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Ryan Tedder’s Official Statement on the Kelly Clarkson/Beyonce Controversy

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ETA: Tedder deleted his prior My Space message to make sure his carefully-worded PR statement was the one that stands.   Tedder defends himself, while complimenting Kelly at the same time. He never mentions the phone call he and Kelly had, which I suspect went down exactly as she said.

I don’t expect Kelly or her label to respond. The idea, I imagine, is to allow the story to die as quick a death as possible.   I can already feel the press is losing interest.

I don’t believe Perez Hilton’s unsubstantiated bit of gossip HERE for a minute.   Kelly will keep supporting the song, and it will sink or swim on it’s own merits.   Maybe the recent publicity will give it a little boost.

Producer/songwriter, Ryan Tedder has released a statement today on the Kelly Clarkson/Beyonce controversy:

“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 Beyonc 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.”

Tedder made an initial statement yesterday, that he later deleted from his myspace.

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Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted.I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!
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  • Squirrely

    Kelly opened a can of backlash onto herself.

  • SpenserJ

    The thing of it is, I think it really is a pretty song, and Kelly sings it beautifully. I’m confused about all of this controversy because I don’t think I’ve paid close enough attention to it. So, now I’ve decided to just ignore it, and enjoy the song as I did before.

  • Kirsten

    Kelly opened a can of backlash onto herself.

    I think Tedder is being very complimentary here.

    This might work out for Kelly. Those that would have been turned off by her “copying Beyonce” now know that it’s not her “fault”. So, Beyonce fans and copyright fans will not be mad. Tedder’s response is clear that he doesn’t think it’s a copy, so Team Tedder have every reason to support this song to prove him right. Kelly avoided the “Copying Scandal” and Tedder is working to diffuse the “Artists Fighting Scandal”.

    And the song gets a lot of press.

  • holeighannie

    Hmm, I hope this doesn’t wreck their professional relationship, I think it’s the best song on the album. I’m not going to rip Kelly a new one, I’m sure she didn’t want to be discredited for the song, but it seems she should’ve been less vocal about it. I just hope the song gets even more attention for all of this.

  • Squirrely

    Me to SpenserJ – I like Already Gone even better than Halo and didn’t notice the similarities until Kelly pointed them out.

  • LaraC

    one of the greatest female vocalists on earth

    Sweet and true.

  • dhunken

    Kelly opened a can of backlash onto herself.

    I don’t think so I think she was just being honest. I think Tedder is just giving rhetoric. Kelly stated she talked to him about it. He has come across as if he heard about it the first time recently. From my perspective they sound way too much alike. (anyone remember Ghost busters and Huey Lewis suing them saying it sounded similar to I want a new drug. Well Huey won the lawsuit and those two songs sounded a heck of a lot different then these two do.) There are subtle difference and of course different words but there is no denying how much they are the basically the same song.

    If a different producer made either of these songs before Tedder. There would be a huge lawsuit right now and the original writer would win.

    But I agree now with his official statement it will be a win win for all involved.

  • weareallinnocent

    Win-Win

    That’s my take.

    And, I’m pleased it appears that the label (behind the scenes) is still embracing/supporting Kelly and the album, which is good (even though, personally, I don’t think the album really is. lol)

    Carefully crafted statement by Tedder, this time. :-) Correct me if I’m wrong, but all those things he cites as different about the songs are those things for which Kelly is responsible, right?

  • AC

    you know what this means.. this song is going to blow up because of the controversy since that sells. the label doesn’t care- it doesn’t really damage them because money is going to start rolling in. Seriously, why else would the label not speak out?

    Also, it seems like Ryan did talk to Kelly and get it sorted out or else he would not be so complimentary. Also, they seem to have a good relationship because that one article, Kelly would always have nice things to say about him and how they get along.

  • This drama was created by Kelly, and can only be defused by Kelly. No amount of statements by Ryan can kill this story, now that it’s flared, I don’t think.

    I think damage has been done, to whom exactly I’m not sure. But if I had to guess, I would say Kelly. I don’t know if named writers will be so enthusiastic about working with her after this.
    I’m sure Ryan will have suffered damage to his reputation as well.

  • will

    They are two entirely different songs conceptually, melodically, & lyrically…

    Haha, nice dodge! Notice he doesn’t say “structurally” of “harmonically” or “rhythmically” or “instrumentally” — nobody ever said they were the same melodically and lyrically!

  • Squirrely

    Kelly opened a can of backlash onto herself.

    I think Tedder is being very complimentary here.

    He is, but Kelly’s reputation still may suffer and others may not want to work with her if they view her as hostile. I’m not saying she is but who knows what other writers may think. This isn’t her first controversy, women don’t come through these things unscathed like men do.

  • AC

    Well.. give it a little time and then they’ll let Kelly speak out.. They probably want to stretch it out to keep everyone talking.

    Also, writers would still want to work with her- her singles sell and it’s on the radio. Don’t the writers get paid everytime it plays?

  • abbysee

    So many people were talking about how these songs were so similar. On this blog I think in fact. It’s been discussed. Some were accusing them of copying. So while maybe she should have done it differently (who is to say she didn’t since she says she confronted him…), I guess honesty is the best policy, imho. Ryan’s statement was complimentary, and he definitely dialed down the drama, but is this the final word? I dunno.

