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Mariah vs. Xscape
July
2001
Mariah Carey the diva is now Mariah Carey the defendant. She's being sued for allegedly ripping off a 1998 song recorded by the group Xscape.
Will these two songs prove to be too close for a jury's comfort?
You be the judge in the celebrity justice virtual
trial.
Click on the "You Be The Judge" button
to compare the songs yourself.
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Famed
attorney Tony Brooklier, who represented Hollywood madam
Heidi Fleiss, will argue Carey did nothing wrong. Michelle
Kaylum, an attorney for a major record label, will blame
Carey as a rip-off artist.
Michelle: The two songs have the same chord progression.
The songs are written in the same tempo. Mariah Carey
didn't even bother to change the key, both songs are in
b-flat."
Tony: You have heard about only 17 seconds of Mariah Carey's
song, but the song is four minutes long. Obviously, council
doesn't have a problem with the other three minutes and
43 seconds or we would have heard about it. She harps
and harps about 17 seconds of a chorus.
Michelle: The chorus is the most important part of the
song. It's what makes people buy CD's. That's why they
call it the "hook" or the "payoff."
Tony: Let's be blunt about what is going on here. The
Xscape song is bubble-gum song. Mariah Carey's song is
different. It's hymn-like. It's soulful.
Now a key piece of evidence for the plaintiff. There are
striking similarities when both songs are run simultaneously
through an audio wave machine.
But in defense of Mariah Carey, Bruce Roberts, who has
written songs for Barbara Streisand, Celene Dion, and
Whitney Houston. He warns don't let your ears deceive
you.
"Different chord right here, different emotion. As a songwriter
they are different."
Michelle: Not only did the same record company release
both of these songs within a year of one another, but
they were produced by the same man. Ladies and gentlemen
do not let Mariah Carey be an escape artist."
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Rainbow
Traces
of My Lipstick
