
Source: WENN ; Ivan Nikolov/WENN.com / WENN
Is it a reach or copyright infringement?
That’s what people are debating after beloved singer CeCe Peniston, known for her dance track “Finally,” accused popular singer Lizzo of ripping the ad-lib “Ya Ya” from her biggest song for the hit “Juice,” which has been used by vodka brand Absolut for an ad recently.
CeCe put this on blast last week, noting the similarities by saying, “just for the record and so you understand … anytime anybody uses a song over 7 seconds thats using a ‘portion’ of their copyright , Lizzo not only takes over that , she’s used several times adding up to about 40 seconds , its my lyric it’s written down as well , it’s the signature to the opening in my song #finally and all commercials are using it from the “Adlib “ section because they know it’s catchy sooo “#notjustanadlib it’s a check !!!! @umpg @atlanticrecords”
She added a few days later that the star “chopped it up” and used the “Ya Ya (or “Yeah Yeah”?).” several times in her song in a similar way that she uses “Ya Ya” in “Finally.”
The 50-year-old singer went further to accuse the 31-year-old singer and rapper of biting her track by sharing a clip of the two songs together:
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Cece Peniston (@cecepeniston) on
Interesting enough, singer India Arie commented on one of CeCe’s posts about the matter and was on her side.
“I hate that ANY one would not automatically KNOW this IS a signature of yours. Clearly,” she said. “But as musicians I guess we hear it more clearly.”
CeCe has since claimed that she’s a fan of Lizzo’s music but just wants her to take responsibility for what she claims is the use of her signature ad-lib without permission. However, Lizzo’s lawyer, Cynthia Arato, disagrees, calling BS on CeCe’s allegations. This comes at a time when Lizzo’s been accused of copyright infringement by two other artists for the rights to the opening line in her current number one hit, “Truth Hurts.”
Accusations of CeCe being an opportunist looking for a check may not be that hard to believe, especially since Lizzo is everywhere, including holding the number one spot on the Billboard charts and one week away from from having the longest-running number one hit from a female rapper (currently held by Iggy Azalea for “Fancy”). However, I can’t lie, the thing that stands out most from “Juice” to me is the “Ya Ya” part, which provides that extra bit of sass to the track, just as it does to CeCe’s “Finally.” Does that equal out to copyright infringement, though? If CeCe doesn’t plan to let this go and it ends up in court, that will certainly be for a judge to decide.
Check out what people on Twitter have to say about whether or not the slight similarities in the songs are worth Lizzo’s people coughing up a check by hitting the flip:
Everybody trying to sue Lizzo because she's winning. Cece Peniston needs to stop. Thinking Lizzo copied Finally on Juice is a REACH!! pic.twitter.com/VX7Hm8RhGH
— Kevin Simmons (@TheSkorpion) October 18, 2019
I swore Lizzo was referring to Cece Peniston too. Cece Peniston is a legend not forgotten.
Whoever wrote the song probably a vulture looking to get a little bank by "borrowing", but they THOUGHT.
— Seven Exotic (@Tiph_Seven) October 20, 2019
If Rae Sremmurd decides to file a copyright infringement lawsuit against Lizzo for the alleged similarities in the melodies of the “Truth Hurts” hook and the “Black Beatles” hook, it’s all Cece Peniston’s fault. 🤯
— Tiff B., Esq. (@BlackElleWoods) October 21, 2019
Hope Lizzo and Cece Peniston can dead the plagiarism thing between them positively.
— Andreas Antoniou (@kingrandae) October 22, 2019
Cece Peniston really want credit for that line in Lizzo's "Juice"…..people are coming for the Liz. I hope she gets her affairs in order.
— #WearAmaskBitch CuzUfuckinItUp (@GayAgendaNC) October 18, 2019
I ❤️ CeCe Peniston but I’m not sure Lizzo stole those 40 seconds from Finally for Juice. How do you litigate a “Yah Yah Ee” ?
— T’CHUNKA (@EMCEE_PHATTUMS) October 20, 2019
La Bouche's "sweet dreams" is playing and kid n play shouldve sued for the "ola ola ay" if cece penniston can sue lizzo for "ya ya ee".
— Glare Huxtable (@radseed) October 22, 2019
If Cece P. actually liked Lizzo, she wouldn't bother mentioning the vague similarity between Finally and Juice. It's certainly not infringement, and shame on her for trying to hoodwink her audience into thinking so. Lost a lot of respect for her. #cecepiscancelled
— RIME (@Trot100News) October 20, 2019