Coldplay Denies Plagiarism Claim

Coldplay has denied guitarist Joe Satriani's claims that the band lifted elements from one of his songs for its Grammy-nominated hit, “Viva la Vida,” the BBC reports. Papers filed in Los Angeles assert that the tune uses “substantial original portions” of Satriani’s “If I Could Fly,” an instrumental piece. Coldplay called any similarities “entirely coincidental” in a statement responding to the allegation.

“Joe Satriani is a great musician but he did not write or have any influence on the song ‘Viva la Vida,’” said the band.
(More Coldplay stories.)