Marvin Gaye Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Ed Sheeran was found not liable Thursday in Manhattan federal court on a copyright claim alleging that he lifted key elements from the Marvin Gaye ’70s hit “Let’s Get It On” for his own “Thinking Out Loud.” The verdict that found him not liable for copyright infringement came after just a few hours of deliberation Thursday. Standing outside the courtroom, Sheeran read a statement for reporters that made it clear how frustrated he felt at being accused of plagiarism and having the case reach trial. “It looks like I’m not going to have to give up my day job after all,” Sheeran said, alluding to a statement he’d made on the stand earlier this week suggesting that he would feel compelled to quit music if the verdict went against him.

Ed Sheeran is triumphant!

Ed Sheeran’s threat that he will quit music if he loses the current ‘Thinking Out Loud’ song-theft case in New York might have actually boosted support for the Ed Townsend estate that instigated this legal battle. However, Sheeran’s lawyer warned yesterday, if her client loses, all songwriters lose because of the precedent that ruling will set.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Testimony wrapped up in the Ed Sheeran copyright infringement trial at the end of the court day Wednesday, as the judge sent the Manhattan jury into deliberations with a pointed admonition: “Independent creation is a complete defense, no matter how similar that song is.” U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton’s instructions may have left a high bar in the jury’s minds for just how much evidence the plaintiffs’ attorneys needed to have established to prove that Sheeran and his co-writer actually copied Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” when they wrote the pop hit “Thinking Out Loud.” According to Insider, Stanton told jurors that the lawyers for the heirs of Gaye’s co-writer, Ed Townsend, needed to “prove by a preponderance of the evidence… that Sheeran actually copied and wrongfully copied ‘Let’s Get It On'” — as opposed to the coincidental, negligible similarities argued by Sheeran’s attorneys.

Ed Sheeran has spent another day in court in an ongoing plagiarism trial related to his 2015 single ‘Thinking Out Loud’, and played Van Morrison in the court room to further contest accusations that the song ripped off Marvin Gaye‘s ‘Let’s Get It On’.Back in 2016, the pop star was sued by Ed Townsend, one of the song’s co-writers, who alleged that Sheeran and co-writer Amy Wadge copied the rhythm of the 1973 song, as well as an ascending four-chord sequence. It also references “striking similarities” between the two tracks that violate the copyright.

threaten to be “done” with music if he’s found liable, a disillusioned Ed Sheeran’s much-publicized copyright infringement trial is also taking a toll on his personal life.The trial — in which Sheeran is facing a lawsuit for allegedly ripping off Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On” — forced the four-time Grammy winner to miss his beloved grandmother’s funeral in Ireland on Wednesday.“I am very sad that our son Edward is unable to be here today,” Sheeran’s father John said in a eulogy for his 98-year-old mother, Anne “Nancy” Sheeran. “He’s so upset that he cannot be present — he has to be thousands of miles away in a court in America defending his integrity.

Ed Sheeran is still attending his ongoing copyright trial in New York City, even if it meant he had to miss his late grandmother’s funeral.

Ed Sheeran has been no stranger to hard times in recent years as the star opens up about his mental health battles in a new four-part documentary which airs today.

Ed Sheeran had some harsh words to say about a musicologist who presented expert testimony at the ‘Thinking Out Loud’ song-theft trial last week. “I think what he is doing is criminal”, the musician declared in court earlier this week, adding: “I don’t know why he’s allowed to be an expert”.Musicologist Alexander Stewart was testifying for the estate of the late Ed Townsend, which accuses Sheeran of ripping off the Marvin Gaye song ‘Let’s Get It On’ when he wrote ‘Thinking Out Loud’ back in 2014.

Thania Garcia Alanis Morissette and Ed Sheeran will join Luke Bryan as “American Idol” guest judges on May 7. The pair have been selected to take over for Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, who will be traveling overseas for their upcoming performances at King Charles III’s coronation. ABC revealed the switch on May 1, adding that Perry and Richie will still be checking into “Idol” with live updates from all the festivities at Windsor Castle. Morissette and Sheeran are scheduled to take over the show’s “616” episode, where America will cast their votes for the remaining top 5 contestants. This is the first “Idol” appearance for both of the guest judges, who will deliver performances of their own on the episode, with Morissette singing one of her many hits and Sheeran singing his new single, the ballad “Boat.”

