Max Martin uses 'U + Ur Hand' to rip off... himself?

Now, I generally appreciate Pink and her grrrl-power ways, but something about her most recent hit single had been bothering me for months. I knew "U + Ur Hand" sounded waaay too much like another recent song.

Then, while listening to it in my car on the way home today, it hit me: It's a carbon copy of the Veronicas' "4Ever."

I mean, it's blatant, right down to the title's substitution of single-letter representations of full words. Here's audio proof, courtesy of some brilliant cat named Shard. (One or two curses in here. You've been warned.)

Via Google, I just learned through The Ink Blog's Jason Chatfield that Max Martin -- the pop god himself -- wrote both songs. As Chatfield puts it, "unless he sues himself, there’s no big deal about it."

Jason's A/V proof, with commentary:


A different YouTube version of the same mash-up:

The only difference? The Veronicas' version practically begs the object of their affection to go home with them, while Pink just wants him to go home.

To add insult to injury, Pink's spoken "I know you're talking s***, but you're going home alone, arent'cha?" is also reminiscent of the unimpressed quips of Shania Twain's "That Don't Impress Me Much" (i.e. "OK, so you're Brad Pitt.").