  • megkat

    I just think Kelly didn’t want to look like a stealer. I forgot she co-wrote the song! So that’s kind of weird she’s bashing on her own writing. She probably likes the song, she just didn’t want to release it as a single, but obvi her wishes weren’t granted.

  • wand3rful

    LOL, you have gotz to be kidding me….the musical tracks are identical. obviouslly he didnt want to rehash his phone convo w. kelly regarding this issue bc it would further shed light that she had major issues with the track as soon as she heard the complete version (which then would make him and the studio look like major asses).

    and yes, there are producers who make similar music all the time, but if an artist is very vocal against using the track and upset at the quality of what was produced…..why not respect the artist’s wishes? after all, you are working for her album, not yours Teddster

    probably best for kelly to move on…she’s made her disappointment known and now let the cards fall where they may

    team kelly LOL :)

  • Sherena

    They are two entirely different songs conceptually, melodically, & lyrically and I would never try to dupe an artist such as Kelly Clarkson or Beyonc into recording over the same musical track, the idea is both hurtful & absurd.

    Haha…no.

    And it still is the same musical track.

    But it’s nice that RCA went behind the scenes with Tedder and is trying to clear this up. Hopefully it blows over.

  • mgk

    Kelly has been making me so sad lately. What happened to her? She seems so unhappy when being interviewed. There seems to be a little self-loathing there about singing pop music, and I wish that she could recapture her outlook from when she first started, and realize how lucky she has been to be so successful. I’d hate to see her quit her label because I think it could be really difficult to go indie, but maybe she could start a side project allowing her to step away from the commercial pop sound that she seems to want to get away from.

    I don’t really blame her record company for pushing “Already Gone” because it is a really strong single, and I don’t think it’s that similar to “Halo”, but it sucks that Kelly is so opposed to it. Allowing her to perform it live with a different arrangement seems like a good compromise.

  • wand3rful

    Also, it seems like Ryan did talk to Kelly and get it sorted out or else he would not be so complimentary

    thats what PR, agents, etc are for….to make you sound like an angel to the public. :innocent1_tb: who knows what really happened behind closed doors. :devil_tb:

  • Michelle

    LOL, now I am wondering if this was all a publicity stunt to head off any speculation that the two songs do sound similar. Pre-emptive strike. Kelly keeps her “spunky fight the power” image, Already Gone gets some free publicity, Tedder still profits from both songs.

  • Sherena

    because I think it could be really difficult to go indie

    Not at all. It could be really difficult for her to sell a lot of records,but Kelly has enough money for several lifetimes–she should let the pop princess go, because it’s going anyway whether she likes it or not.

    If she goes indie–or even if she just signs to another major label that could be more accommodating–she could take some time off to reinvent herself, explore what she loves about music again. Maybe write with some more undiscovered writers. That would make her happy again.

  • evelyn27

    Why is everyone saying that the songs are identical? They are not the same, just because you think that they sound alike doesn’t make them the same. I think Cobra Starship sounds a lot like 3Oh!3, but that doesn’t make them the same. I think Hayden Panettiere’s song Wake Up Call sounds like Paris Hilton’s Stars Are Blind, but that doesn’t make them the same. (They both suck though.) Goodness. I’m glad Ryan spoke out and I hope all is well between the three of them. I hope this gets Already Gone fair airplay ’cause it’s still an awesome song.

  • Q3

    And it still is the same musical track.

    As far as I can tell, the percussion backtrack is very, very close, not quite identical. But the melody, chord progressing and emotion of the two songs are really different.

    Songs have very similar and even the same backtracks are really common. It is an outgrowth of the Hip hop/dance/dj production world. It is also part of the reason everything sounds so much the same now.

    If Kelly hadn’t mentioned it, I never would have even thought of any similarity between “Halo” and “Already Gone”.

    But I guess the “contraversy” achieved two things for me: got me to listen to a Kelly Clarkson song, and made me wonder about what would cause Kelly to do this in public to Ryan Tedder.

    I guess Kelly must really be unhappy at RCA.

  • windmills

    “Correct me if I’m wrong, but all those things he cites as different about the songs are those things for which Kelly is responsible, right?”

    Not necessarily. The track is obviously Tedder but we don’t know what else he contributed to the song. We do know from interviews with Kelly’s band from the My December era that with at least some songs (like Hole I believe), someone else would give Kelly the music and she would write lyrics or use a poem she’d already written for it. Ben Moody said he wrote the music for Because Of You too. I think Kelly does most of her own lyrics but I don’t have proof of that.

  • Q3

    ‘Correct me if I’m wrong, but all those things he cites as different about the songs are those things for which Kelly is responsible, right?’ 

    Didn’t Ryan Tedder write the track (melody, chords and create the backtrack)? And Kelly wrote the lyrics?

    Here’s Kelly’s quote from the CBC interview:

    ‘Ryan and I met each other at the record label, before he was working with anyone else,’  Clarkson begins, gritting her teeth. ‘He’s from Oklahoma, I’m from Texas; we got along really well and had some of the same influences. 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?” 

    Clearly, Ryan’s response is a PR statement attempting to minimize and damage.

