The Maroon 5 frontman has seemingly defended the 'Drivers License' hitmaker following plagiarism allegations, insisting it's 'a cool thing' younger generation get to know older music through her.
- August 28, 2021
AceShowbiz - Adam Levine has jumped to Olivia Rodrigo's defence, insisting older acts should be honoured she's inspired by their songs.
The Maroon 5 frontman was asked to comment on the news rockers Paramore have landed a songwriting credit on Olivia's summer hit "Good 4 U" amid comparisons to their song "Misery Business".
Elvis Costello fans also noticed similarities between her new single "Brutal" and hit track "Pump It Up".
"These are tricky things and anyone who's ever written a song knows that you rip something off inadvertently, and it makes it to tape, and then it's released and then there's a lawsuit," Levine says. "It's a natural thing for it to happen, and sometimes it gets ugly and sometimes it's warranted that people take legal action. Sometimes it's not warranted that people take legal action."
"I think there's definitely become more of a grey area that's reared its ugly head these days."
"When you take someone who's a newer artist and she's doing things that kind of emulate the ones from generations removed, I don't know how bad that is. I think it's kind of a cool thing to introduce a whole generation of young people to different musical ideas."
"I just hate to see it become this huge thing where people get really aggressive... Maybe I'm just not as territorial about that kind of stuff. I'm almost flattered when people rip me off."
Meanwhile, Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, and St. Vincent have also been added as co-writers for Olivia Rodrigo's song "Deja Vu" which was heavily influenced by a track on Swift's "Lover" album.
Rodrigo previously admitted the "yelling" on "Deja Vu" was inspired by "Cruel Summer" from "Lover".
