Sting has defended his iconic song Every Breath You Take.
He declared that P Diddy's recent arrest and charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution - which he "categorically denies" - has not "tainted" the 1983 track. The British rock legend's smash hit was sampled for Diddy's 1997 single 'I'll Be Missing You' and Sting remains unruffled about the song's legacy.
Speaking candidly to the Los Angeles Times, Sting asserted: "No. I mean, I don't know what went on (with Diddy), but it doesn't taint the song at all for me. It's still my song." The song spent an impressive eight weeks at the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983 and is The Police's only number one hit in the US.
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Diddy released I'll Be Missing You 14 years after the heartfelt love song initally debuted. The tune was dedicated to his friend Biggie Smalls, who was sadly shot in a drive by shooting on 9 March 1997.
The rapper interpolated the chorus, which was sung by Smalls' wife Faith Evans. Diddy and Sting performed together at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.
A rumour circulated that that Diddy was forced to pay The Police's frontman a whopping $5,000 in royalties per day for the use of Sting's music. However, back in 2023 Diddy cleared up all speculation with a tweet.
He wrote: "I want y'all to understand I was joking. It's called being facetious! Me and @OfficialSting have been friends for a long time! He never charged me $3K or $5K a day for Missing You. He probably makes more than $5K a day from one of the biggest songs in history. LOVE."
The duo previously addressed the situation back in 2018. During an interview with The Breakfast Club, Sting claimed he received $2,000 a day from Diddy and when the clip resurfaced on X/Twitter, Diddy quote tweeted and replied: "Nope. 5K a day. Love to my brother @OfficialSting!"
The rapper then clarified that the tweet was a joke. During the 2018 interview, Sting confirmed: "We're very good friends now. It was a beautiful version of that song."
P Diddy, real name Sean Combs, was arrested on 16 September 2024 and is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre awaiting trial.
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