  • Kelly is fast getting the rep of a whiner with all this complaining about her label. If she really hates working with them this much then change your name to a symbol like Prince did so they can’t use your name or refuse to record like other artists have. But just complaining each album about how they screw you over is useless. It hurts no one but her. If she had never pointed this out 99.9% of the music public would never have noticed. It sure doesn’t seem to be bothering Beyonce. It’s put up or shut up time. You know how they are going to treat you so either dump RCA or just be quite about it.

  • Sherena

    I don’t know what other thread to post this on, but I really want to know the answer to this.

    How many albums are the Idol winners and runner ups respectively obligated to do with 19E? Or is a number of years?

  • Tess

    Kelly….

    Finish the tour and take a year off. Maybe you’ll come back knowing who you are and where you are going. Sabaticals work wonders for the majority of people and a year is only the blink of an eye for most people.

  • idod51181

    Not sure what year but Lumidee “Uh Oh”, Wayne Wonder “No Letting Go”, and Sean Paul “Shake that Thing” all had the same backing track, all 3 were huge hits that year. There was not this much controversy about it.

    Bottom Line, Ryan Tedder didn’t rip anybody off, its his music, he gave it to the artist and let them run with it. Kelly should be grateful to have worked with a hitmaker.

  • will

    Why is everyone saying that the songs are identical?

    Nobody’s saying that, not even Kelly. Very similar backing tracks, different melodies.

  • Hazehel

    This statement doesn’t tell us anything. Ryan didn’t do what he said he’d do, which is to tell us what did and didn’t happened, i.e. the things we really want to know. Did he give the same backing track to both Kelly and Beyonc as per Kelly’s version of event? His original statement suggested that he thought Kelly got it wrong, which leaves the version of event suggested by the internet rumour (and this version of event doesn’t reflect well on him or on Beyonc). I am not surprised he didn’t spell out as to exactly what happened because it will only make things worse.

  • weareallinnocent

    Ok, I hate to be a bother, but did Perez say anything worth knowing? I ask because I don’t want to give him the hit by visiting his site. I’m not encouraging anyone else to go there, just if you know, is it worth knowing? LOL

  • Tess

    Sherena
    Jul 29th, 2009 at 3:04 pm

    No one really knows, unless a recording artist says, what the contracts are. It may be limited to one, one with a record company option for a second, etc. And these contracts are renegotiated over time. Many times Artists will “buy” out their own contracts if they want to move to another label. Artists can also be “dropped” by a label if they aren’t making money, etc.

    I am getting the feeling that Kelly wants out and she is hoping that RCA will let her out of the contract, so that she can move on without having to pay to do so….just my opinion.

    Also…Ryan DOES NOT NEED TO DEFEND HIMSELF. He made his statement, end of story. Kelly brought this out for public consumption, not Ryan or Beyonce and now, in a way, they are the victims of Kelly’s attack on RCA. She needs to learn to think before she speaks!

  • suebrody

    Honestly, I didn’t realize that the background tracks were the same until it was pointed out to me. And I know popular music relatively well. I like AG more than Halo, but then again I like Kelly more than Beyonce. Just personal preference; I have Kelly’s album but not Beyonce’s.

    Kelly co-wrote the bloody song, so some of this is puzzling to me. But I agree that she seems to be all over the place right now, and is clearly not happy. So do promo or not, and then chill out and decide what you want to do next. I agree that she could go indie and it wouldn’t be a problem (I’d actually like it quite agree, me thing). I liked My December, and it actually sold quite well.

    Much ado about nothing…I want to know what albums Kris and Adam are going to release in the fall. :)

  • Squirrely

    moved to a different thread

  • noctem seizure

    you know what this means.. this song is going to blow up because of the controversy since that sells. the label doesn’t care- it doesn’t really damage them because money is going to start rolling in.

    No, this isn’t going to have any effect on the song because it’s all happening beneath the radar. For the most part, the only people who will even know about this controversy are people who scour the Internet for entertainment news (of one sort or another).

  • Hazehel
    Jul 29th, 2009 at 3:07 pm

    His original statement suggested that he thought Kelly got it wrong, which leaves the version of event suggested by the internet rumour (and this version of event doesn’t reflect well on him or on Beyonc). I am not surprised he didn’t spell out as to exactly what happened because it will only make things worse.

    What is the internet version Hazehel? Can you please expound? I’m really curious.

  • Hazehel

    What is the internet version Hazehel? Can you please expound? I’m really curious.

    Oh well, I’m the one responsible for spreading the rumour here. Just need to stressed that it is unsubstantiated, for all we know it could have been concocted by someone. There is allegedly a radio interview with Ryan Tedder where he said this, but no one else seems to have heard this interview. Anyway, here goes –

    Ryan wrote Halo and Simon Cowell decided that he wanted that song for Leona Lewis, but Leona was too busy to record the song. Ryan then wrote Already Gone with Kelly Clarkson who recorded it. Beyonc happened to hear the song because she was working with same guy who did the mixing for Already Gone, and contacted Ryan demanding a song like Already Gone. Ryan then rewrote Halo, gave it to Beyonc who recorded it in 2 hours. She then rushed to have the song released to beat Kelly Clarkson.

