Alicia Keys Hit with Copyright Lawsuit Over 'Girl on Fire'

By Rolling Stone | Rolling Stone – Mon, Dec 17, 2012 5:35 PM EST

Alicia Keys has been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit over her hit "Girl on Fire," according to the Hollywood Reporter. Songwriter Earl Shuman says Keys' track sounds too similar to his 1962 composition "Lonely Boy," which hit Number Two on the Billboard charts when recorded by Eddie Holman as "Hey There Lonely Girl." Shuman became aware of the possible similarities after reading a story by Roger Friedman, a blogger for Showbiz411, that said, "In the middle of the song, Alicia sings a couplet or so from Eddie Holman's 1970 classic 'Hey There Lonely Girl,'" calling it an uncredited sample.

Photos: Live at Jingle Ball 2012

Though Friedman noted, "Keys only uses two seconds of the original," Shuman's complaint says the statements "concerning 'two seconds' of use are not accurate" yet "in their essence, apt." Hear both songs below.

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