HMMM … you knew this was coming. Yesterday we learned from Kelly Clarkson herself that she is pretty pissed that the song she co-wrote with One Republic‘s Ryan Tedder, Already Gone, sounds a helluva lot like the song he wrote for Beyoncé called Halo (you might’ve heard of it?). Speaking on Canadian radio, Kelly expressed her displeasure first with Tedder for seemingly pawning off a song he wrote for someone else on her and second her displeasure with her record company for choosing to release her song as a single (because it would seem to fans as if she were stealing from Beyoncé). Now, I’m hearing that her bosses at her record label are PISSED themselves that she is talking publicly about her feelings on this matter and are threatening to STOP all future promotion (ie. music videos, live performances, TV interviews, etc.) of her album All I Ever Wanted as punishment:
In his defense, Ryan Tedder posted a blogpost on his official My Space profile yesterday kinda sorta responding to the controversy. Shortly after he posted his message, the blogpost was deleted from his profile … methinks, he was asked to remove it. Nonetheless, I managed to save the text of his post … here it is in full:
Hey everyone, Ryan here. So…..i’m in Europe on vacation with my wife yesterday when I get a flurry of emails with links to gossip sites and media outlets saying “Kelly clarkson throws producer Ryan Tedder under the bus re: Already Gone” etc etc etc… Alleging that I copied myself or “pulled a fast one” on Kelly Clarkson. This couldn’t be farther from the truth and the whole thing is absurd….however, I need to actually read what the hell is going on, make a call or 2, and be fully informed of it, then I assure you I will have a proper, respectful response. I don’t take allegations of this nature lightly- ESPECIALLY when it’s in regards to artists I respect and admire. Nor do I let things like this go unaddressed. So, give me a minute, and I’ll tell u whatsup and what really happened, or in this case, “didn’t” happen.
HMMM … I mean, what else is the guy gonna say? Altho Tedder removed his My Space blogpost, he did release an official statement in its place today:
“‘Already Gone’ is one of the best song I’ve written or produced since “Bleeding Love” and stands tall on it’s own merits apart from “Halo”. They are two entirely different songs conceptually, melodically, & lyrically and I would never try to dupe an artist such as Kelly Clarkson or Beyoncé into recording over the same musical track, the idea is both hurtful & absurd. I think when people hear “Already Gone” they will hear what I hear-one of the greatest female vocalists on earth giving her most haunting and heart-breaking performance on a song she helped write. I challenge people to listen and form their own opinions.”
Uhhh, Ryan … we have listened to both songs and it seems pretty clear to me that the same music was pawned off on two different singers. OY! Kelly Clarkson can hear it too and because she was brave enough to speak up about it, she is now reportedly being punished … for the second time now. As you may recall, Kelly already butt heads with her record company bosses (music mogul Clive Davis, to be exact) when she released her last album My December which, IMHO, led to the disc’s poor performance in sales and on the charts. Kelly may have released a statement saying that everything was “fine” with her record company bosses in the wake of that controversy but we know it was all a spin job. This latest threat seems to be right up her alley … she speaks up honestly and then gets punished by her bosses. It remains to be seen if the threat will really be carried out but if we hear nothing from Kelly Clarkson in the coming weeks and months, well, you’ll know why.
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Kelly needs to dump the label as so many other artists are doing. She is a great talent, but she is stiffled by her record label. This is just one more example….
I really hate how her record label treats her. She’s better than them.
‘already gone’ is actually a really nice song, i don’t know why she has a problem with it as a single. to be honest it never occurred to me that it sounded like halo. but there is something really wrong with kelly clarkson and clive owens dynamic, none of them is ever willing to let up and compromise. if things like this are going to keep happening between them all the time then kelly needs to leave! she’s got the record sales to back her up and another record company would probably love to have her way more than her label now.
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@procrastination101 – I’m sure she’d be fine with it as a single if it wasn’t already like one that was out by someone else. She obviously seemed to like it enough to record it before she knew about this crap.
Sigh..
