ABC News
In an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America on Tuesday, Ed Sheeran discussed why he thinks he won the copyright infringement lawsuit that alleged he copied the Marvin Gaye song “Let’s Get It On” when he wrote his Grammy-winning hit “Thinking Out Loud.”
Ed said it was “101 songs with the same chord sequence” that helped the jury decide in his favor.
“And that was just, like, scratching the surface,” he added. “It was very quick to see that and be like, ‘Oh, yeah, it’s not original.'”
At several points during the trial, Ed played guitar during his testimony, literally demonstrating how common the four-chord progression is for, not just his hit, but many others.
“I’d been wanting to do it for ages since it came out, but you have to do due diligence in court,” Sheeran said about his in-court performance. “So I just waited and knew that I would have my day to explain it and didn’t rush anything.”
A Manhattan jury reached its decision in the case on Thursday, siding with Sheeran after three hours of deliberation.
Sheeran also opened up about this new album Subtract, out now.
“I’m pleased with how it’s being received,” he said of the reception. “It’s different territory for me. I usually go in with big pop singles … where this very much just exists as an album. It’s just something I’m super-proud of and it will just exist in my discography forever.”
Ed just launched a North American tour in support of the album, and said he’s still “honored and surprised” to feel love from American fans.
He joked, “America is such a fast-moving country and you guys have such good American music here that I’m always surprised that you still want to listen to the British guy.”
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