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| Is "Impossible" a rip off of "Ain't no way" |
The first time I heard Christina Aguilera's Impossible it reminded me immediately of an Aretha Franklin classic that I just couldn't put my finger on.
Thinking this would be a simple case of checking the sleeve for the listed sample, and that would be the end of my annoyance, I rummaged around for the Stripped album and checked the credits. Surprisingly, the only person listed as "writer" and "producer" was Alicia Keys.
Going crazy not knowing the Aretha Franklin song I turned to Google for help, but only found articles about the infamous "Makeover/Overload" drama. In the end I turned detective, put on Aretha's Greatest hits and eventually stumbled on Ain't no way.
Admittedly, the songs didn't sound as similar as they had in my head, but they still were similar enough to make me wonder how Alicia Keys had the nerve to claim sole credit for a song that so clearly borrows from another. I suppose the question is when does being inspired by another song- and I'm 99.9% sure Alicia would know Aretha's Ain't no way- tip over into plagiarism?
Do YOU agree that the songs sound a like? Listen to the sample below and judge for yourself.
Introductions:
Christina Aguilera, "Impossible"
Aretha Franklin "Ain't no way"
Verse:
Christina Aguilera, "Impossible"
Aretha Franklin "Ain't no way"
OMG!! my light bulb went on just like yours. I was listening to Aretha sing this and (since I'm an avid listener of Christina and listened to that album at nauseum) said to myself, "why does that sound like Alicia's song?". Glad I'm not crazy.
ReplyDelete@Just Chris, Glad I'm not alone in noticing it! I was beginning to think it was just me!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting!
I love XTina but this is a blatant rip-off, I'm sure she must of heard the song as for her B2B album she name checks all her singing hero's and Arethas one of them.
ReplyDeleteThe very beginning, on the piano, sounds like the piano runs in "A Song For You" by Donny Hathaway. And I agree with the Aint No Way comparison, but I also have noticed a "Natural Woman" soundalike..
ReplyDelete"You;re The Key to My Peace of Mind" "Try'na read your mind" ??
now you're just grasping. just because they both mention mind they're automatically correlated enough to hint anything? please. you're no detective.
ReplyDeletehey above anon, you seem to be in the minority, but I respect your opinion. At anon above him/her, I can hear all those other songs in it too!
ReplyDeleteI totally thought they sounded alike! Good call.
ReplyDeleteWow I never would have caught this. I wonder if Christina even knew...however as Alicia is the songwriter she MUST have known the similarities.
ReplyDeleteWHAT THE HELL .. WHAT DID SHE COPY ?YOU PEOPLE ARE SO LATE THIS WAS SAMPLE OF ARETHA SONG AND SHE GOT THE PERMISSION TO DO SO .and how could you not have notice? this is so 2002 !
ReplyDeleteCHRISTINA ALSO SAMPLED CHAKA CHAN SONG FOR HER B2B ALBUM : "SLOW DOWN BABY ".
IT IS NOT A CRIME MANY ARTIST DO IT ALL THE TIME AND THEY GET PERMISSION TO DO IT :
1)CHRIS BROWN - SHE AIN'T YOU >> MICHAEL JACKSON - HUMAN NATURE.
2)ADELE -MAKE ME FEEl YOUR LOVE > BOB DYLAN (ORGINAL)
....AND THE LIST GOES ON .
I'm fully aware of what it is to "sample", or "cover a song". Jeez. However under "credits " for Impossible, the only writer that is listed is Alicia Keys, under producer the only credit is once again Alicia keys.
ReplyDeleteIf you sample a song you have to give credit to whomever you sample from. "Slow Down" does indeed contain a sample, and thus, rightly so, the song has writing credits for those who the wrote the sampled music. FYI that sampled Gladys Knight & the Pips's not Chaka Khan . Therefore since you acknowledge that it sounds like Aretha, but doesn't credit, it is indeed a rip off. Thank you for agreeing with me :D
totally
ReplyDeleteThose two verse clips sound way to similar.
ReplyDeleteSeeing as most pop songs copy each others cord progressions it doesn't really surprise me. There are enough differences for Alicia to get away with it.
ReplyDeleteBoth are very similar musically and lyrically, but I don't think Alicia Keys would intentionally rip it off. I think it was more of a homage to Ain't No Way than anything else - both are huge fans of Aretha and grew up listening to her, so they definitely both know her songs... Christina even once said Ain't No Way was her favourite. And the whole Overload/Make Over fiasco, again I believe was a coincidence that they sounded similar because I doubt either Linda or Christina even knew who the Sugababes were at the time!
ReplyDelete