MGK + BMTH Face Plagiarism Accusations, But Paramore Nod Was Likely Baked In
Several listeners have accused Machine Gun Kelly and Bring Me the Horizon of plagiarizing their recent single together, "maybe," from Paramore's "Misery Business," according to ThePRP on Wednesday (April 6).
However, what's come to light is that "maybe" is listed as an interpolation of the signature Paramore song and emo anthem in its credits on Genius, suggesting the derivative may have been arranged in advance officially, though this hasn't been confirmed.
Interpolating means a song uses an original's melody by recreating it instead of sampling the original recording. Compare the songs near the bottom of this post.
That's Business
The "maybe" situation could be similar to what occurred with pop star Olivia Rodrigo's "Good 4 U," another tune accused of copying "Misery Business," but which now officially shares writing credits with Paramore.
Songwriting is a business after all, and these are star performers on major labels with multiple moving parts behind the scenes. So maybe, just maybe MGK's "interpolation" wasn't unplanned.
Still, in a tweet, Philip Labonte of metalcore's All That Remains indicated he thought "maybe" sounded enough like "Misery" to equate it with stealing.
Maybe Next Time
Kelly and BMTH's Oli Sykes jointly premiered "maybe" at Emo Nite L.A. on March 4. The song arrived March 16 and the video emerged March 25. MGK and Travis Barker once covered the real "Misery Business."
But Machine Gun Kelly has been accused of stealing hooks from another band before. In the past, some said his "Acting Like That" sounded like "Shake It" by Metro Station. However, per NME, Metro Station said they were pleased the tunes shared similarities.
Kelly's Mainstream Sellout album came out last month. Other singles include "Emo Girl" featuring Willow and "Ay!" featuring Lil Wayne. He'll tour North America this summer. Last month, MGK told pop-punk bands that he earned his success in that genre.
Earlier this year, Kelly promised two new albums for 2022, one being Sellout. At the time, it still was titled Born With Horns. He recently got engaged to actress Megan Fox. Last year, MGK drew the ire of Slipknot fans after engaging in a spat with the band.