Sacre bleu! Miley Cyrus is being accused of le plagiarism! Cyrus released her tenth album, Bass Persuades, last Friday, and its third track “Redlights” has caught the attention of French disco diva Amanda Lear. Speaking to Le Parisien, Lear said fans brought the track to her attention after they found it to be similar to the singer’s 1978 hit “The Sphinx.” Lear agreed, posting to Instagram, “Thank you Miley for this tribut to my song The Sphinx. I am flattered..#mileycyrusredlights #copycat #redlights # [sic]”
#Copycat?!? Thems’s fighting words—even en français! Lear followed that up with two more grid posts, one of the cover for her album “Never Trust a Pretty Face,” with the caption, “My best album, including The Sphinx and Fashion Pack..#mymusic #pineer#discoforever #” A day later, she posted a reel of herself performing “The Sphinx” (in a fabulous hat) with the caption, “There is my original version..#mileycyrus”
So who exactly is this woman? A French disco icon—that’s who. Lear got her start as a model and muse to Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol before switching to music, releasing dozens of albums and dating Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones and David Bowie along the way. In fact, the 1967 Stones track “Miss Amanda Jones” is rumored to have been written about her.
So yeah, the word “icon” isn’t being overused when applied to Lear. But does Miley know who she is? According to Lear (and some internet sleuths), yes. Miley supposedly included Lear in some of her public Spotify playlists in the past. According to Lear, her team and label analyzed both recordings down to their melodic structure and found enough similarities to warrant her plagiarism claim. Currently, only Cyrus and Michael Pollack are officially credited as writers on “Redlights,” with no mention of Lear or her composer Anthony Monn.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Lear made clear she and her team intend to seek proper recognition: “I’ve never been litigious, but my record label, Universal, and the publishers of the track, for which I wrote the lyrics, want acknowledgment of the plagiarism.” “I simply posted about the situation and added that I was flattered. I never threatened a lawsuit or retaliation,” she added.
Now that’s some finely aged French lady shade.
But will Miley respond? As of now, neither she nor her reps have responded to Lear’s claims, and the accreditation on the song remains the same. Until then, we’ll all just have to decide for ourselves whether or not Miley is une plagiare.
- Javier Bardem wants Pink out as a UNICEF ambassador. [Yahoo!]
- Channing Tatum insists that the rumored burner account (where someone trash-talks his exes, Zoe Kravitz and Jenna Dewan) isn’t his… Hm. Exactly what someone with a burner account would say…[Page Six]
- Taylor Swift changed her Instagram bio! What could it mean? [Just Jared]
- At least Celine Dion is having fun. [TMZ]
