Hungarian singer sues Beyonce for 'Drunk In Love' Sample

A Hungarian folk singer is suing Beyoncé, claiming it is her voice in the intro for Drunk in Love.

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

A Hungarian folk singer is suing Beyoncé, claiming it is her voice in the intro for Drunk in Love.

via TMZ:

Monika Miczura, aka Mitsou, says Bey, Jay and producer Timbaland pilfered a Roma folk song she recorded in 1995, then used it for the first 13 seconds of the hit song.

Mitsou says she never gave them permission, but even worse, her song is about hopelessness yet Beyonce used it “to evoke foreign eroticism alongside the sexually intense lyrics.” 

Mitsou says the 3 amigos bastardized her song — “Bajba, Bajba Pelem” — by digitally manipulating her voice with Auto-Tune and various cuts.

She wants damages and is also asking a judge to prohibit anyone from playing the song as long as it has her voice.

Drunk in Love was nominated for a Grammy, and its video (which won Best Collaboration at the MTV Video Music Awards) features an extended, 57-second version of the voice sample. Mitsou says she first learned that Beyoncé had stolen her voice from concerned friends who called her after hearing her “a capella solo” on the track.

According to her suit, “All together, Mitsou’s vocals are featured for over one and half minutes of the five and one half minute song”.  The original recording of “Bajba, Bajba Pelem,” was released under the title “Gypsy Life on the Road” by North Pacific Records in 1997. Listen to it below. Do you think Mitsou has a case?

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