Ed Sheeran is opening up after defeating a copyright infringement lawsuit that alleged he copied Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” when he wrote his Grammy-winning song “Thinking Out Loud.”
In an interview with “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, the singer said it was “101 songs with the same chord sequence” that helped the jury decide in his favor.
“It was just a scratch in the surface,” he added. “It was so quick to see that and to be like, ‘Oh, yeah.'” “
MORE: Ed Sheeran talks about the impact of copyright lawsuits on songwriters
The lawsuit was filed by the family of late “Let’s Get It On” co-writer Ed Townsend. The suit alleged that Sheeran took the rhythm, chord progression, and other elements of his 2014 song “Thinking Out Loud” from the 1973 soul classic without permission.
Sheeran denied the allegations. At one point during the trial, the singer performed mashups of his and Gaye’s songs during his testimony in court in order to show how common the four-string progression was in his and other hits.
“I’ve wanted to do this for ages, but you have to do your due diligence on court,” Sheeran said of his performance on court. “So I just waited and knew I would have my day to explain it and wouldn’t rush anything.”
A Manhattan jury reached its verdict in the case Thursday, siding with Sheeran after three hours of deliberation.
More: Ed Sheeran speaks out after winning ‘Thinking Out Loud’ copyright case
After winning the lawsuit, Sheeran told reporters outside Manhattan federal court Thursday that the songs have “vastly different lyrics, melodies and chords, which are also different and are used by songwriters every single day, all over the world.”
“These chords are common building blocks that were used to compose music long before Let’s Get It On was written, and will be used to compose music long after we are all gone,” Sheeran said. To be available for all of us to use. Nobody has it or the way it’s played, the same way nobody has it in blue.”
Sheeran has also opened up about his new album, “-,” pronounced “Subtract,” which has now been released.
“I am happy with how it was received,” he said of the reception. “It’s a different area for me. I usually go with big pop songs…that’s where there’s a lot of that as an album. It’s just something I’m really proud of and it’s going to be there in my demography forever.”
The production of Sheeran’s latest album is featured in the new four-part documentary series “Ed Sheeran: The Sum Of It All,” now streaming on Disney+, and delves into what inspired the musician to create some of the songs — notably his wife’s medical panic and death. his best friend.
“I didn’t actually know this was what we were making,” he said. “I was sort of doing a documentary about my album being made and the music videos being done and gigs going around.”
“Basically, the people who were making the documentary were like, ‘We don’t want to do a polished promotional press package, so we’re going to shoot everything and trust that we’re going to do something that respects you.’ And they basically made this documentary about grief.” “I think it’s really beautiful.”
Sheeran also tours, and has said he is “honored and surprised” to feel the love from American fans when he tours the US.
He joked, “America is a fast-moving country and you guys have such good American music here that I’m always surprised you want to listen to the British guy.”
“Internet geek. Friendly coffee trailblazer. Infuriatingly humble musicaholic. Twitter fan. Devoted alcohol aficionado. Avid thinker.”