Back in January, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Ed Sheeran were named in a lawsuit alleging that McGraw and Hill’s song “The Rest of Our Life,” which appeared on the pair’s 2017 duets album, had been plagiarized.
The track was written by Steve Mac, Johnny McDaid, Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge, and Australian songwriters Sean Carey and Beau Golden accused McGraw, Hill and Sheeran of “blatant copying” of their own 2014 song, “When I Found You,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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On Tuesday, TMZ reported that McGraw and Hill have responded to the suit, claiming that they lawfully licensed their song and should, therefore, have no issues performing it.
The superstar couple also denied that “The Rest of Our Life” is a “note for note” copy of Carey and Golden’s track, which was recorded by singer Jasmine Rae.
McGraw and Hill corroborated Sheeran’s claim that he wrote an original song, though they did reportedly note that on the chance the song is found to be based on Carey and Golden’s, they didn’t write it.
Carey and Golden are seeking at least $5 million in actual damages plus profits, a running royalty and an award of attorney’s fees and costs.
“The copying is, in many instances, verbatim, note-for-note copying of original elements of the Song, and is obvious to the ordinary observer,” the complaint states.
Sheeran spoke out about the suit in April, with TMZ reporting that the singer submitted his own court documents denying that the two songs are similar.
The 27-year-old called the complaint’s claims “baseless” and said that he never sought Carey and Golden’s permission because “The Rest of Our Life” is an “originally and independently created musical composition.”
While McGraw and Hill spoke out with their claim, the duo was nowhere to be found at Sunday’s ACM Awards in Las Vegas, despite the fact that they were nominated for the first time for Vocal Duo of the Year.
Ultimately, the couple lost out on the prize to Brothers Osborne, but they didn’t seem to mind, as McGraw shared an Instagram post indicating that the pair was focused on a different kind of getaway.
“hangin wit my girl… in our favorite place,” the crooner wrote next to a black-and-white snap of himself and Hill next to a tropical-looking rock.
The couple was likely spending time at their vacation home in the Bahamas, a retreat they have been frequenting often as of late.
Photo Credit: YouTube / TimandFaithVEVO
