Recently disbanded rock group Yeasayer has dropped its lawsuit against The Weeknd and fellow Canadians Frank Dukes and Martin ‘Doc’ McKinney.
In February, the band sued the trio and rapper Kendrick Lamar over the song “Pray For Me” from the soundtrack to 2018’s Black Panther. They claimed it copied a “distinctive choral performance” from their 2007 track “Sunrise.”
Dukes, whose real name is Adam Feeney, and McKinney produced “Pray For Me.”
In April, The Weeknd filed a defence in which he denied the allegations and insisted his song “does not capture any actual sounds from the sound recording, Sunrise.”
According to documents filed in a New York court last week, Yeasayer “confirmed to their satisfaction that no copyright infringement occurred.”
Singer Yasminah sued The Weeknd in 2018, claiming his 2016 hit “Starboy” copied her 1999 track “Hooyo.”
He and Canadian songwriters Jason Quenneville and Ahmad Balshe (aka rapper Belly) were also accused by three British musicians in 2018 of ripping off their song "I Need to Love" for The Weeknd's 2016 hit "A Lonely Night." The case is pending, according to one of the plaintiffs.