ENTERTAINMENT: Pharell Williams denies Plagirising Blurred Lines

Speaking in court, Williams denied copying Gaye's Got to Give It Up for the hit single Blurred Lines saying it wasn’t Marvin that was on his mind when he wrote the song, but Miley Cyrus.

"Sometimes when you look back on your past work, you see echoes of people. But that doesn't mean that's what you were doing," Williams testified in court in Los Angeles.

Pharell, Thicke and rapper TI have all denied copying Got to Give It Up for the song, a number one hit in 2013, generating more than $16m (£10.8) in profits and making more than $5m (£3m) for both stars.

Pharell also expressed his admiration for Gaye saying: “The last thing you want to do as a creator is take something of someone else's when you love him."

PLAYING THE SAME THING

During his testimony on Wednesday, the Happy star played extracts of both his and Gaye's compositions, stripping down to their basic song structure.

Listening to the juxtaposed bass lines, Pharell responded, "It sounds like you're playing the same thing", but argued that some of the note progressions had been shifted in pitch so they sounded more alike.

His comments appeared to prompt Thicke, who was attending the trial, to leave the courtroom.

Pharell said it took him three days of "surfing around" at Burbank's Glenwood Place Studios, in June 2012, before he hit upon the composition for the 2013 song.

"In this case, I started with drums," he said in court, adding that he was influenced by two other recordings he was making at that time – for Miley Cyrus and Earl Sweatshirt.

"I was doing a bunch of country-sounding music with Miley. It was like blending this country sound with this up-tempo groove," he said.

He said he completed the instrumentals in about an hour before Thicke joined him that evening, and they immediately started recording the vocals.

Last week, Thicke testified that he had contributed little to the writing of the song.

HIGH ON DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

In a pre-trial deposition, Thicke admitted he was "high on Vicodin and alcohol when I showed up at the studio" and "wanted to be more involved than I actually was".

Marvin Gaye's children – Frankie and Nona – are seeking money from sales and touring, as well as damages. During opening arguments, a lawyer for the Gayes estimated damages at $40m (£26m).

The trial continues.

Tags:

Pharell Williams Robin Thicke T.I.

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