    This version of event made Beyonc sound unscrupulous, and Ryan a bit a hack. Believe it? I have no idea. Like I said, it could be all made up, but you see this story repeated everywhere.

  • Tess

    This version of event made Beyonc sound unscrupulous, and Ryan a bit a hack. Believe it? I have no idea. Like I said, it could be all made up, but you see this story repeated everywhere.

    And every time it is repeated it makes me angrier. With this story Kelly gets to wear the white hat and Beyonce and Ryan are the villians. So that leads me to believe the story comes from Kelly’s fan base and not from any reputable source. This is a Kelly instigated controversy and she needs to buck up and take the hit for opening her mouth. Filter, thy name is not Kelly.

  • Squirrely

    I have a hard time believing that version because although I’m am not a Beyonce lover, she does not need to be underhanded to get good songs. She can sing crap and it makes money.

  • hypertwink

    This is a Kelly instigated controversy and she needs to buck up and take the hit for opening her mouth. Filter, thy name is not Kelly.

    Hackery, thy name is Tedder.

  • julesb2183

    suebrody – that’s what I don’t get. She CO WROTE the song. I don’t think they forced her to put it on the album. Cry me a river if a song you wrote ends up on one of your albums and is a single. Sheesh. I saw her in concert and she seemed happy with it – it was the one she felt the most conncected to, in my opinion.

  • Sherena

    From a business perspective Kelly is being unreasonable. From an artistic perspective I can see why she’s pretty freaking pissed. But artistry isn’t the big thing in the music industry anymore, is it?

  • julesb2183

    if she wanted artistry, she should have never started out into the pop world. End of story. Even country music has more artistry in it.

  • Thank you Hazehel. It’s an interesting version of events.

    Tess

    With this story Kelly gets to wear the white hat and Beyonce and Ryan are the villians. So that leads me to believe the story comes from Kelly’s fan base and not from any reputable source.

    I see your point, and I’m inclined to agree. And squirrely explains why in this post:

    Squirrely
    Jul 29th, 2009 at 4:49 pm

    I have a hard time believing that version because although I’m am not a Beyonce lover, she does not need to be underhanded to get good songs. She can sing crap and it makes money.

    Tess

    This is a Kelly instigated controversy and she needs to buck up and take the hit for opening her mouth. Filter, thy name is not Kelly.

    With this I totally agree.

  • Sherena

    It’s never that simple in real life. Of course she had to make compromises in order to make it. Who doesn’t want to make it? But I think she’s becoming unsatisfied with being a pop princess now, and she wants out. I think she’s feeling conflicted now. It’s easy to make judgments from the side, but it’s never that simple of a choice. It shouldn’t be either all artistry or all business, she should be allowed to cut a balance.

    And frankly, RCA is a sexist label. I don’t think they respect their female artists as artists. Didn’t Kelly overhear a few years ago some of the execs talking about how “girls shouldn’t write their own music”? Christina Aguilera had a huge fight pre-Stripped with RCA over the pop princess packaging they were giving her on her first album, but she won that battle and they didn’t make a fuss over B2B. She’s sacrificed some of her mainstream success for the opportunity to do what her artistic vision is, so hopefully Kelly can accomplish that, or get out of her contract.

  • wand3rful

    if she wanted artistry, she should have never started out into the pop world. End of story.

    well, gotta give her credit for trying w. My December…although Clive and his henchmen did a great job of burying that album.

    all in all, her song will probably benefit from the buzz

  • julesb2183

    We only have Kelly’s allegations on all these controversies. Whose to say she is the truthful one? Beyonce probably isn’t going to comment, RCA won’t either. We won’t know the whole story. If Kelly is soooo unhappy with her label, and the music she writes, who can she still expect the fans to come to her concerts and by her music? That’s kinda a slap in the face to her fans. I think I am giving you crap, but I still want you to but it!!

  • abbysee

    That version of Beyonce’s part in this was truly enhanced from what I read over the last few days. She simply asked for something that sounded like Already Gone. Not that it was revamped and given to her unbeknownst to either her, or Kelly. Truthfully neither women were in control of what happened regarding this song. The very core of the story is that Kelly did not know that Tedder used THE SAME track, or gave her the same track to write to. That she didn’t know, and was upset when she found out to me is understandable. But I guess she should just stfu because it’s obvious that speaking out is never a good thing anymore.

  • wand3rful

    But I guess she should just stfu because it’s obvious that speaking out is never a good thing anymore.

    i just find that sad, and a bit scary…..

  • abbysee

    i just find that sad, and a bit scary’ ¦..

    but it seems to be true because this story has grown from Tedder using the same track over and over again (that is not in doubt) without the knowledge of his fellow artist. To Kelly…….

    1. Wanting out of her contract
    2. Wanting to go indie
    3. Not wanting to be a pop princess
    4. To being washed up
    5. Not that talented anyway
    6. Unhappy and bitter
    7. Full of herself

    So, maybe the option is to keep your thoughts to yourself, because even when you speak your truth, others will always see things the way they want to.

