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Take Me To Court: Hozier Sues Chilly Gonzales for Saying He Ripped off Feist [UPDATE: NVM It's Cool Now]

The man who can't take a joke is now suing Drake's favourite piano teacher.

Photo via Twitter

As part of his BBC Pop Music Masterclass series where he helps the everyman understand the complexities of popular music, Chilly Gonzales recently took on Hozier's "Take Me To Church" in one of his videos. In the video, which has since been removed, Gonzales notes how closely the composition of Hozier's hit single mirrors that of Feist's “How Come You Never Go There,” before noting that Feist's song came out a well over a year before "Take Me To Church." "Doesn't look so good does it," asks Gonzales in the video. "'Take Me To Church'? Maybe Feist should take him to court."

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Now, Stereogum points out that Hozier is getting the jump on things, as he is taking legal action against Chilly Gonzales. Following on from a report in The Times (Ireland), Andrew Hozier-Byrne has lodged a defamation case in the High Court and his manager Caroline Downey told The Times that Gonzales's allegations were "groundless."

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Whether or not this lawsuit will ever see the inside of a courtroom is unknown, but Hozier doesn't come off looking too good with this move. Whether or not Chilly was serious that Feist should sue Hozier, the Irish musician should've known that Canadians are naturally predisposed to avoiding conflict, and would therefore be very unlikely to follow through. Listen to the Feist song below and see for yourself, and follow this page for information on where to buy your non-Lupe affiliated "Free Chilly" merchandise.

UPDATE: Chilly Gonzales has released the following statement on his Faceboook page:
I would like to fully retract any and all implication of copyright infringement in last week’s Pop Music Masterclass “Take Me To Church” and sincerely apologize to Hozier whose work I respect. Chilly Gonzales

UPDATE 2: Hozier has also released a statement on his Facebook page claiming he simply was seeking an apology:

There has been some talk in the press of legal action and I'd like to clarify my position and the goings-on of the past week for fear that gossip runs unchecked, as it often does. What was sought from my end was an apology and redaction of an unfair inferral. This has been issued by Jason Beck (Chilly Gonzales), which I very much appreciate. I will continue to follow and respect his work and look forward to moving on from this issue. Jason Beck has been co-operative and understanding, and there are no hard feelings on my part.
Thank you.
Andrew Hozier-Byrne

Slava Pastuk is the Editor of Noisey Canada. Follow him on Twitter.