support each other".