In 2019, Sam Smith and Normani joined forces to release their first collaboration “Dancing With A Stranger.” “It bottles everything I was feeling whilst juggling my personal life and touring,” Smith said about the song at the time. Unfortunately, three years later, the track has landed the duo in some legal trouble as they were recently sued for copyright infringement.
According to Rolling Stone, in a complaint that was filed in federal court in Los Angeles, songwriters Jordan Vincent, Christopher Miranda, and Rosco Banlaoi claim that “Dancing With A Stranger” copies important elements, including its title, chorus, composition, and music video, from Vincent’s 2017 song “Dancing With Strangers.”
“The hook/chorus in both songs — the most significant part and artistic aspect of these works — contains the lyrics ‘dancing with a stranger’ being sung over a nearly identical melody and musical composition,” they allege. “Both videos consist of a girl performing interpretive dance alone in a minimalist studio, interspersed with shots of the male vocalist.”
This is not the first time that Smith has had to reach a legal settlement over one of their songs. Back in 2015, Tom Petty was awarded a song credit on Smith’s 2014 song “Stay With Me” due its similarities with “Don’t Back Down.”