  • julesb2183

    wand3ful – not that she shouldn’t speak up ever, but there is a time and a place to do so. How good is her career going to be if she trashes her music, a song SHE wrote? How good of a relationship is she going to have with her label if she does it? How is she going to not get screwed by them in the future if she has a horrible relationship with them – how is it going to advance her career?

    In this instance, it does Kelly more harm then good.

  • abbysee

    How good is her career going to be if she trashes her music, a song SHE wrote?

    But she hasn’t done that. She hasn’t said she hates the song. She just didn’t want it released as her next single, because of the simlarities to Halo. That’s it.

  • wand3rful

    So, maybe the option is to keep your thoughts to yourself, because even when you speak your truth, others will always see things the way they want to.

    I have a problem with this….others (ie the internet community) should not dictate what one does w. his or her life. thats what i find sad, that one should mence his words out of fear (yikes).

    How good is her career going to be if she trashes her music, a song SHE wrote?

    to be fair, she didnt trash the song/lyrics itself, just complained that the background music given to it was already used by Beyonce. her complaint was about being labeled a copycat, not that the music itself wasnt good…the fact that the music is good IS the problem LOL

  • wand3rful

    1. Wanting out of her contract
    2. Wanting to go indie
    3. Not wanting to be a pop princess
    4. To being washed up
    5. Not that talented anyway
    6. Unhappy and bitter
    7. Full of herself

    LOL, so true …gotta love the internet

  • mgk

    abbysee, I don’t think people are just talking about the Tedder song situation when thinking that Kelly is unhappy and dissatisfied with singing pop music. This comment from the same article says so much to me.

    ‘I think it’d be awesome to work with the White Stripes. Even though I don’t know if they would, because that’d be’ ¦’  Clarkson trails off, laughing. ‘Even if I’m a fan of theirs, their credibility factor would waver a bit.

    Maybe I’m reading too much into this quote, but it just makes me sad that she’s comparing herself unfavorably to the White Stripes. She doesn’t seem happy with her musical identity.

  • weareallinnocent

    That’s kinda a slap in the face to her fans. I think I am giving you crap, but I still want you to but it!!

    I’m not hearing that at all. I’m hearing more of how abbysee describes it. And, as someone else said, it’s never that simple in reality.

    From the few tidbits we have, I speculate that Kelly actually loved and was proud of Already Gone, maybe even much more so than the other pop shit on this album. It does sound more like the authentic Kelly from My December to me, although she’s no longer in that place necessarily. (And, All I Ever Wanted already is a compromise product, imo of what Kelly’s view may be after the My December brouhaha.)

    Then, as her album has already gone to print, she hears Halo and is shocked/dismayed, and understandably so. Now, a song she is proud of becomes a conundrum to her. So she confronts Tedder and begs the label not to release it as a single. Apparently she gets no satisfaction on either front, so she rearranges it for live promotional performances and tries to grin and bear it — but ultimately loses that battle with herself.

    I empathize with Kelly. Since her attempt to spread her wings and fly with My December, only to have it buried by aged execs at her label, then having to suck it up and do “Suck” the single and “All I Ever Wanted” the album — to me, a thinly veiled “apology” to TPTB… Ugh.

    Ultimately, so far I think this is playing out as positively as it could under the circumstances after she spoke her frustration. Personally, I would love to hear Beyonce’s views but I know we never will. (Nothing against Beyonce’ just not expecting her to enter the fray.)

  • breakdown

    The only one looking bad in this whole mess is Tedder. He looks like a hack. Wouldn’t you be pissed if you thought someone gave a song you already recorded to another artist? In the long run the publicity will probably only help sales. Extremely pc statement made by Tedder.

  • lizland

    Also, it seems like Ryan did talk to Kelly and get it sorted out or else he would not be so complimentary

    I think Ryan was complimentary to Kelly because he has a financial incentive to make this go away and have the single a success. I find it impossible to believe that he can forgive what she has said about him publicly.

    And the only person Kelly hasn’t slung some mud at in this mess is Beyonce, so I’m guessing there was no demanding a song just like Already Gone by her. Or Kelly would surely have brought that up too. I agree with the poster that said this was a fandom rumor.

    I liked Kelly on the show and her early stuff, but she sure does seem negative and put upon for the last few years. I hope she can find a way to professional happiness on her next CD – whether that’s through playing music she actually likes or a new record company.

  • hypertwink

    Yeah, the snippy little girl from Texas should just shut up and take it even if she’s being taken advantage of just so she looks PR perfect and doesn’t make Tedder and her label look stupid and greedy.

  • Maybe I’m reading too much into this quote, but it just makes me sad that she’s comparing herself unfavorably to the White Stripes. She doesn’t seem happy with her musical identity.

    Whether she admits it or not, it’s obvious that AIEW is a compromise of some sort. The public is to be blamed for not allowing her to grow as an artist. It’s like she’s a step forward, only to take two steps backward. I can’t wait to hear Kelly doing music that she truly loves and we know it’s only gonna happen when she’s out of a big commercial record company.

  • lucy

    “if she wanted artistry, she should have never started out into the pop world. End of story.”

