Ethics In Art & Music – Reddit AITA Stories for Singers

rtists walk a thin line between inspiration and imitation. Sometimes, that line gets crossed.

In this episode, I sat down with Coach Juliana to dig into some of the most dramatic, messy, and sometimes infuriating AITA (Am I The Ahole) posts from Reddit—all with an artistic twist.

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Crossing The Line – Using Someone Else’s Lyrics

🎙 Juliana: As soon as I heard this one, I knew it was trouble.

The first story we tackled involved a musician who “borrowed” his girlfriend’s poetry without her permission to write a song. To make it even worse, not only did she not give permission, but she specifically asked him NOT to read her old poetry from when she was younger and he did it anyways. When she found out, she was understandably upset, and he couldn’t figure out why. He thought he was doing a good thing by showing her how good her poetry really was.

The lesson here? Creative boundaries matter.

Your art should come from a place of honesty, not from sneaking into someone else’s emotional archive. Using someone else’s words without their knowledge or consent isn’t just bad form—it’s a betrayal of trust.

Views Over Friendship

🎙 Lara: Saying that the other person isn’t supportive could be said for either party here!

I get it, we see these types of videos everywhere on social media where someone is showing their song to a friend or family member to get their reaction. But this here comes back to consent. This friend is in the hospital and not feeling great… It’s understandable that they don’t want to be on camera. The singer then saying that they are not supportive of their art and career just because the friend doesn’t want her to post it to social media is a bit extreme. Because at the end of the day you could also say that the singer is trying to take advantage of the friend’s situation because when we see people in the hospital we automatically get more sympathetic.

When in doubt, always ask for permission and consent and then respect the other person’s boundaries. While you can be sad if they say no, you shouldn’t be mad at them. You just might risk your irl friendship with them over views on social media. Is that worth it…?

Singing In Foreign Languages

🎙 Juliana: I really don’t see an issue with this…

I’m so glad coach Juliana was with me for this story because she’s originally Colombian (she grew up there) and therefore speaks Spanish. Juliana didn’t see an issue with singing in a language that you don’t speak. This singer even went the extra mile to translate the song so that she would know what she was singing about.

This is a classic case of what’s appreciation and what crosses the line into appropriation. While Juliana, a native Spanish speaker, doesn’t see an issue with it, I recently met someone with Colombian roots (never lived there) who didn’t like it when someone else who doesn’t speak Spanish sang a song in that language… She mentioned that she wouldn’t even dare to sing in Spanish, so why are these other white men doing it?

While I personally agree with Juliana - I wouldn’t have an issue with anyone singing in German, even if they don’t speak it, and also I spent my entire childhood singing in English, even though I didn’t speak the language at that time - we are all entitled to our own opinions. And I love that these two friends came to a conclusion that worked for both of them. The singer continues singing the Spanish song, just not in front of her friend. That’s what a healthy adult friendship looks like - respecting each other’s opinion and compromising to make all parties involved happy.

What do you think? Is singing in a language you don’t speak crossing a line or totally fine?

🎧 Want to Hear the Full Conversation?

If you’ve ever had someone cross a line with your art—or if you’ve ever wondered if you’ve crossed one yourself—this episode is full of real talk, tough love, and a little creative chaos.

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