On the drive in this morning I heard Britney Spear’s Operator and I said to my husband, “For a second there, I thought they were playing Outkast’s The Whole World.” We then started singing the words of The Whole World to Operator. The chorus fit perfectly.
There are other instances in which I thought that a song sounded just like a different one, only I can’t remember them now. Perhaps Doperville can refresh my memory.
You mean “Radar”, yes?
Not that I’m a huge fan or familiar with the entirety of Ms Spears’ oeuvre or anything. I just have the misfortune of sitting next to a colleague who insists on having listening to the Top 10 Hits station on the radio All. Freakin’. Day. Long.
And yes, it’s a total soundalike for Outkast. I will now start annoying my coworker by singing the wrong chorus every time it comes on the radio. 
Since they’re playing it all the time now for a commercial (Verizon perhaps?) what’s the deal with Rick James’ Superfreak and M.C. Hammer’s Can’t Touch This?
Btw, no matter how many times I see that commercial I’m still going to laugh at everyone singing and dancing to it themselves.
I believe M.C. Hammer sampled Superfreak with permission from Rick James.
Unlike Vanilla Ice who ripped off the bass line of “Under Pressure” from Queen/Bowie and got sued for it.
The Doors “Hello I Love You” sounds much too much like the Kink’s “All the Day And All of the Night.” Ray Davies considered suing, but decided against it.
What the . . .? She IS sayin “on my rader” and not “operator”. That is the strangest pronounciation of the word ‘radar’ ever!
Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long” is basically a mashup of “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Werewolves of London”.
Upon hearing Nick Lowe’s demo of “And So It Goes”, one of the band members’ reaction was, “But that’s “Reelin’ In the Years” (Steely Dan) – you are so going to get sued!”
By the way, I also enjoy what I guess is kind of the opposite – finding songs that don’t really sound alike at all but actually have a similar underlying structure (so that you can sing the words of one to the melody of the other). For example, “Purple Haze” is really “Walkin’ the Dog”.
“Green River,” Creedence Clearwater Revival
“Stick It Where the Sun Don’t Shine,” Nick Lowe
Those songs have the same chord progression, so they’re easy to mash up.
Me! Me! I’ve got some! I’m kind of a nerd for this stuff.
I think Maroon 5’s She Will Be Loved (0:59) sounds like Cheap Trick’s The Flame (which is unavailable on youtube, but the part that goes "I’m going crazy, I’m in too deep . . . "
I think Backstreet Boys’ I’ll Never Break Your Heart (0:55, right before the chorus) sounds like Boys II Men’s End of the Road (0:45, right before the chorus).
Pantera’s Suicide Note Pt 1 sounds just like Zeppelin’s Going to California.
Also, though the artists have admitted the rip-off, the solos in The Doors’ Five to One (1:10), Kiss’ She (3:17) and Pearl Jam’s Alive (3:28)
YMMV, but I’ve always thought that the intro to “I Typed For Miles” by Jets to Brazil bears more than a passing resemblence to the intro of “Heart-Shaped Box” by Nirvana.
Eyes Set To Kill’s song “World Outside” reminds me very much of K’s Choice’s “Everything For Free” but more of how it’s sung than the music.
Poco’s “Crazy Love” duplicates a significant part of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound.” I remember many years ago hearing the former on the radio, expecting the chorus of the latter, only to hear “OOoooh, Crazy Love” instead of “Home! Where my love is waiting…” A serious WTF moment for me.
Michael Jackson’s Thriller
The Time’s Jungle Love.
The insistent background beat, anyway.
The Offspring’s “Why Don’t You Get a Job” is the exact same song as The Beatles “Ob-la-di, Od-la-da.” Did they have to get permission to use the same tune? The whole song is clearly taken from that source.
Iggy Pop- Lust For Life
Jet- Are You Gonna Be My Girl
Curse you Jet for getting my hopes up every time your crapfest comes on the radio.
The chorus of Ida Maria’s Stella and Jimmy Mack.
Ooh weird, it does!
My Chemical Romance “The End” and Pink Floyd “In the Flesh?”. Actually many of the songs on My Chemical Romance’s Black Parade album seem to be heavily influenced by various 70’s rock.
California Dreamin’ and Don’t Fear the Reaper