    That’s probably true today. But I don’t know that young artists realize it. After all, there’s no reason why pop can’t have artistic values rather than 100,000 percent commercial ones as it does. Prince is pop. Madonna is pop. Cyndi Lauper is pop. Sinatra was pop. And tons of other quite interesting and respectable performers over the years. And you surely can’t argue that their careers were shaped *entirely* by commercial values, as it seems a pop singer’s is supposed to be now, if I’m hearing everybody right.

    Does it really *have* to be that way, or are the mega corporations just so worried about losing their billionaire world dominance as the music world changes so they’re trying even harder than in the past just to repeat the formulas that worked for them?

    Whatever the answer, I don’t think Kelly fits this scenario. And, heck, she’s getting too old to really be a pop princess any more anyway, given the way pop music is structured now. You get considered long in the tooth by your mid 20s, in most cases, and she’s there now. She really should just get out of thta contract and do something else. She seems not to be happy.

  • jack5791

    I’m on Kelly’s side here. It seems as if he is just trying to cover his butt now at this point.

  • ozarka

    I think Kelly knew that people would eventually recognize the similarities between the two songs. So she decided to make a preemptive strike, to deflect the blame on anyone other than herself.

  • haruhi

    I don’t know many songs, so I tend to confuse songs that sound alike. Like Halo and Already Gone. When I heard Already Gone (just the other day), my mind just made me spout “Halo-oh!” automatically. Maybe, it’s just me, but while the lyrics are not similar (I like Already Gone in every aspect, lyrics and vocals), the melodies are like sisters, but not twins.

    And considering that Already Gone is so much better, I think this controversy might help in sales.

  • jonoave

    As a casual listener outside of US, here’s my take on Kelly. I wasn’t that entirely impressed when Kelly started out from idol – a big voice and some ballads/pop songs. Back then the pop market was littered with Britneys and Christina, and I never paid Kelly much attention.

    Then Breakaway came out. The singles release was catchy and refreshing, there weren’t many female pop-rock at that time. At it signalled some level of growth and maturity on her side – going slightly rock while maintaining her pop roots. I don’t follow her music details carefully, and know nothing bout her manager or the AI shun at that period. I was going to buy the album, but happened to win it in a contest and I loved it.

    Her 3rd album, My December didn’t do anything for me. I didn’t like Never Again – it came off to me as trying too hard, and at that time there were quite a number of female rockers eg. Evanescence (yes, they’re different but I can’t recall the other one-hit wonders right now). And the second single, Sober was extremely boring to me that I changed the channel each time I hear it. It fell off MTV pretty quickly, and never caught on in radio airplay. And I DIDN’T even knew of the Clive-Kelly spat.

    I’m just getting pretty tired how folks are saying My December was a great album/got burned by RCA/public was stupid etc. Well, I didn’t know bout Kelly back then as I do now, and I still wasn’t inclined to like the singles from it. Point is, she took a an artistic risk and it failed. The songs were rocker wannabe or snoozefest to me. Perhaps she could have released other songs on the album that were better/catchier. But the ones she released didn’t make me inclined to check out My December and I lost interest in her. Compare this to Christina Aguilera – the songs released were catchy and sparked interest. They didn’t do as well as her old singles, but did pretty well and generated enough interest in her album

    Now for Kelly’s 4th album. I hated both her first singles at first, too dance-processed-pop-Katy-Perryish to me. But I have to admit they were catchy. I wasn’t fully aware of the Kelly-label thing, but she lost a lot of credibility to me. It was like she tried to went hard rock and failed, and now she’s succumbing to these radio-friendly processed pop songs. I was turned off and it didn’t make me inclined to check out her album.

    When I buy an album, I’m taking a risk as I’m buying some songs which I’ve never heard before (old CD-buyer here). So I base my decisions on what I can hear (singles released) and the artist credibility. To me Kelly failed me on both factors for her 3rd and current album. Simple as that, regardless of what I now know of her label spat etc.

  • hardkandy

    Yea maybe it’s not safe to mouth off on Ryan and her record label but whatever… it’s not like every time AG is played on the radio the DJ will say “this is a song produced by Ryan Tedder in the label RCA sung by Kelly Clarkson” … they will say “this is Already Gone by Kelly Clarkson” – it’s her name attached to this song and she owes it to herself to clear up any thoughts that she had ripped Beyonce off. Definitely, Ryan Tedder needed to have it.

  • pj

    Here’s my bias:

    I don’t own any Kelly albums. I think she’s a great singer. But she was on AI way before I thought about watching it. I didn’t like the idea of “manufacturing a pop star” so I shunned the show at first. LOL.

    I know Kelly can sing. I haven’t bought any of her albums because I really haven’t been interested. Her singles are fine, but not music I want to hear other than on the radio. I need to check out My December, but “Never Again” was just alright for me.

    ‘I think it’d be awesome to work with the White Stripes. Even though I don’t know if they would, because that’d be’ ¦’  Clarkson trails off, laughing. ‘Even if I’m a fan of theirs, their credibility factor would waver a bit.

    Jack White will work with pop stars. He doesn’t care what people think of him. He has to be interested in them, though. I didn’t care for what he did with Alicia Keys. But he was off the charts with Loretta Lynn. And I’m not sure Meg has a lot of credibility except for her rudimentary drumming (which works well for the WS). Jack, however, is a genius.

