10 Hit Songs You Had No Idea Used Samples
2. Treasure - Bruno Mars
Treasure by Bruno Mars is a good song. It's not exactly cutting-edge or, as we're about to find out, in any way original, but it is a GOOD song. Nice to listen to. Fun to dance to. Good song.
There's a simple explanation as to why this is: Treasure's melody and instrumental is lifted almost directly from a similarly good song, Baby I'm Yours by Breakbot. Whether or not Treasure is a better song is up for debate, but one thing is certain: it's an absolute rip-off.
Although it took him a long time to admit it, Mars has acknowledged that Treasure was essentially stolen, going as far as to give Breakbot a writing credit for it. In fact, Mars had originally planned to record a cover of Baby I'm Yours, and only made Treasure after Breakbot refused to give him permission.
Breakbot, for his part, doesn't seem overly upset about the whole thing, citing that he also takes inspiration from other artists all the time. He claims that he's actually happy with the association, saying:
"To be perfectly honest, I'm not mad at all. If anything, I am rather flattered that someone selling millions of MP3s is interested in my music."