Is Gwen Stefani’s ‘Baby Don’t Lie’ a Knockoff of a Swedish Dance Track? (Audio)

“The Voice” judge releases her first solo single in eight years but some fans say it sounds suspiciously familiar

Gwen Stefani‘s new solo single “Baby Don’t Lie” hit the Internet Monday. While critics are mostly impressed, some fans say the song sounds a little too familiar.

The track, written by Stefani, Benny Blanco, OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder and Noel Zancanella, will also be teased on Monday night’s episode of her NBC show “The Voice.” It’s the 45-year-old singer’s first solo effort since 2006’s “Sweet Escape” and will appear on her next solo album, expected to hit shelves in December.

Critics are mostly pleased with the cut, including Rolling Stone’s Ryan Reed. “The No Doubt frontwoman [stretches] out her voice to an emphatic hiccup over buzzing synths and rattling drums,” Reed wrote in his review.

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MTV, meanwhile, says the single takes on a “tropical trip to the dancefloor … dancey track focuses on a pulsing, tropical beat, a simple melody and Gwen’s vocal inflections,” writes Emile Lindeer.

While Slate compares “Baby Don’t Lie” to Rihanna‘s recent hit “Diamonds” and thinks it could be destined for success.

“It sounds unmistakably Rihanna-influenced,” wrote Dee Lockett. “In any case, the song’s likely to put Stefani back on the charts.”

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But not all the reviews are positive.

Many Twitter users and even Yahoo Music’s Laura Ferreiro say Stefani’s song sounds suspiciously like a track from Swedish pop singer Ji Nilsson called “Heartbreak Free.”

“It’s hard to deny that the tempo, melody, and subject matter of Stefani’s tune recall Nilsson’s infectious ‘Heartbreak Free,’” wrote Ferreiro. “[It’s] a bit more understated than ‘Baby Don’t Lie,’ but the similarities abound.”

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And here’s a tweet that stops just short of calling Stefani’s track a copycat:

Even Nilsson herself has weighed in on Twitter:

Listen to “Baby Don’t Lie” above and the video for “Heartbreak Free” below:

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