    I don’t mind it when Idols talk smack. But in this case, I don’t think the songs are enough alike for Kelly to be causing a stir. Especially when it involves other artists and their integrity. I don’t remember Iggy Pop getting all bent out of shape over the band Jet having the same track as “Lust for Life.” Kelly is worried about her integrity, perhaps, but that’s the problem. I don’t think this would have been a big deal to the casual listener if she hadn’t spoken up. To preserve herself, she tossed another artist under the bus. One, who I believe, did nothing wrong. That’s not a way to make friends in the industry.

  • adamland

    hardkandy Jul 29th, 2009 at 10:49 pm

    Yea maybe it’s not safe to mouth off on Ryan and her record label but whatever’ ¦ it’s not like every time AG is played on the radio the DJ will say ‘this is a song produced by Ryan Tedder in the label RCA sung by Kelly Clarkson’  ‘ ¦ they will say ‘this is Already Gone by Kelly Clarkson’  – it’s her name attached to this song and she owes it to herself to clear up any thoughts that she had ripped Beyonce off. Definitely, Ryan Tedder needed to have it.

    pj Jul 30th, 2009 at 12:09 am

    I don’t mind it when Idols talk smack. But in this case, I don’t think the songs are enough alike for Kelly to be causing a stir. Especially when it involves other artists and their integrity. I don’t remember Iggy Pop getting all bent out of shape over the band Jet having the same track as ‘Lust for Life.’  Kelly is worried about her integrity, perhaps, but that’s the problem. I don’t think this would have been a big deal to the casual listener if she hadn’t spoken up.
    To preserve herself, she tossed another artist under the bus. One, who I believe, did nothing wrong. That’s not a way to make friends in the industry.

    She needs to clear up the Beyonce rumors that were started because of her interview. If Beyonce continues to be cast in a bad light I feel sorry for her because Jay-Z will jump into the middle of it. Try going independent if he is against you – good luck with that. He is considered one of the most powerful men in the music business and makes Clive Davis look like a kitten compared to him.

  • Sherena

    The Beyonce rumors aren’t her fault. She expressly said that she didn’t want to release Already Gone IN RESPECT FOR BEYONCE– making it clear that she doesn’t blame Beyonce for what happened. The internet is the internet and rumors happen, I think Beyonce and Jay Z understands that.

    Plus, if Jay Z were really so powerful, why didn’t he act or speak out against Chris Brown?

  • hardkandy

    imho, the similarities in AG and Halo are unmistakable. Especially in the intro, I can’t tell you how many times AG came up in my iTunes and I thought it was Halo until Kelly started singing. It’s too similar IMO, apparently Kelly thinks so too and I bet a lot of people do too that’s why she felt she had to clear up that she wasn’t ripping Beyonce off.

    She expressly said that she didn’t want to release Already Gone IN RESPECT FOR BEYONCE’“ making it clear that she doesn’t blame Beyonce for what happened

    Agreed. I don’t think she ever came off as blaming Beyonce. to me at least. she thinks it was Tedder’s fault, and it was.

  • hypertwink

    The Beyonce rumors aren’t her fault.

    This.

  • pj

    I wasn’t referring to Beyonce. I think Kelly trashed Ryan for no good reason. Beats are not songs (nor are backing tracks… whatever that typically means). These are two different sounding songs to me (with similarities). I don’t know what the legal definition of plagiarism is in terms of music (not that you can plagiarize yourself, I guess).

    Anyway, Kelly sounds a little insecure to me about the song, and that’s too bad, because I think it’s better than “Halo” and I don’t think she would have gotten a bad rap like she seems to think.

    That being said, I have no idea about “My December” and I don’t think that’s an issue with this song. People keep bringing it up as if it is relevant to this? I will say she doesn’t seem to like or respect her own music… not a good sign for the fans of that music or her future with her label.

    I think she’s too scared to go indie, because she doesn’t have faith in her own abilities without other songwriters. I can’t blame her. You can admire something and not be able to create it yourself. Maybe she should take that jump and find out.

  • Sherena

    Agreed. I don’t think the direction her label is trying to push Kelly is right for her, and I don’t think she likes it.

  • pj

    Plus, if Jay Z were really so powerful, why didn’t he act or speak out against Chris Brown?

    What does Jay-Z have to do with Chris Brown? I think he was right to leave it up to the legal system. But I guess this is OT.

    ETA: I also believe Ryan Tedder was blindsighted by the Kelly stuff. I think his initial blog was proof of that. Seemed to me like it was an hones knee-jerk reaction, which of course, was removed by those who know better. LOL. I think if she were going to go public with allegations against him, she could have afforded him some warning. Professional courtesy. If I acted that way at work, I would be HATED. LOL.

  • hardkandy

    What does Jay-Z have to do with Chris Brown?

    OT: he’s Rihanna’s mentor. And I think he did do something about Chris Brown, I read from a twitter of Chris Brown’s back up dancer that the reason Chris didn’t get to take part in BET Awards’ tribute to MJ is because Jay-Z didn’t want him to.

    Anyway, I think if Ryan didn’t want to be called out in public.. he should’ve given Kelly the same professional courtesy and told her, “oh hey remember one of those songs I made for your album, I’m giving Beyonce the exact same backing track to use for one of her songs in an album that will be released before yours. Hope that’s cool with you.” Unprofessionalism begets unprofessionalism.