Ed Sheeran returned to the stand in a Manhattan federal courthouse yesterday (May 1) in the ongoing "Let's Get It On" plagiarism trial, wherein the English pop star is accused of stealing elements of Marvin Gaye's 1973 song in the creation of his 2014 hit "Thinking Out Loud." Questioned by his attorney Ilene Farkas on his plans if he loses the lawsuit, Sheeran suggested that he would quit music entirely. “If that happens, I’m done.

Behind-the-scenes secrets! Meghan Trainor revealed that she and Charlie Puth made out nearly a decade ago while recording a duet.

Ed Sheeran has said he will leave the music industry if he loses his ongoing copyright infringement trial.The singer-songwriter is currently going through court proceedings for a plagiarism trial related to his 2015 song ‘Thinking Out Loud’.Back in 2016, the pop star was sued by Ed Townsend – one of the co-writers on the classic Marvin Gaye track ‘Let’s Get It On’ – who accused him of copying the song in ‘Thinking Out Loud’.The accusations allege that Sheeran and co-writer Amy Wadge copied the rhythm of the 1973 song, as well as an ascending four-chord sequence. It also references “striking similarities” between the two tracks that violate the copyright.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Ed Sheeran had strong words for a musicologist on Monday as the court hearing over alleged similarities between his hit “Thinking Out Loud” and Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On” entered its second week. “I think what he is doing is criminal,” Sheeran said of the prior testimony from Alexander Stewart, a musicologist hired as an expert witness by Gaye’s estate, according to the New York Times. “I don’t know why he’s allowed to be an expert.” Sheeran, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Publishing are being sued by three heirs of songwriter Ed Townsend, who is the credited co-writer with Gaye on the 1973 song.

Ed Sheeran‘s wife Cherry Seaborn has revealed that the singer wrote “seven songs in four hours” after learning of her cancer diagnosis.Seaborn was diagnosed with a tumour last year while she was pregnant with the couple’s second child.As reported by Metro, a scene in Sheeran’s upcoming Disney+ documentary series The Sum Of It All sees Seaborn discussing her husband’s response to the news.She said: “We had the diagnosis of the tumour and the next day Eds went down into the basement and wrote seven songs in four hours.“Some people write a diary and get their emotions out through the pen and for Ed, if something really intense happens, he’ll go and write a song.”Sheeran has previously said that his new songs, many of which make up his upcoming album ‘-‘ (Subtract), out May 5, are based on the “unbreakable” bond he formed with Seaborn through her illness.During his Eventim Apollo show in London in late March, Sheeran told the crowd: “My dad said to me when I got married, ‘You will not know what real love and marriage is until there’s death and real sickness’. He said that because that happened when he first married my mum.

Ed Sheeran has shared details of intimate North American tour dates, which take place amid his stadium tour.The pop titan kicks off his ‘+ – = ÷ x Tour’ (‘Mathematics’ tour) in North America next month.He will stage more intimate performances at 14 theatres and auditoriums across the US and Canada during the stadium shows. Ben Kweller will provide support for the majority of the small-scale shows.A Ticketmaster Verified Fan pre-sale is set for this Tuesday (May 2) at 10am local time via Ticketmaster.

Ed Sheeran’s ongoing plagiarism trial, after the court was played an AI version of Marvin Gaye’s song ‘Let’s Get It On’.The ongoing lawsuit stems back to 2017, when the pop star was sued by Ed Townsend — one of the co-writers on the Marvin Gaye track ‘Let’s Get It On’ — who accused him of copying the song in his hit release ‘Thinking Out Loud’.The accusations Sheeran faces allege that he (and his co-writer Amy Wadge) copied an ascending four-chord sequence and rhythm of the 1973 track. It also references “striking similarities” that violate the copyright.Now, in a recent development of the trial, it has been reported that laughter broke out in the court after members of the jury were made to listen to a “hideous” AI version of the Marvin Gaye song.According to Insider, those attending court on Wednesday (April 26) listened to the artificially generated take of the track, provided by a plaintiff musicology expert.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Ed Sheeran has announced details for the “- Tour” (pronounced “Subtract Tour”), a special run of dates set to take place in theaters and auditoriums in 14 cities across North America. The shows, mostly with singer-songwriter Ben Kweller in support, will take place in between dates on his massive stadium tour — titled  “+ – = ÷ x Tour” (pronounced “Mathematics Tour”) — which was announced last fall. Sheeran is using Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan technology for the theater dates. Registration opens on Friday, April 28 at 10 a.m. ET and closes on Sunday, April 30 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The Verified Fan onsale is set to begin on Tuesday, May 2 at 10 a.m. local venue time.

Ed Sheeran’s not the world’s most talented guitar player, that’s for certain. And don’t go dissing me for stating the obvious, not least because that’s according to Sheeran himself.

