Rixton, Rob Thomas, Rihanna
This is an update for Rob Thomas vs. Rihanna
Crystal suggested Rixton “Me and My Broken Heart” and I have to say it’s pretty on point. (Update: I also found the same suggestion in my email from Alex and Jack)
Rob Thomas - "Lonely No More" (2004)
Rihanna - "Unfaithful" (2006)
Rixton - "Me and My Broken Heart" (2014)
Update 5/6/2014: eMaRe noted in the comments below that Rob Thomas is a co-writer of “Me and My Broken Heart” (check the wikipedia)
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When you consider the title line of Me and My Broken Heart, it sounds like Thank You by Dido.
Exactly! That’s the only part of the song that I could remember when I switched off the radio. All I kept singing was that bit over and over, until the ‘Got out of bed at all’ part of Dido’s ”Thank You” finally clicked and I knew where they had ripped it from. I hadn’t heard of the Rob Thomas song, but now that I’ve listened to it a few times it’s become very clear that all they’ve done is merge the two songs and add new lyrics. This is way too close to be called inspiration and it’s taking the piss. Why are people allowed to get away with this lately?
First of all, it seems they came to an arrangement with Rob Thomas, either before or after writing their song. Secondly, there is the consideration of coincidence or subconscious copying. Thirdly, it depends on how successful the single is that is copying another song and while this may sound mercenary, most people would probably only be interested in getting their share once it gets to a sizeable amount. Last of all, it’s surprising what goes unnoticed, maybe due to the original artist listening to different radio stations or being busy with their own stuff.
I’ve just realised that Lonely No More outlines the good old Andalusian Cadence or Diatonic Phrygian Tetrachord, possibly made famous in the bass line of Hit the Road Jack.
thank you thank you so much. my brother and i listened to rixton’s song on repeat and were going insane until i found rob thomas again. thank you
You’re welcome! 🙂
I totally feel like they stole Rob’s music, and if I were Rob Thomas, I’d sue their asses off the charts!
ROb thomas helped write “me and my broken heart” LOL I think they wanted the songs to sound similar…
He didn’t help write it! They SAMPLED it. It’s all legit.
I feel like this band totally COPIED Rob Thomas’s MUSIC! Rob should totally sue this band. Not impressed at all.
For those of you saying Rixton ripped off Rob, check your credits. Rob co-wrote “Broken Heart”. Rob ripped off himself. He never has been too original.
Thanks for the info on that!
That’s the way it is sometimes, that if it seems too blatant, it’s actually legit, lawful or whatever term you want to use.
He didn’t help write it- they just listed him as a writer because they so obviously ripped off his music and wanted to avoid copyright etc
I’m not sure that’s enough though. There was a ridiculous case where someone left a rest or something in their music and jokingly credited it to John Cage, because of the famous silent piece 4’33”, and they were taken to court for not gaining permission and coming to an arrangement which usually concerns royalties.
Yeah, but the label has lawyers to go through stuff. It’s been done a lot more recently to cover everyone involved’s asses where they notify the person they stole from in order to get an agreement without getting used later on.
That sounds like everyone’s happy, but it is kind of forcing the hand of the ‘original’ songwriter, being as the sound-alike already exists, but I don’t suppose they have to agree to the arrangements.
He didn’t rip himself off actually. Rob has never worked with Rixton. They simply took his song, sampled it (and he cleared it) and they listed him as co-writer. There’s nothing new in this and it’s not a rip off, it’s legal.
What do you mean about Rob Thomas not being too original? Most people ‘rip themselves off’, whether through deliberate recycling of their own material, or just that they came up with the same thing twice. What makes someone not very original is if they didn’t come up with it themselves in the first place.
Rixton gave writing rights to Rob Thomas After Realizing that he copied the song’s hook and said it was because he loved the singers work so much..
Such a catchy song, regardless of how similar it is. Personally I always though it’s good to keep an open mind about songs being similar, especially after watching “Everything Is A Remix” on YouTube. Check it out here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coGpmA4saEk
“Everything is a Remix” is great. I’ve posted about it on the site before. Most of the content on this site is pretty open ended to let everyone else discuss. The main reason I started the site was so that I could simply relieve myself of that awful feeling of knowing I heard something before. A lot of people seem to have the same reaction of relief when they simply find the other song that was haunting their brain.
