The Internet was all abuzz this weekend of the latest spat between Kelly Clarkson and her record label (RCA) over her new single "Already Gone." In this article with the CBC, Clarkson says that she wrote "Already Gone" with One Republic frontman Ryan Tedder last year and then he subsequently gave the same backing track to Beyonce for her song "Halo." In her own words:
"Ryan and I met each other at the record label, before he was working with anyone else... We wrote about six songs together, four or five of them made the album. It was all fine and dandy. I’d never heard of a song called "Halo." Her album came out when my album was already being printed. No-one’s gonna be sittin’ at home, thinking ‘Man, Ryan Tedder gave Beyonce and Kelly the same track to write to.’ No, they’re just gonna be saying I ripped someone off. I called Ryan and said, ‘I don’t understand. Why would you do that?"
Kelly goes on to say that she "fought and fought" the record company not to release "Already Gone," but, "“In the end, they’re releasing it without my consent. It sucks, but it’s one of those things I have no control over. I already made my album. At this point, the record company can do whatever they want with it. It’s kind of a shitty situation, but.… You know, you learn.”
As a fan, I appreciate Clarkson's candor, and hopefully this means that Ryan Tedder and his same-same ballads go away from the airwaves for a while. However, this spat should have never been made public, and someone in Clarkson's camp needs to tell her that. While any publicity is usually good publicity, it's a lot better when it's positive. "Already Gone" is a great song, with a haunting chorus, and the quality of the music should be allowed to speak for itself. Plus, the Top 40 audience likely wouldn't even be able to tell the difference between the two diva's ballads. Instead Clarkson is stuck with another public battle with her record label and no one wins.
Kelly, is you're listening, please hire new PR council stat. Keep your interaction with the media positive and happy, and fight the corporate big wigs behind closed doors. I'm sure more than a few of your fans would be willing to help out, and some might even be qualified (pick me, pick me!)
The Kelly/Beyonce mash up:
The "Already Gone" video (which apparently RCA nixed the concept for as well):
1 comment:
To be honest, I did not notice the similarities between these two songs until I read Kelly's comments in Entertainment Weekly. Now whenever I hear 'Already Gone' (one of my faves from her new CD), that's all I can think!!!
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