Leona Lewis and Simon Cowell’s Label Accused of Plagiarism by DJ Avicii

In recent weeks, Leona Lewis has been in a small Twitter battle with Swedish house DJ Avicii, real name Tim Berling, over the instrumentation used for their upcoming singles, Lewis’ “Collide” and Avicii’s “Fade Into Darkness.” The Swedish DJ is suing Lewis and Simon Cowell’s label Syco over the song, as he produced the instrumentation last year as a track titled “Penguin.” His case is going to court this week.

Back in July, the DJ wrote on Twitter: “To answer everyone, the first time i heard leona lewis collide was today. I didnt produce it and neither me or my manager could approve it.”

Lewis responded with: "With regards to my song, avicii was aware & agreeing publishing splits for himself and his manager. When avicii sent his track out to have a song written over it I totally fell in love with this version and i think he's super talented."

Avicii then replied: "Thanks for accusing me of lying and speaking on my behalf. Since we never met or even spoke, please let me and my manager know who told you that and what confirmation they gave you."

So, how did the same instrumentation end up on two upcoming singles? The DJ recorded the track “Penguin,” sans vocals, in October 2010. When he was signed to Ministry of Sound this year, the label sent the track to various singers with the hopes that one would complete it.

Avicii and his manager received the vocal track for “Collide,” not performed by Lewis, in the spring of 2011, and they rejected it. “Collide,” however, was chosen by Syco for Lewis, who ended up recording it. The song hit the radio in July. When Avicii’s manager was contacted about “Collide” for Lewis, he did not consent the use of his client’s track.

Because “Fade into Darkness” would be Avicii’s first mainstream foray, Ministry of Sound doesn’t want him overshadowed by Lewis’ single. A label representative stated: "Avicii is an up-and-coming talent; we think he should be given a fair crack at making this record the hit it deserves to be."

If the injunction request is upheld, “Collide” will not be released on September 4.

To hear the similarities, listen to “Penguin,” “Fade Into Darkness,” and “Collide” here: