Ed Sheeran trial live: Singer announced as Katy Perry’s American Idol replacement ahead of trial verdict

In the coming days, a Manhattan jury is expected to hand down a verdict in Ed Sheeran’s copyright trial.

Meanwhile, it’s been revealed that Sheeran will temporarily replace Katy Perry on American Idol.

Sheeran’s currently being sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend, the songwriter who composed the 1973 slow jam classic “Let’s Get It On” with Marvin Gaye.

They have accused Sheeran’s 2014 song of copying the anthem’s harmonic progressions as well as melodic and rhythmic elements without permission.

The lawsuit was initially filed in 2017, however, it’s taken six years to finally reach a Manhattan federal court.

Sheeran vehemently denies plagiarising “Let’s Get It On”. His lawyers have argued that the song uses common constructions found in many pop tracks.

Should the “Perfect” singer be found liable for copyright infringement, the trial will enter a second phase to determine how much he’ll owe in damages.

Key Points

• Ed Sheeran copyright trial: Everything you need to know about Marvin Gaye plagiarism case

• Ed Sheeran threatens to quit music if he loses copyright trial

• Katy Perry is being temporarily replaced by ‘big time star’ on American Idol

Ed Sheeran sings and plays guitar on witness stand in copyright trial

07:49 , Peony Hirwani

ICYMI: Jurors in New York were treated to a free Ed Sheeran concert on Thursday (27 April) in the singer’s ongoing plagiarism trial.

The British artist is being sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend, the songwriter who composed Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” with the legendary soul singer.

The plaintiffs allege that Sheeran’s 2014 song “Thinking Out Loud” copied harmonic progressions, melodic and rhythmic elements from “Let’s Get It On” without permission, which Sheeran denies.

To illustrate his point, the Grammy-winning singer played the basic chord progression of “Thinking Out Loud” while on the witness stand Thursday.

According to ABC News, Sheeran also briefly sang what he said were the song’s original lyrics: “I’m singing out now.”

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Ed Sheeran sings and plays guitar on witness stand in copyright trial

Other artists are cheering on Ed Sheeran amid copyright case

07:09 , Peony Hirwani

Ed Sheeran said he’s getting encouragement during his copyright trial from other performers who also worry that they’ll be sued as he battles claims that he stole material from Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” to make a new tune a decade ago.

The 32-year-old said he’s heard from other singers since the trial began last week because they share his worries about litigation resulting from their songwriting.

He didn’t identify any of them but said they were cheering him on.

“When you write songs, somebody comes after you,” Sheeran said.

Ed Sheeran releases visuals for new album Subtract

06:29 , Peony Hirwani

Subtract is the upcoming fifth studio album by Ed Sheeran. It is set to be released on 5 May through Asylum and Atlantic Records.

On Wednesday (3 May), the singer released new visuals for the album on Twitter.

“Tune into this on release day, Friday 5 May – Subtract the visual album will be premiered on @YouTube at 11 am ET / 4 pm BST,” the singer wrote. “If you’re a YouTube Premium user, join the Afterparty for some exclusive bonus content.”

Sheeran ‘wrote seven songs in four hours’ after wife’s cancer diagnosis

05:59 , Peony Hirwani

In his new Disney Plus documentary series, The Sum of it All, Sheeran’s wife Cherry Seaborn revealed the remarkable way her husband reacted to her cancer diagnosis.

Seaborn, 30, was diagnosed with a tumour in 2022, during her pregnancy with her and Sheeran’s second child.

“We had the diagnosis of the tumour and the next day, Eds went down into the basement and wrote seven songs in four hours,” said Seaborn.

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Ed Sheeran ‘wrote seven songs in four hours’ after wife Cherry’s cancer diagnosis

Who is suing Ed Sheeran?

05:19 , Peony Hirwani

The British artist is being sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend, the songwriter who composed the soul classic “Let’s Get It On” with Marvin Gaye.

They have alleged that Sheeran’s 2014 song “Thinking Out Loud” copied harmonic progressions, melodic and rhythmic elements from “Let’s Get It On” without permission, which Sheeran denies.

