Scarlett Johansson’s New Band Faces Cease-and-Desist

News of Scarlett Johansson’s new group, the Singles, is less than a week old, but the band is already facing legal issues. When the actress revealed her new band – which also features Este Haim, Holly Miranda, Kendra Morris and Julia Haltigan – the group’s radio-friendly moniker described their candy-coated pop sound almost too perfectly. But now they may no longer be allowed to use it. Pitchfork reports that Vincent Frederick, frontman of a Los Angeles group also named the Singles, has filed a cease-and-desist letter, alleging trademark infringement, to Johansson’s reps.

“I woke up one morning and learned from the news that our band name was literally just taken by someone else as their own,” Frederick said in a statement. “It’s hard to believe that any musician would do something like that to another band. The Singles has been my life for the past 16 years. We have worked so incredibly hard to make it a success.”

According to Frederick, his band the Singles have accounts on “nearly all social media sites,” and their music is available at record stores, on iTunes and many websites. The top two results for “The Singles” on Google directs readers to Frederick’s official website and SoundCloud account. 

A spokesperson for Federal Prism declined to comment on the cease-and-desist.

It’s unclear if Johansson would consider a new name for her pop project. “The idea was to write super-pop dance music written and performed by girls,” Johansson told Rolling Stone, citing the influence of Grimes, the Bangles and the Go-Go’s. “I wanted it to be like those bands: ultra-pop but also a little ironic, a little in on the joke.”