Olivia Dean’s music has clashed with a Grammy-winning classic in a new lawsuit accusing the singer of repeatedly copying Bill Withers’ tune “Just the Two of Us.”
Dean’s record label was sued Friday by Mattie Music Group, publisher of Withers’ catalogue.
Dean’s 2025 song “I’ve Seen It” bears “clear and unavoidable similarities” to Withers’ hit classic, according to the lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital.
“The number, character, and arrangement of shared musical features are so striking that they support an enterprise; the similarities do not result from coincidence, independent creation, or reliance on common musical elements,” the lawsuit states. The statement was included.
At the heart of the lawsuit is the allegation that “I Saw Her” repeatedly copies the “distinctive protectable melody” of “Just the Two of Us.”
After encountering the song in August 2026, Mattie Music Group hired musicologist Alexander Stewart, whose preliminary analysis allegedly found significant similarities in protectable musical expression.
Mattie Music Group insisted that Withers’ original song was so widely distributed that Dean and co-writers Bastian Langebæk and Max Wolfgang had a reasonable opportunity to encounter it.
“Just the Two of Us” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, won a Grammy Award, and was played and heard on the radio for decades. It has also been covered by many artists.
The label reportedly notified the labels of the alleged infringement on August 17, 2026, but later claimed they continued to commercially exploit the song.
The federal lawsuit targets Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, Sony Publishing and Kobalt Music Publishing, not Dean himself, and seeks damages, profits and injunctions against further alleged infringements.
Withers broke through with “Ain’t No Sunshine” in 1971, which earned him his first Grammy award.
His catalog includes such classics as “Lean on Me”, “Use Me”, “Beautiful Day”, “Grandma’s Hands” and “Just the Two of Us”.
Dean, 27, is a British singer-songwriter whose blend of soul, pop and jazz-inspired R&B has made him one of the UK’s biggest breakout stars.
He released his first album “Messy” in 2023.
His second album produced big hits such as “The Art of Loving”, “Nice to Together”, “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” and “Man I Need”.