Thania Garcia Some of the most high-profile copyright infringement cases happen in the music industry, where the accusation of plagiarism is as nebulous as a concept can get. It happens sometimes by accident — an “unconscious borrowing” — and other times it’s on purpose, deemed a “musical homage.” Ed Sheeran has been at the center of the latest most-talked-about case brought by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On” with Marvin Gaye. Sheeran made his first court appearance earlier this week to deny the claims that his 2014 song “Thinking Out Loud” lifts key elements of Gaye’s 1973 classic.

Ed Sheeran performed a snippet of “Thinking Out Loud” in front of a Manhattan courtroom Thursday, singing and strumming a few notes on an acoustic guitar during his Marvin Gaye copyright infringement trial.While testifying on the witness stand, the “Shape of You” singer took a tan Lowden wooden acoustic guitar and played the basic four-chord progression highlighting the 2014 hit single, giving the courtroom an intimate teaser of his gigs.Sheeran’s appearance came after his attorney Ilene Farkas called him to the stand to refute comments made by the plaintiffs’ musicologist Alexander Stewart, who argued that the first 24 seconds of “Thinking Out Loud” were similar to the beginning of Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On.”However, Sheeran said that Stewart’s analysis was wrong, and performed the version he said he plays at every concert before he then played Stewart’s version.“It works very well with him, but it’s not the truth,” Sheeran said.The 32-year-old British singer-songwriter explained the origins of “Thinking Out Loud” and how the song was created after the death of his grandfather and watching his grandmother’s health decline.The song, which was written with longtime collaborator Amy Wadge, came to life after Sheeran hopped out of the shower of his home and heard Wadge strumming the chords.Kathryn Townsend Griffin — the daughter of the late Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the 1973 R&B classic with Gaye — wasn’t present Thursday. She had collapsed in court Wednesday and left the Moynihan Courthouse on a stretcher.Her attorney Ben Crump said that she was feeling better and is expected to return to court next week.Judge Louis L.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The trial settling the case of whether Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” plagiarized the Marvin Gaye hit “Let’s Get It On” will never likely slip into concert mode, but it came about as close as it’s likely to during the pop star’s testimony on Thursday, when he picked up a guitar and briefly sang for the Manhattan courtroom. Sheeran performed a bit of what he said was the first version of “Thinking Out Loud,” as he and co-writer Amy Wadge developed it together at his home in England. The song’s hook lyric was then — as he sang it — “I’m singing out now,” according to musical testimony reported by ABC News. “When I write vocal melodies, it’s like phonetics,” he testified, according to Reuters’ report, showing out “singing out now” became “thinking out loud,”

Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud copyright trial took an unexpected turn this week as one of his accusers, Kathryn Townsend Griffin, collapsed inside New York's Manhattan Federal Court.The chart-topping singer, 32, was at the scene as he is attempting to clear his name of plagiarising Marvin Gaye's iconic tune Let's Get It On from 1973. According to reports, after falling to the floor, Kathryn – an heir of original songwriter Ed Townsend – was helped up by several individuals and received medical attention before being stretchered out of the court house.

Ed Sheeran was interrupted in dramatic fashion when the plaintiff in the case, Kathryn Townsend Griffin, collapsed and had to be taken out of court.The lawsuit against Sheeran alleges that the singer lifted portions of Marvin Gaye's iconic song «Let's Get It On» to use in his song «Thinking Out Loud.» The case was in its second day of testimony when Griffin became ill as one of her expert witnesses, a musicologist, was under cross-examination.At approximately 4:15 p.m., Griffin — the daughter of «Let's Get It On» co-writer Ed Griffin — began to suffer from a medical emergency, as her eyes closed and her legs buckled. Lawyers from both sides helped to lift her out of the courtroom and into chambers to receive medical attention.A nurse attended to Griffin, who was transported out of the courthouse in a wheelchair and taken to the hospital.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The copyright case in which Ed Sheeran is being sued for allegedly lifting portions of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” for his own “Thinking Out Loud” took on some unexpected drama Wednesday afternoon when the plaintiff, Kathryn Townsend Griffin, collapsed and had to be carried out of court, causing an interruption in otherwise routine testimony. According to CNN, Townsend Griffin (pictured above left) — the daughter of “Let’s Get It On” co-writer Ed Griffin — fainted about two minutes into the Sheeran team’s cross-examination of a musicologist who had been brought in to testify that there was a substantial similarity between the two songs.

