Benny Blanco, Halsey and Khalid are facing a copyright infringement lawsuit over their 2018 hit “Eastside.”
Shane Williams of American XO and music producer Kosta Lois allege the track copies “Loveless,” a song they wrote in 2015 that appears on the 2016 American XO album Pacific Coast Bloody Nose.
Also named as defendants are Nathan Perez and Ed Sheeran, who are credited as co-writers of “Eastside.”
The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in California, alleges the guitar riff in the two songs “comprise of identical two note dyads of identical note intervals played over identical beats.
It claims “when transposed to the same key, the ‘Loveless’ riff and the ‘Eastside’ riff are musically identical.”
The lawsuit cites an interview with Blanco in which he said: “I try to expose myself to 10, 12 new artists every day … There could be something in one of those songs that gives me an idea to do something like this or something like that.”
None of the defendants have responded to the lawsuit and none of the claims have been proven in court.
Listen to "Eastside" and "Loveless" below: