Dua Lipa “Levitating” Lawsuit Comes to a Momentary Stop

[Artikal Sound System fails to prove Dua Lipa and co-writers knew about “Live Your Life” before the writing of “Levitating.”]

[Image Source www.Instagram.com/dualipa]

On Monday, Dua Lipa won the case launched against her a year and a half after her 2020 hit single “Levitating” was released. Members of Artikal Sound System claimed the song resembled the hook of their 2017 release, “Live Your Life.” This comes after the hit held a spot on Billboard’s Top 100 for seventy-seven weeks, earning Lipa the title for the Longest-Charting Billboard Hot 100 Hit Among Women.

In the lawsuit that was dismissed Monday, the band was left to prove the pop star had encountered their song before. Artikal Sound System claimed that Lipa’s co-writer was linked to one of their band members through a brother-in-law’s guitar lessons. They also cited the popularity of their song, claiming the song was available on streaming platforms, and that they sold “several hundred” CDs (Billboard).

Music theorist Adam Neely told Variety both songs are at 100 beats a minute, in the same key, and contain the same chord progression. However, “Live Your Life” stays at Em7 while Levitating” resolves at Bm7.

Judge Sykes wrote, “These attenuated links, which bear little connection to either of the two musical compositions at issue here, also do not suggest a reasonable likelihood that defendants actually encountered the plaintiffs’ song.” (Billboard) The judge listed the flaws in Artikal Sound System’s case, dismissed the case, but allowed the band the opportunity to return with her critiques fixed.