Blurred Lines
Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams & T.I.
It was the song of the summer, until a jury decided its groove belonged to someone else.
Blurred Lines ruled the summer of 2013, then it ruled a courtroom. Twelve weeks at No. 1, two Grammy nominations, and a line everyone sang without a second thought. Then Marvin Gaye's family sued, a jury agreed with them, and an appeals court upheld the verdict in 2018, reshaping how songwriters talk about inspiration ever since. Did you know this hit ended up in federal court? Tell us below. Save this for later.
A hit built on a feeling
Pharrell Williams wrote and produced Blurred Lines for Robin Thicke in 2013, bringing in T.I. for a guest verse. Thicke later said he wanted a record that felt like the sweaty, horn-driven funk of the late 1970s. That same chase for a feeling, rather than a song, would land the track in a federal courtroom two years later, when Marvin Gaye's family sued over its resemblance to Got to Give It Up.
Not just a party anthem
On the surface, Blurred Lines is a flirtation anthem built for the dance floor. But its lyrics about a good girl who wants it sparked real debate in 2013: critics argued the song blurred consent, not just musical genres. That controversy over the words became almost as loud as the hook, and it never fully separated from how the song is remembered.
Did you know?
- Pharrell Williams wrote and produced the track, bringing in T.I. for a guest verse, court testimony later confirmed.
- At trial, Pharrell said he was chasing the feel of late-1970s groove music, not copying one song, court records show.
- Gaye's lawyers argued the bassline, keys and backing vocals echoed his 1977 hit Got to Give It Up, per the lawsuit.
- Blurred Lines spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2013, among the longest reigns of the decade.
- The song earned two nominations at the 2014 Grammy Awards: Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
- In 2015 a federal jury ruled the song infringed Got to Give It Up; the Ninth Circuit upheld that verdict in 2018.
- Thicke and Miley Cyrus performed it live at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, one of that show's most talked-about sets.
- It inspired dozens of parody covers in 2013, including Defined Lines by New Zealand students, covered by the BBC.
