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In popular music, interpolation (also called a replayed sample) refers to using a melody‍—  or portions of a melody (often with modified lyrics)‍—  from a previously recorded song but re-recording the melody instead of directly sampling it. Interpolation is often cited as a legal defence to mask unlicenced sampling when the artist or label who owns the recording of the music declines to license the sample, or if licensing the piece of music is considered too costly.

Interpolation examples

Interpolation is prevalent in many genres of popular music; early examples are the Beatles interpolating "La Marseillaise" and "She Loves You", among three other interpolations in the 1967 song "All You Need Is Love", and Lyn Collins interpolating lyrics from the 5 Royales' "Think" in her similarly titled 1972 song "Think (About It)".

One genre where interpolating (as well as sampling) is highly prevalent is hip hop music; prominent examples include Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise" interpolated in Coolio's hit song "Gangsta's Paradise", and Sting's "Shape of My Heart" interpolated in Juice WRLD's 2018 hit "Lucid Dreams".

In pop music, notable examples include Anne-Marie's "2002" which interpolates lyrics from six songs, Portugal. The Man's "Feel It Still" which interpolates the Marvelettes' 1961 hit "Please Mr. Postman", "Bad Liar" by Selena Gomez which interpolates the bassline of "Psycho Killer" by new wave band Talking Heads, and Ariana Grande's 2019 hit "7 Rings" which interpolates "My Favorite Things" written by Rodgers & Hammerstein and made famous by Julie Andrews.

The 1992 song "Murder She Wrote" by reggae duo Chaka Demus & Pliers has been interpolated in Omarion and Chris Brown's "Post to Be", in Pitbull's "El Taxi", in Jason Derulo's "Too Hot" and in the remix version of Black Eyed Peas' "Ritmo" featuring Jaden Smith, among many other songs.

In 2023, Spanish pop singer Abraham Mateo interpolated the 1983 song "Maniac" by Michael Sembello in the song "Maníaca". It achieved a platinum record certification in Spain, the same as the original version which also went platinum there.

See also

• Cover version
• List of interpolated songs
• Interpolation (classical music)
• Musical quotation

References

1. "What Is the Difference Between a Sample and an Interpolation?". help.songtrust.com.
2. Barilla, Chris (July 29, 2022). "Beyoncé's Interpolation of Kelis's 'Milkshake' Has Stirred up Controversy in the Music World". Distractify.
3. Robinson, Douglas (December 6, 2019). Becoming a Translator: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Translation. Routledge. ISBN 9781000763539 – via Google Books.
4. ^ Leight, Elias (July 5, 2018). "Why You're Hearing More Borrowed Lyrics and Melodies on Pop Radio". Rolling Stone.
5. ^ Billboard, Staff (October 28, 2021). "The 50 Best Song Interpolations of the 21st Century: Staff Picks". Billboard.
6. "10 Times New Pop Interpolated Old Pop". Cool Accidents.
7. Blais-Billie, Braudie (19 March 2019). "90% of Ariana Grande's "7 Rings" Royalties Go to Rodgers & Hammerstein". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
8. "Pitbull bites into a dancehall classic". Jamaica Observer. 12 February 2016. Archived from the original on February 13, 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2018.

External links

• WhoSampled – a user-generated database of interpolations and samples in all types of music, as well as covers and remixes
• - delineation made by US copyright office between interpolation and sampling, namely that the former requires a license from the copyright holder while the latter requires a license from both the copyright holder and the recording artist

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