Idolator

It turns out the Pied Piper was using someone else's flute when he claimed to write the Michael Jackson smash above, according to a new court decision that he swiped its melody from a pair of Belgian brothers:

The 1995 hit, Jackson's last U.S. No. 1, was credited to R. Kelly, who also produced the song. But the appeals court backed a suit by Belgian composers Danny and Eddy van Passel that they were the original writers of the song.

The court said Jackson's song was a clear copy of "If We Can Start All Over," composed by the van Passel brothers two years earlier. It ruled that the brothers are now entitled to all writing royalties R. Kelly generated for the song.

The ruling ends a 12-year legal battle for the composers, who were backed by Belgian authors' rights group SABAM, whose own analysis of the song found that "the largest part of the melody is identical."

No. 1 (and mad royalties) or not, I'd like to hope the Big R. will be okay with having this glutinous hack work stricken from his resume. And if only I can find something to strike that half-naked Michael from my brain.

Belgians Win Jackson Song Dispute [Billboard]