Video: Listen to Ed Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud' side-by-side to Marvin Gaye track

04:39 , Peony Hirwani

Plaintiff’s lawyer has claimed he has a ‘smoking gun’ in the case

04:19 , Peony Hirwani

Presenting his case last week, the plaintiff’s attorney Ben Crump said he had a “smoking gun”: a fan video from a past Ed Sheeran concert in which the singer performs a “mash-up” of “Thinking Out Loud” and “Let’s Get It On”.

The video is available to watch on YouTube.

“That concert video is a confession,” said Crump, who is best known for representing the family of George Floyd.

Sheeran’s lawyer Ilene S Farkas argued that the video does not prove copyright infringement, and that Sheeran often performs mash-ups during his live shows.

Read more:

Ed Sheeran’s live Marvin Gaye mash-up song is ‘smoking gun’, lawyer claims

Sheeran questioned his own music skills during the trial

03:49 , Tom Murray

Sheeran briefly performed lines from his song in court last week. He explained his songwriting technique to the jury, saying: “When I write vocal melodies, it’s like phonetics.”

Sheeran claimed he often writes up to 10 songs in one day. He co-wrote “Thinking Out Loud” with Amy Wadge.

However, according to AP, Sheeran, who has won dozens of awards and headlined Glastonbury, apologised after accidentally hitting the mic with his hand, and told those present: “I’m not the world’s most talented guitar player.”

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Ed Sheeran questions his music skills during Marvin Gaye plagiarism trial

Jury was treated to a computer-generated rendition of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’

02:51 , Tom Murray

On the second day of the trial, Insider reported that laughter broke out in the courtroom after a plaintiff musicology expert played an “AI recording” of the song.

“‘Giving yourself to me, can never be wrong,’ the voice sang, every syllable crisply stated, sounding something like HAL the computer committing lethal karaoke in a sci-fi horror flick,” Insider reported, adding that Sheeran suppressed a grin at the defence table.

The musicologist, Dr Alexander Stewart was attempting to use the track to show alleged the similarities between “Let’s Get It On” and “Thinking Out Loud”.

Read more:

Ed Sheeran trial erupts into laughter over AI version of ‘Let’s Get It On’

Sheeran says other singers are cheering him on

01:53 , Tom Murray

Sheeran said he’s heard from other singers since the trial began because they share his worries about facing litigation over their songwriting.

“When you write songs, somebody comes after you,” Sheeran said.

In April 2022, Sheeran won a separate copyright lawsuit after being accused of plagiarising his song “Shape of You” from Sami Chokri’s 2015 song “Oh Why”.

Following the judge’s verdict, Sheeran released a video on social media talking about the case, saying: “Whilst we’re obviously happy with the result, I feel like claims like this are way too common now and have become a culture where a claim is made with the idea that a settlement will be cheaper than taking it to court.”

Sheeran says he will quit music if he loses his copyright trial

Wednesday 3 May 2023 00:41 , Tom Murray

Speaking in Manhattan court on Monday (1 May), Sheeran reportedly said of a prospective guilty verdict (according to MailOnline): “If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping.”

“I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it,” he added.

Ed Sheeran threatens to quit music if he loses copyright trial

Tuesday 2 May 2023 23:30 , Inga Parkel

Didn’t Ed Sheeran already fight a similar lawsuit?

Tuesday 2 May 2023 23:15 , Inga Parkel

Yes. In April 2022, Ed Sheeran won another copyright lawsuit after he was accused of plagiarising his song “Shape of You” from Sami Chokri’s 2015 track “Oh Why”.

Why is Ed Sheeran being sued?

Tuesday 2 May 2023 23:06 , Inga Parkel

In 2017, the British singer was sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend, Martin Gaye’s co-writer of the 1973 soul classic.

They claim that Sheeran’s 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud” has “striking similarities” to “Let’s Get It On” and “overt common elements” that violate the song’s copyright.

Read more:

Ed Sheeran copyright trial: Everything you need to know about Marvin Gaye plagiarism case

Singer is in court to defend himself over claims he stole from the most famous R&B anthem of all time