Interpolation (popular music)
In popular music, interpolation refers to using a melodyor portions of a melody 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 unlicensed 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 List of [popular music genres|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 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 (Sting song)|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 (song)|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.