Lady Gaga has vowed to fight a potential lawsuit after being accused of copying her hit Shallow.
Unknown singer Steve Ronsen has threatened the hitmaker with legal action after claiming she stole the hook for her track from the three-note melody in his 2012 song, Almost.
According to US site Page Six, Ronsen is requesting “millions and millions” from Gaga, with his lawyer telling the website that a musicologist and professor had “determined that there are significant tempo, melodic, rhythmic and harmonic similarities between the two hooks of the songs at issue”.
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Lady Gaga won an Oscar for her hit Shallow
JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX via Getty Images
They claim the three notes — G, A, B — correspond to the hook of Shallow, which was the stand-out song on the soundtrack to last year’s box office smash A Star Is Born, in which Gaga appeared alongside Bradley Cooper.
Gaga’s team has branded the lawsuit as a “brazen shakedown”, arguing that the three-note melody is extremely common and has featured in multiple recordings dating back decades, including Kansas’ 1978 track Dust In The Wind.
Gaga’s attorney Orin Snyder said: “Mr. Ronsen and his lawyer are trying to make easy money off the back of a successful artist. It is shameful and wrong.
“I applaud Lady Gaga for having the courage and integrity to stand up on behalf of successful artists who find themselves on the receiving end of such [claims].
“Should Mr. Shirian proceed with this case, Lady Gaga will fight it vigorously and will prevail.”
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Lady Gaga appeared as Ally in A Star Is Born alongside Bradley Cooper
Warner Bros
Ronsen’s track, Almost, had less than 300 streams on Soundcloud when the lawsuit threat was first reported.
After being featured on the soundtrack for A Star Is Born, Shallow went on to reach number one across the globe, including the UK where is has been certified with Platinum status.
The song also won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and two Grammys.