Stella Lefty is facing a fourth round of plagiarism allegations and this time it seems she may have dipped into the musical theatre world, allegedly of course! Listeners have begun comparing her song “Misery” to The Greatest Showman track “A Million Dreams”.
The debate began brewing in YouTube comments before taking off on social media over the weekend. No legal claim has been publicly reported, and a listener comparison is of course not proof that a song was copied. Still, people have been putting their headphones on, opening several tabs and entering their investigative journalism eras with Lefty's music. Here’s a look at the songs that have prompted the comparisons so far.
Did Stella Lefty copy “Boston” from Noah Kahan?
The first major comparison centred on “Boston”, Lefty’s breakout hit. Listeners heard similarities with Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season”, and Kahan is now credited as a co-writer on Lefty’s track. Reports said Kahan’s team contacted Lefty’s camp before the song’s official release.
Lefty addressed the situation in a Vanity Fair interview, saying, “When I was writing the song, I wasn’t thinking about Noah Kahan. I was literally thinking about nothing at all.”
She continued: “I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes, so I’m like, if this sounds like that, whatever, all good.”
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Fans have since combed through Lefty's socials finding several videos of her covering "Stick Season" on her TikTok.
Did Stella Lefty copy “Summer You Were Mine” from The Chicks?
Next up was “Summer You Were Mine”, which fans noticed contained similarities to The Chicks’ 1998 song “There’s Your Trouble”.
This case has a clearer explanation. The song was an approved interpolation, meaning it reworks a recognisable element of an existing song rather than directly sampling its recording. The Chicks songwriters Tia Sillers and Mark Selby were initially absent from streaming credits, but Lefty’s label Atlantic Records told Rolling Stone that this was due to a “streaming platform error”. Their names have since been added.
However, some comments think that Lefty's release is actually similar to another song — "Soak Up the Sun" by Sheryl Crowe, but this is all speculation thus far.
Did Stella Lefty copy “Why Wouldn’t We” from Blake Shelton?
Then came “Why Wouldn’t We”, from Lefty’s album Long Way Home. Listeners compared it with` Blake Shelton’s 2017 single “I’ll Name The Dogs”, pointing to similarities in melody and lyrics about sharing the domestic load in a relationship.
One TikTok commenter wrote, “Honestly it’s not just the melody, even the lyrics are essentially the same."
Neither Shelton nor the song’s writers, Matt Dragstrem, Ben Hayslip and Josh Thompson, have publicly addressed the comparison since reports emerged. They are also not credited on “Why Wouldn’t We”, which lists Lefty, Emily Weisband, Grady Block and Steph Jones as writers.
Did Stella Lefty copy “Misery” from The Greatest Showman?
Now, listeners are comparing “Misery” with “A Million Dreams”. One TikTok comment responding to the side-by-side clips read: “Jesus this is worse than the 'Stick Season' one”.
“Misery” is credited to Lefty, Madi Yanofsky and Phil Cook. “A Million Dreams” was written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, with Rob Mathes credited as arranger, none are currently listed on “Misery”.
For now, it remains another fan-led allegation. Whether anyone involved responds is another matter entirely.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has reached out to Stella Lefty for comment.
Lead image: Getty / TikTok
