Ed Sheeran brought his guitar to a New York courtroom this week to make a legal statement, mashing up several popular songs with his hit “Thinking Out Loud,” which stands accused of ripping off the Marvin Gaye classic “Let’s Get It On.”
Testifying for a second day in a Manhattan federal court, Sheeran on Tuesday played and sang songs by Nina Simone, Bill Withers, Van Morrison and more, shifting easily between them, “Thinking Out Loud” and “Let’s Get It On” to demonstrate how similar chord progressions are commonly shared across decades of hits. Courtroom sketches showed Sheeran seated in the witness box with his guitar strapped across his chest.