The estate of the late, great George Michael is calling on Tory Lanez to cease distribution of his 2021 song "Enchanted Waterfall" for interpolating Michael's 1985 soft-rock classic "Careless Whisper" without authorization.
The single, which appeared on Lanez's 2021 album Alone at Prom, has been removed from Spotify but is still available on YouTube and Apple Music as of this writing.
In a statement to Variety, Michael's estate wrote:
It was brought to our attention that the song "Enchanted Waterfall" by the artist Tory Lanez incorporated an unauthorized sample of "Careless Whisper" written by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley… requested permission for this use had been declined in June 2021 so we took immediate action on behalf of the writers, in collaboration with our publishers Warner Chappell Music, to prevent further exploitation as we will not tolerate any unauthorized use of any songs within the catalogues of George Michael and/or Andrew Ridgeley.
This isn't the first time that Lanez has pissed off an '80s icon over an unauthorized sample. Last year, Madonna called out the rapper for "illegal use" of her hit "Into the Groove" on his song "Pluto's Last Comet."
Lanez is in trouble all over the place, as he's also facing trial for allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion back in 2020. He's since said a bunch of other dumb, offensive stuff regarding the shooting.
Compare "Enchanted Waterfall" (while you still can) and "Careless Whisper" below.
The single, which appeared on Lanez's 2021 album Alone at Prom, has been removed from Spotify but is still available on YouTube and Apple Music as of this writing.
In a statement to Variety, Michael's estate wrote:
It was brought to our attention that the song "Enchanted Waterfall" by the artist Tory Lanez incorporated an unauthorized sample of "Careless Whisper" written by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley… requested permission for this use had been declined in June 2021 so we took immediate action on behalf of the writers, in collaboration with our publishers Warner Chappell Music, to prevent further exploitation as we will not tolerate any unauthorized use of any songs within the catalogues of George Michael and/or Andrew Ridgeley.
This isn't the first time that Lanez has pissed off an '80s icon over an unauthorized sample. Last year, Madonna called out the rapper for "illegal use" of her hit "Into the Groove" on his song "Pluto's Last Comet."
Lanez is in trouble all over the place, as he's also facing trial for allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion back in 2020. He's since said a bunch of other dumb, offensive stuff regarding the shooting.
Compare "Enchanted Waterfall" (while you still can) and "Careless Whisper" below.
