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Business News Legal
Tulisa sues Will.i.am over Scream & Shout
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 11 February 2013
Will.i.am has another bit of copyright litigation to add to his big fat collection, according to The Sun, with the news that Tulisa Contostavlos is suing him over the song ‘Scream & Shout’, his recent hit duet with Britney Spears, which will also appear on his forthcoming solo album ‘#willpower’.
It seems the track, the final version of which is credited to Will.i.am, Jean Baptiste and Jef Martens, was originally recorded by Contostavlos when she was working on her debut solo album, last year’s somewhat lacklustre ‘The Female Boss’.
It’s thought the former N-Dubber only worked with Baptiste and Martens on the track, Will.i.am getting involved once Tulisa had decided not to include it on her album (or once the producers/songwriters had pulled out of the collaboration, depending on who you believe).
Will.i.am recently admitted the his production partners had originally worked with Contostavlos on what became ‘Scream & Shout’, but says that once he was involved he only ever envisaged Britney as a vocal partner on the record.
Either way, Tulisa and her publishing reps say that she contributed some of the lyrics that appeared in the final Will.i.am and Britney version of the song.
And, according to The Sun, they are now suing to get the ‘X-Factor’ judge a nice little songwriting credit on the track, and an even nicer slice of all the royalties loot Will.i.am and Spears’ chart topping rendition of it will have generated. Will.i.am and his publishers are yet to respond to the lawsuit.
