Jury finds that Katy Perry's 'Dark Horse' copied Christian rap song

Katy Perry.
(Image credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

After days of testimony and listening to both songs back-to-back, a jury in Los Angeles found on Monday that Katy Perry's 2013 hit "Dark Horse" copied the 2009 tune "Joyful Noise" by Christian rapper Marcus Gray.

Gray, who uses the stage name Flame, and the song's co-authors filed the lawsuit five years ago, alleging that the beat and instrumental lines were nearly identical, The Associated Press reports. During the trial, Perry and her "Dark Horse" co-authors testified that they never heard "Joyful Noise" or listened to Christian music. Her attorney, Christine Lepera, also accused Gray's lawyers of "trying to own basic building blocks of music, the alphabet of music that should be available to everyone."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.