12 Controversial Songs That Were Stolen

2. 'Heartbeat Song' - Kelly Clarkson

Where It Was (Allegedly) Stolen From: 'The Middle' - Jimmy Eat World

If anything, this one seems like a case of plagiarism by osmosis. Accidental theft, if you will.

Back in 2015, American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson was accused - mostly by keen-eared fans - of ripping off Jimmy Eat World's seminal pop punk track 'The Middle'.

The issue was with the lead melody heard in the intro and chorus of Clarkson's song and the chorus of Jimmy Eat World's song are pretty much identical, prompting the accusations. To her credit, Clarkson dodged the accusations entirely telling Rolling Stone magazine, "I didn't write the song, I just sang it. But I didn't catch that. Nobody behind the scenes did. What's funny is that I was a huge fan of that Jimmy Eat World album."

Apparently, Jimmy Eat World weren't over-keen on the idea of pursuing legal action, at least according to Clarkson:

"I thought it was really cool of Jimmy Eat World to say, 'Hey, no harm, no foul.' There are only so many chords."

Seemingly, the writers just did that thing all musicians do from time to time where you come up with a great hook and then realise it already exists. Oops.