I don’t let it put me off of songs anymore, after all, if you’re too extreme about originality, then you might never use a phone again because Alexander Graham Bell might have taken the credit for an invention by an Italian guy by the name of Andrea Meucci, I think. What it important is why they have copied and how the went about it-if they were underhanded about it all, then they shouldn’t be idolised, which I don’t do so much anymore, because when you put someone up on a pedestal, they come crashing down.
Rob Thomas copied the melody from “The Rhythm of Life” from the musical Sweet Charity made famous by Sammy Davis Jr. 40 years ago.
The bridge from The Atomic Betty theme song also comes to mind. When I was younger the song used to be played as a fill-in on the ABC.
This one’s crazy. I checked the date and the theme song dates back to the airing of the series in Sep 2004, while Lonely No More was released in Feb 2005. Still 30 years after Sweet Charity, though.
And 18 years after She’s So Beautiful from Time-The Musical, performed by Cliff Richard. Sweet Charity stills seems to be the first, though.
Me and my Broken Heart is a direct rip off with syncopation of words being identical to Dido. From decent of note order all the way to timing. “Got out of bed at all”. All that is happening in todays society is a constant regurgitation of songs that people re-think are cool. Shockingly bad! Reminds you of “THEY LIVE”
Agreed, it’s definitley a nixture of Rob Thomas and Dido’s ‘Thank You’. That’s the only part of the song that I could remember lol
How about Rihanna’s sample or whatever of I’ve Been Everywhere, Man in Where Have You Been? It probably came from the American version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTKq_y1_Vrw#t=59s
Woah, pretty interesting!
I agree I heard this song and immediately saw the connection, however I did some research and found that Rob Thomas actually assisted the band Rixton in the writing of this song
OMG! me and my mom were in the car and when we heard this song we immediately thought of Lonely No More by Rob Thomas. My younger sister said it also sounded like a Rihanna song, (which ended up being Unfaithful) and we decided that this Rixton artist basically combined THESE TWO SONGS TOGETHER. we caught it from the start. I do believe Rob Thomas should sue this guy. He doesn’t deserve this fame.
Actually Amy, it was ripped off of Dido’s ‘Thank You’. Why don’t you go and listen to that now and confirm it. He used THREE songs to make one new one,
It’s a sample, not a ‘rip off’.
They probably all were sampled but you do have to understand there is only a finite number of chord progressions and note progressions so eventually things will sound similar. It gets even stricter when you take into account the vocal range of most singers is the same, and the key in which the song was written (makes chord and note progression restricted severly). So it may be sampling and/or restricted notes.
Good point bringing up vocal range, and it’s not just that either. Certain intervals are considered awkward to sing and so are often avoided. Plus, it is considered difficult to sing arpeggios, so few vocal melodies are based on arpeggios (one notable exception is Down on the Corner). Instrumentals can be more varied, but it would be expected that instrumentals for a particular instrument could be similar, due to their own limitations, but piano pieces aren’t as limited, due to the 7 octave range as opposed to the average 2 1/2 or so for voice (but Billie Holiday had a range little over an octave and Mariah Carey is said have a 6 octave range).
Only two out of the three songs in this post are in the same key, but yes, keys with few sharps or flats are more common, except for transposing instruments, but the songs would be much the same, just in a different key. The most limiting thing, though, is taste. Sometimes that involves familiarity and when you combine the desire to create something familiar to the songwriter with the desire to create something familiar to the music buying public (these can be subconscious), it’s a recipe for a sound-alike.
From Wikipedia:
“Me and My Broken Heart” interpolates parts of Rob Thomas’s 2005 single “Lonely No More”. Band member Jake Roche discussed the sample in an article for Billboard: “We’ve been a huge fan of his, so we took a lot of inspiration from him and wanted to give him a tip of the hat”. While Thomas has responded positively to the use of the sample, “Me and My Broken Heart” has been criticised online for using elements of Thomas’ song.
Interesting…
All of the above sound like Cy Coleman’s The Rhythm of Life (1966)
Good one! I will definitely make an updated post about this.
Is this the same as a song from Sweet Charity?
https://www.thatsongsoundslike.com/2014/04/25/rixton-vs-rob-thomas-vs-rihanna/comment-page-1/#comment-4727
And Keith, be sure to add my additions.
https://www.thatsongsoundslike.com/2014/04/25/rixton-vs-rob-thomas-vs-rihanna/comment-page-1/#comment-4733