Shaira Moro, known as the Queen of Bangsamoro Pop, has stepped forward to address the backlash from her fans directed at Australian singer-songwriter Lenka amidst a copyright issue concerning their respective songs.
Following the removal of her viral song ‘Selos’ from streaming platforms due to alleged similarities with Lenka’s 2008 track ‘Trouble is a Friend,’ Shaira took to Facebook to urge her Filipino supporters to cease their negative comments toward the Aussie artist.
“Nais ko lamang po makiusap sa lahat ng tumatangkilik at sumusuporta sa akin na nakapagkomento o nakapagsalita ng ‘di maganda at ‘di naaangkop laban kay Idol Lenka na kung maaari lamang ay tigilan na po natin ang pagtuligsa o pambabash sa kanya,” Shaira stated in her post.
Acknowledging the disappointment felt by many fans after the removal of ‘Selos’ from digital platforms, Shaira expressed gratitude to her supporters for rallying behind her.
“Naiintindihan ko po ang sentiments [niyo] dahil sa pag-take down ng kantang ‘Selos,’ at nagpapasalamat po ako dahil kahit papaano ay [nandiyan] kayo na nagnanais na ipagtanggol ako,” she added.
Shaira clarified that Lenka’s team had approached them regarding copyright concerns in a respectful manner.
“Subalit, nais ko [rin] pong ipaalam na naging maayos ang approach sa amin ng kampo ni Lenka, mabuti at maayos silang kausap. At nakikita namin na ginagawa lamang nila kung ano ‘yung tama at naaayon sa batas,” she continued.
Shaira emphasized the need to halt the spread of hate speech and criticism against Lenka and to instead promote peace and understanding.
Earlier, AHS Channel, the producer of ‘Selos,’ issued an apology to Lenka via a Facebook post.
“On behalf of our artist, Shaira, AHS Productions would like to convey our heartfelt apologies to all those who have enjoyed listening to the ‘Selos’ as it is now unavailable [on] all online streaming platforms,” the caption read.
“As most of you may know, the melody that we have used is originally from a song entitled ‘Trouble is a Friend’ by Lenka and as of the moment, we are already in contact with her team for us to make ‘Selos’ an official cover,” they added.
Shaira’s ‘Selos’ gained traction on TikTok last year and spawned a dance challenge. Another recent hit from Shaira is ‘Forever Single (Walang Jowa),’ also available on various streaming platforms.
