CNN
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Someone’s a “Beautiful Liar,” according to Queen Bey.
Genre-crossing superstar Beyoncé has denied allegations that she misused a sample of Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy” on her newest album.
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter’s seventh album, “Renaissance,” was released to critical acclaim in July and samples iconic house and disco artists. One song, “Alien Superstar,” features a riff similar to the 1991 British pop band Right Said Fred’s hit “I’m Too Sexy.” Whereas Right Said Fred sang, “I’m too sexy for my shirt,” Beyoncé sings, “I’m too classy for this world” and “I’m too classy to be touched.” The two Fairbrass brothers who make up Right Said Fred are credited as songwriters.
But the band has claimed that Beyoncé never asked them for permission to use their melody. Right Said Fred described Beyoncé as “arrogant” in a comment made to the British tabloid The Sun on Tuesday.
“Normally the artist approaches us, but Beyoncé didn’t because she is such an arrogant person she just had probably thought ‘come and get me,’ so we heard about it after the fact, when you did,” the band said.
Beyoncé’s team, however, told Entertainment Weekly that Right Said Fred not only gave permission for the song to be used but was also paid for its usage.
“The comments made by Right Said Fred stating that Beyoncé used ‘I’m Too Sexy’ in ‘Alien Superstar’ without permission are erroneous and incredibly disparaging,” the singer’s representative told Entertainment Weekly on Friday.
“Permission was not only granted for its use, but they publicly spoke of their gratitude for being on the album,” reads the statement given to Entertainment Weekly. Additionally, “Alien Superstar” doesn’t use any of the sound recordings from “I’m Too Sexy,” just the composition, according to the statement.
And there are receipts to back up Beyoncé’s team: On July 22, before “Renaissance” was released, Right Said Fred’s verified Twitter account wrote, “It’s nice to get a writing credit on the new ‘Beyoncé album.”
“I’m Too Sexy” has also been sampled in Drake’s “Way 2 Sexy” and Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do.”