Why they sound alike
The choruses to One Direction's "You & I" (released April 15, 2014) and Canadian rocker Bryan Adams' '80s ballad Heaven (released April 9, 1985) contain similar vocal melodies and chord progressions. Both songs start with the same relative chord structure: IV-V-vi-I-IV or 4-5-minor6-1-4, keys are only a half-step apart (Heaven: C, You & I: C#), and both have diatonic melodies that ascend with the first three chords (Heaven: 1-1-1-2-2-3-3-3-4-5-5-5-4-3-1; You & I: 1-2-3-3-3-3-3-5-1-1-6). Compare the lines, Heaven: "Baby you're all that I want/When you're lying here in my arms", and You & I: "You and I/We don't wanna be like them"., You & I (:56) VS Heaven (:51)
