Harry Styles has become one of the biggest music stars over the past few years. Sure, he was already a mega superstar when he was with the boyband One Direction, but he's ascended to even bigger heights since he embarked on his ambitious solo career.
Despite his talent, Styles hasn't been able to avoid a common pitfall most modern popstars and musicians face - plagiarism. A number of writers, musicians, and even photographers have accused Styles of stealing their work.
While Instagram star Jarred Jermaine has an excellent side-by-side comparison of just how close Styles' best songs are to other works, here's every major plagiarism case that's been made against the former One Directioner...
8 Did Harry Styles Steal 'As It Was' From Miranda!'s "El Profe"?
One of the newer songs on this list, 'As It Was' was one of 2022's biggest hits and one of the biggest songs ever. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for a staggering 15 weeks. According to Billboard, it's the 4th longest amount of time a song has remained in that coveted #1 position ever.
However, it may have been a song that was stolen from another artist.
That's right, 'As It Was' is believed by some people to have been a blatant copy of Miranda!'s 'El Profe'. For those who are unaware of Miranda!, they are an electropop band that hails from Argentina.
The allegations were immediate, hitting Styles before the song was officially released. Styles released a teaser of the song on Instagram, and some fans commented that he had stolen from 'El Profe'.
Neither Styles nor the band Miranda! have ever commented on the song's similarities. It is a recent case, so perhaps there may still be some sort of legal trouble in the future.
7 Did Harry Styles Steal 'Ever Since New York' From Badfinger's 'Baby Blue'?
Badfinger was known for a number of reasons, including their comparisons to The Beatles. They even collaborated with the band on occasion, including the time George Harrison played guitar for the band.
More recently, they've been known for one of their songs resembling a popular Styles tune.
In 2017, Harry officially started his solo career with his self-titled debut album. To promote that album, Styles went on SNL and performed a few songs. He debuted 'Ever Since New York', a slow folk ballad that fans really enjoyed. The only problem was that fans of Badfinger quickly accused Styles of plagiarism.
According to J-14, fans tweeted in droves that Styles had ripped their favorite band off. In particular, they believed that 'Ever Since New York' sounded eerily similar to 'Baby Blue'.
6 Did Harry Styles Steal 'Sweet Creature' From The Beatles And Paul McCartney's 'Blackbird'?
The Beatles 'Blackbird' is definitely one of the most popular songs ever recorded. An acapella ballad that was pretty much created entirely by Paul McCartney, some fans think he should have kept it for his own solo career. Guitarist George Harrison's album 'All Things Must Pass' was the best-selling out of all 4 members, but if McCartney put 'Blackbird' exclusively on one of his spinoff projects, he probably would have been even more successful with his solo endeavors.
'Sweet Creature' was another song off Style's debut album that many fans believed had copied a classic rock ballad. While many songs have certainly been inspired by 'Blackbird', the similarities between the two songs are a bit too much for some Beatles fans. According to Refinery29, the two songs actually share a very similar chord structure, which explains the resemblance.
Styles is a known Beatles fan, once telling Top of the Pops that One Direction was comparable to the Fab Four. However, whether 'Sweet Creatures' was influenced or even stolen from 'Blackbird' is something that has never been publicly discussed by either party.
5 Did Harry Style Steal The Cover Artwork For His Self-Titled Album From Shed Seven?
This is one of the more interesting things Harry may have plagiarized from another artist. Unlike the other entries on this list, this one may have been regarding one of Style's album covers.
Some fans of the band Shed Seven believed that Harry took inspiration from the band's cover art for their single 'Ocean Pie'. Both covers feature the back of a shirtless man as he's looking down. The only major difference is that Harry is holding his head in his hands, whereas the man on the 'Ocean Pie' cover is face-down in a sink.
Shed Seven frontman Rick Witter actually talked to The Mirror, and he didn't seem happy about the whole situation. Witter said, "When I first saw it, I genuinely thought 'Are you ripping us off'?". The band never did pursue any legal strife, and Witter did wish Styles the best of luck in that interview.
4 Did One Direction And Harry Styles Steal 'Live While You're Young' From The Clash's 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go?'
Styles and Zayn Malik.
When Styles was 16 years old, he joined one of the most popular musical groups of all time. After appearing on the UK's X-Factor series, he formed One Direction with 4 other singers, and the rest is history. Harry worked a very modest job before joining the band, which may be why he and the band would find influence from a working-class band like The Clash.
People who aren't even fans of The Clash might notice the blatant similarities between 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go' and 'Live While We're Young'. Styles talked about this back in 2012, telling Metro that the inspiration was done "on purpose".
In good news for One Direction fans, Styles recently teased a reunion with One Direction on James Corden's finale episode.
3 Did One Direction And Harry Styles Steal 'Perfect' From Taylor Swift's Song 'Style'?
This is yet another interesting plagiarism case. Given Styles and Swift's short-term relationship back In 2012, it's somewhat jarring that one would copy the other in any artistic endeavor.
According to Seventeen, the song 'Style' has a number of allusions to Harry such as having "slick-back hair". In a way, Styles and One Direction responded to this by making their hit song 'Perfect' sound similar to 'Style' by making the song's chorus have a similar melody.
Swift herself was also accused of plagiarism, so she rightfully has never responded nor accused the band of stealing in any way, shape, or form.
2 Did Harry Styles Steal 'Music In A Sushi Restaurant' From A.N.T Farm's 'Exceptional'?
Anne-McClain has become more famous for her viral TikTok videos and social media presence. However, she did start her career as the lead character on Disney's A.N.T Farm, a show some fans believe Styles stole one of his songs from.
According to TikTok user jarredjermaine, Harry's 'Music In A Sushi Restaurant' sounds very, very similar to the A.N.T Farm theme song. This is due to the simple, fast-paced guitar notes both songs share.
1 What Songs Has Harry Styles Officially Sampled?
In none of these entries on this list has Styles outright sampled or even talked about the similarities between the various pieces of work. However, Styles, like most musicians nowadays, has officially sampled other artists.
According to WhoSampled, Styles 'Daydreaming' sampled The Brothers Johnson's 'Ain't We Funkin' Now'.