My girl just needs to go her own way, and the label needs to realize she’s a 27 year old woman. She’s past the “pop princess” phase. I love her music, clearly, but I’m ready for her to grow up as an artist and be respected for it. She was 21 when she was singing Miss Independent, how much longer does she have to go before singing mature, age appropriate music? She was the “girl-next-door,” but the girl’s gotta grow up sometime. I mean, I am beyond ready for songs like Janet’s If coming from her…not just covering someone else. ;) Call me selfish, but I cannot wait until the day my eardrums don’t bleed from all the tweens screaming. I don’t care if I have to see her at a dive bar in Nashville, Burleson, or whetever. I’m seriously convinced this is so why she’s still in the closet, too…so I can’t wait to “FREE KELLY!” lol, I’m so ready to start a campaign…I’m not even joking. ;)
I think it sucks that Kelly’s label never has her back on stuff. Seriously, I guess it’d be better for them if she was a liar.
And Ryan Tedder needs to give it up. It’s quite obvious that songs are super similar musically and he’s the link between the two. I’d respect him more if he’d at least own up to that.
what a crappy label.
I really like that song. I didn’t even like the first two singles from her new album, but I like ‘Already Gone’. I didn’t even think of Halo when I first heard it, maybe I was the only one who didn’t, but sounds to me like Kelly has a pretty sucky label if they’re treating her that way. I’m sure another label would scoop her up in a heartbeat.
poor kelly…she just keeps getting screwed by her label. hunni needs to find somewhere worthy of her honestly.
More people will listen to this song than ever now. Kelly speaking out actually helps the record sales because everyone will have to see what the hoopla is all about. Then they will hear that AG is clearly the superior song with the superior voice and it will raise sales. Kelly is counting the days until her contract is up with her record company. If they said good-bye tomorrow she’d throw a champagne party for everyone. She just doesn’t give a crap what they think anymore. She has the most diverse voice in the biz, period. She’s going to be just fine wherever she goes, and whatever she decides to do. It won’t be this pop star shit though, I can guarantee you that!!! And she will be soooo much happier when they are out of her life!
betcha anything this does wonders for i-tunes sales of both Halo and Already Gone. Hmmmm……Not sure if Tedder or Beyonce pulled a fast one, but Clarkson is likely to come out the loser in this – pecking orders can be a bitch.
Ryan said, “They are two entirely different songs conceptually, melodically, & lyrically”, and that’s true. However, Kelly wrote the lyrics (so the concept was also hers) and she wrote the melody. Ryan’s signature “drum beat” is what makes the song seem similar. That’s why Kelly is performing it acoustically. I like it better without the Tedder flourish!
Ryan’s excuse is just as expected: lame.
There really is no way for Ryan to explain himself. All he can do is compliment Kelly, which he did in his new statement. He challenges us to listen to it & form our own opinion? Hey Ryan, I challenge you to come up with new beats, lazy ass.
I think they are very similar and actually both reminded me of Bleeding Love, before I knew Tedder was invloved in writing all three. Clearly he enjoys the chappy track. But yes, Kelly’s label needs to quit stabbing her in the back… do they not appreciate having her as an artist?
LOL, that was supposed to be clap-py track. With the handclaps.
Um…I thought Jesse McCartney wrote “Bleeding Love”. Kudos to Kelly for speaking up, BOOOOO to Clive Davis and Sony for not going to bat for their own artist. Kelly Clarkson is the greatest voice to come out of American Idol (Carrie Underwood a close second), and Sony has failed to recognize this. Kelly will be fine if Sony cuts her loose, there will be plenty of other labels knocking at the door, willing to let her take her music in the direction she wants to take it. Hell, it would be even cooler if she started her OWN label (since apparently everyone is able to do these days).
Would people have really known that they sounded similar if it hadn’t been pointed out? Whatever, people are listening to her song now.
Back in the 80′s Stock Aiken and Waterman wrote songs for Kylie Minogue and a stable of singers ….they ALL sounded the same. And all were big hits. Don’t understand all of the fuss now really. Songwriters generally have the same sound in their music.
Kudos to Kelly Clarkson. She gets into trouble just because she’s not as naive or as much of a pushover as Clive would like her to be. She’s one of the very few artists out there to really speak her mind.
She need to dump her record co., and find someone that will treat her career with more respect. Ryan clearly used the same music for two different artists, two different songs. He needs to own up to it, and apologize to both artists, especially Kelly Clarkson because she is the one getting all the heat for his laziness, and fraud.