Geraes claims Adele’s melancholic tune mirrors his 1995 samba classic Mulheres (Women), a song immortalised by Martinho da Vila on the album Tá Delícia, Tá Gostosa. This injunction demands Sony and Universal Music halt the song’s reproduction across all platforms, with noncompliance threatening fines of $8,000 (£6,300 ) per infraction. The decision currently remains open to appeal.

Fredimio Trotta, Geraes’ lawyer, called the decision a victory for Brazilian music, a genre often preyed upon by international creators seeking inspiration. “This landmark ruling sends a message to producers and artists who might view Brazilian compositions as easy targets,” he told AFP according to the Guardian. The case is aiming to both protect Brazilian musicians as well as set a clear stance on musical appropriation on an international stage

The stakes are high. Geraes is suing for $160,000 (£126,000) in damages, lost royalties, and songwriting credit. The case rests on the claim that the melodies reveal an “undisguised symmetry,” an accusation Adele’s team has yet to address.

This marks the second time Adele has faced plagiarism claims for this particular track. In 2015, Turkish music fans accused it of resembling Acilara Tutunmak (Clinging to Pain) by Kurdish singer Ahmet Kaya. The controversy then fizzled without legal action after Kaya’s widow decided it was unlikely that any similarity was an intentional act of appropriation by the megastar.

Brazil’s adherence to the Berne Convention, a cornerstone of international copyright law, lends weight to Geraes’ claim, embedding it within a legal framework designed to protect the creative commons across borders. As Sony and Universal deliberate on the potential for an appeal, the ultimate fate of ‘Million Years Ago’ remains uncertain, suspended in the liminal space between accusation and adjudication.

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Adele’s decision to pause her career after the crescendo of her Las Vegas residency finds her unexpectedly drawn into a legal maelstrom. The dispute underscores the migratory nature of melodies, whose origins and influences often transcend the confines of time and geography. It is a testament to the enduring entanglements of cultural production, where artistic echoes can resonate in ways both celebratory and contested.

The 24-year-old shared the news on his Instagram, which has a following of over 549,000. He said: “UK & Ireland, I can finally tell you all that I’m coming back next year. Pre-sale begins Wednesday 11th October at 9am. General on sale starts Friday 13th October. Pre-order WHTTB? (What Happened To The Beach) from my official store before 3pm on Tuesday 10th October to get pre-sale access. See you there, more dates soon.. X.”  

Fans of the singer were delighted with the announcement. One person said: “Just heard confetti cannons go off in my back garden”, whilst another person commented: “Can’t wait to finally hear roaring crowds in Manchester, live!”  

McKenna’s new album is set to be released on 9 February and will be this third studio album after Zeros and What Do You Think About The Car, which was released in 2017. Previous hits from the two records include “Humongous”, “The Kids Don’t Wanna Come Home”, “Beautiful Faces” and his breakout track “Brazil”, which has been certified Platinum in the UK for selling over 600,000 copies.  

“Brazil” gained traction across the world following its lyrical maturity. The song criticized FIFA for awarding the FIFA World Cup to Brazil in 2014 despite the poverty that has affected the nation. The track, which has since become a staple in McKenna’s discography, peaked on various charts across the globe – peaking at number 45 on the Japan Hot 100 and number 56 on the UK Singles chart.  

Last month, McKenna released his new single “Nothing Works”. The track has over 685,000 streams on Spotify, making it a smash hit. Listen to “Nothing Works”, below.  

McKenna, who leans into genres such as glam rock and alt-rock, will perform 14 shows across the UK beginning in March next year. Tickets for the tour can be found here.  

Tour Dates  
23.03.24 – Uni Great Hall – Cardiff  
24.03 – UEA – Norwich  
25.03 – O2 City Hall – Newcastle  
27.03 – O2 Academy – Glasgow  
29.03 – O2 Academy – Sheffield  
01.04 – Ulster Hall – Belfast  
02.04 – 3Olympia Theatre – Dublin  
05.04 – O2 Apollo – Manchester  
08.04 – De Montfort Hall – Leicester  
09.04 – Beacon – Bristol  
10.04 – The Halls – Wolverhampton  
12.04 – Alexandra Palace – London 
13.04 – Centre – Brighton  
14.04 – O2 Academy – Bournemouth  

While influenced by the classic 1927 sci-fi film ‘Metropolis’, ‘The Mediator Between the Head and Hands Must Be the Heart’ will not be a concept album, such as ‘A-Lex’, which was based on A Clockwork Orange, and ‘Dante XXI’ , based on The Divine Comedy by Dante.

Lead guitarist Andreas Kisser said on the band’s official site “I was inspired by a phrase which is the main message of the story: “The mediator between the head and hands must be the heart” to express what we are saying on the lyrics.

In the movie, a crazy millionaire wants to transform a robot into a real person. That’s kind of the opposite of what we live today. More than ever we are robotized, through the worldwide web, Google glasses, chips under our skins and the globalized slavery our society suffers nowadays. The phrase points to the heart as being the human factor who keeps a man, a man, not a robot. The heart beats with freedom of choice, we have to think by ourselves to create a real world, not a matrix.

Being a novel written in the early 1920’s, it’s almost prophetical. It helped us to put the ideas together for the lyrics to express what we see today. I live in São Paulo, Brasil, one of the big metropolis in the world with more than 20.000.000 people living and working in it. I know how it is to live in daily chaos, our music reflects a lot of that feeling.”

The band will be announcing further details about the album soon.