A video that Ed Sheeran’s lawyers tried to stop being shown to jurors in the big ‘Thinking Out Loud’ song-theft trial is the “smoking gun” that proves that the pop star ripped off Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ when he wrote his song. Or so said a lawyer representing the estate of ‘Let’s Get It On’ co-writer Ed Townsend as that trial got underway in New York yesterday. But not so, reckoned Sheeran himself.

ongoing lawsuit — which accuses Ed Sheeran of copying a Marvin Gaye song — a lawyer has accused the singer-songwriter of “confessing” to the infringement by mashing up the two songs at one of his concerts.The lawsuit extends back to 2017 when Ed Townsend — one of the co-writers on the Marvin Gaye track ‘Let’s Get It On’ — accused the British pop icon of copying the track in his hit song ‘Thinking Out Loud’.Now taken to court, the accusations allege that Sheeran and co-writer Amy Wadge copied the rhythm of the 1973 track, as well as an ascending four-chord sequence. It also references “striking similarities” between the two tracks, that violate the copyright.During the ongoing case, Sheeran’s attorney Irene Farkas told the court that the “heartfelt song” was written “without copying” Gaye, and features elements that are commonly used in pop music.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic A copyright trial in a Manhattan federal courtroom pitting Ed Sheeran against the heirs of a co-writer of Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On” saw the pop star taking the stand Tuesday, offering strong retorts to attorneys’ arguments that he had stolen elements of the 1970s hit for his own “Thinking Out Loud.” One piece of evidence that the judge had left in limbo in pre-trial hearings was a fan-shot video of Sheeran mashing up the two songs in concert in 2014. U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton, who had previously left the matter of whether to allow the medley unresolved, ultimately ruled Tuesday that a 30-second clip be played, despite Sheeran’s attorneys’ argument that it was “irrelevant and prejudicial.”

Ed Sheeran arrives at the Manhattan Federal Court ahead of the first day of his trial in New York City on Tuesday (April 25).

The long awaited trial over whether or not Ed Sheeran ripped off Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ when he wrote his song ‘Thinking Out Loud’ finally gets underway in New York later today. This follows the jury selection process yesterday.Originally scheduled to commence in November 2020, but delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheeran is accused of infringing the copyright of late songwriter Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the Gaye classic.

Another abrupt singing competition exit. Musician Alex Whalen has left season 23 of The Voice due to “personal reasons.”

EXCLUSIVE: WME has signed Olympian-turned-filmmaker Savanah Leaf, whose first feature Earth Mama recently world premiered to strong reviews at the Sundance Film Festival.

Blake Shelton hit his first major stumbling block on season 23 of on Tuesday, when one of his team members had to drop out of the competition.Host Carson Daly first made the announcement during the final night of the Battle Rounds, sharing with the crowd, «Team Blake's Alex Whalen could not be with us tonight, so in this case, his Battle partner will be singing solo.»That left Neil Salsich onstage by himself, but it didn't seem to faze him. He impressed Blake and fellow coaches Kelly Clarkson, Niall Horan and Chance the Rapper with his energetic rendition of Marvin Gaye's «I Heard It Through the Grapevine.»«Alex had personal reasons that he had to bow out of the competition,» Blake shared.

Blake Shelton is leaving this year after 23 seasons on the singing competition — but he'll always have his memories with his best frenemy, Adam Levine.Blake gave the former coach a teasing shout-out during Tuesday's Battle Rounds when a contestant was faced with a unique situation. Neil Salsich had to perform his Battle solo, after Team Blake competitor Adam Whalen dropped out of the competition for personal reasons.«I told him backstage, if you lose this Battle, it will be the worst fail in history,» Blake said of his advice for Neil before his solo performance.

The US judge overseeing the latest Ed Sheeran song-theft legal battle has declined to ban the plaintiffs in the case from showing a YouTube video in which the musician himself mashes together his song with the one he’s accused of ripping off. Though Sheeran’s lawyers are still free to object again to that video being shown to jurors when the dispute is properly in court.This is the legal battle where Sheeran is accused of ripping off Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ on his 2014 track ‘Thinking Out Loud’.

Lily Moayeri The power of music on screen grows stronger each year. In the past 12 months or so, “Stranger Things” saw ’80s British icon Kate Bush become a superstar stateside as her song “Running Up That Hill” featured in one of the most talked about scenes of the year; “Yellowjackets” reenergized ’90s gems both well-known and temporarily forgotten; “Euphoria” continued to dominate Shazam; and classic artists such as Fleetwood Mac and Marvin Gaye found new audiences through placements on “Our Flag Means Death” and “Atlanta,” respectively.