Shakira & Carlos Vives Appear in Court for 'La Bicicleta' Plagiarism Case
Shakira and Carlos Vives are defending their song in court.
The 42-year-old and 57-year-old singers appeared in court to address plagiarism allegations by Cuban producer Livan Rafael Castellanos, known as Livam, on Wednesday (March 27) in Madrid, Spain.
PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Shakira
Both Shakira and Carlos were all smiles as they made their way into the building.
The two reportedly rejected the allegation that their 2016 collaboration, “La Bicicleta,” contains lyrics, rhythm and melodies to Livam‘s 1997 song “Yo te quiero tanto.”
Shakira told the court that the song “is nothing like…’La Bicicleta,’ the melody is different, the music is different, the subject matter is different. My [song] talks about my homeland, it’s a salute to my homeland Barranquilla, Colombia, not Cuba. It’s different,” she told the judge.
“There is nothing similar about it, not the harmony, not the theme,” she went on to say, and then reportedly hummed several parts of her song during the appearance.
She also reportedly said that Livam‘s song is a “Dominican salsa” which “tries to be a folk song” but is “a mess.”
“It’s like they are touching one of my children…they are stealing from me,” Livam reportedly said during the hearing.
Listen to the two songs…