  • pj

    Anyway, I think if Ryan didn’t want to be called out in public.. he should’ve given Kelly the same professional courtesy and told her, ‘oh hey one of those songs I made for your album has exactly the same backing track as the one I gave Beyonce. Hope that’s cool with you.’  Unprofessionalism begets unprofessionalism.

    Unless it’s an industry standard, which it seems to be (Stargate, anyone?). It sounds like Kelly got her track first, and then it went to Beyonce, if this is all true. I personally hear as many or more similarities in other songs than these two, by different writers, so I think this seems like Kelly being insecure and not able to express it in a more productive way.

    Besides, two wrongs don’t make a right.

  • Sherena

    I think if she were going to go public with allegations against him, she could have afforded him some warning. Professional courtesy.

    No one seems to be showing Kelly any professional courtesy, especially not the people on her label. Or was Clive Davis’ hate campaign professional courtesy? Making her do this saccharine apology album– and then not letting her choose even her third single–?

    Honestly, I think the interviewer brought the topic off and Kelly, being an impetuous person, just said what came to mind. And she had talked to Ryan before about the subject, so he wasn’t completely blindsided. He probably brushed her off, from what I gather.

    Yes, she could’ve given Ryan more warning, but frankly that’s the least important aspect of this whole deal. Ryan could’ve given her warning that he was giving Beyonce the same backing track.

  • hardkandy

    No one seems to be showing Kelly any professional courtesy

    Hmmm exactly. I don’t know why Kelly is expected to show professional courtesy to a guy who basically pulled a fast one on her.

    And of course the similarities will not be obvious to everyone, but a lot of people do hear it…. when Kelly’s album first leaked, that was one of the first things I noticed, I think I even posted it here in MJ’s before. And most importantly, the artist who has to have her name attached to the song hears it.

    ETA: Haha yep I wasn’t imagining it, I did post it, I found it in the comments section HERE

    And she had talked to Ryan before about the subject, so he wasn’t completely blindsided. He probably brushed her off, from what I gather.

    This too.

  • pj

    I get what y’all are saying, but here’s the rub. The label is sitting pretty. They don’t give a shit. They are loving the controversy. Her words mean nothing to them. Ryan Tedder was working (I’m guessing) with good faith that his producing/songwriting was within the norms that are established within the industry. I’m sure Kelly is familiar with those norms. If she doesn’t like them, well, she has choices.

    ETA: And yeah, I’m not sure went down with her and Ryan, but human nature dictates he wouldn’t have posted hastily if he hadn’t been blind sighted. Perhaps she called him and they worked it out and now she’s going all apeshit? Note she didn’t say what his response was or how it was resolved.

  • pj

    No one is denying the songs are similar. The same? No. Perhaps we should hire the peeps who decided the Vanilla Ice/David Bowie/Queen case. Or we should just wait for Kelly to put her money where her mouth is and sue… but she’s probably going to make too much money off that song to make it worth it…

  • hardkandy

    If she doesn’t like them, well, she has choices.

    Yea she has, and she chose to speak out against Ryan and her label. If they drop her or cut off her promo, then that’s a chance she chose to take.

    But whatever happens or does not happen to Kelly’s career after this, it doesn’t change the fact that Ryan Tedder seems to be a one trick pony and Kelly’s words has somehow served as a warning to other artists who want their stuff to be unique, to steer clear of Ryan Tedder.

    No one is denying the songs are similar. The same? No. Perhaps we should hire the peeps who decided the Vanilla Ice/David Bowie/Queen case.

    Of course the two songs are not the SAME, they have different lyrics. But the beats and the backing track is the same and that is just as important part of the song as the lyrics, IMO. Especially in pop music.

  • pj

    But whatever happens or does not happen to Kelly’s career after this, it doesn’t change the fact that Ryan Tedder seems to be a one trick pony and Kelly’s words has somehow served as a warning to other artists who want their stuff to be unique, to steer clear of Ryan Tedder.

    Well, I appreciate that we are debating something other than Glambert vs. Kris/Danny/whatever.

    I actually want the best for Kelly. I think she’s probably the Idol winner that I would like the most if I met her. I just think that if the problem is really with the label, she should keep it there. I wouldn’t care who the songwriter was… Tedder or Stargate.

    As for the song… trashing your own song is not a good way to generate sales. LOL. She may not care about the money. Another reason to show some guts and strike out on her own. I’d be interested in what she would do with that.

  • hardkandy

    ^^Well from what I gathered in her interview, she did try to keep it with the label only, trying to keep them from releasing the song as a single but they wouldn’t budge so she had to take it to her own hands to let people know the deal with this song.

    I definitely want her to part ways with RCA already… and I’m not sure she even has to go indie even after that. I’m sure there are a lot of other labels out there willing to give her a home, she still has a pretty big name after all. Hopefully she finds a label where she can make the music she really wants to make.

  • Wow, there’s way too much analysis on Kelly’s career here, lol, so here’s mine:

    When Kelly put out My December, she said she needed it for herself, which I agree because Breakaway had been a monster album after all, so why not let the girl decide on her own on the next cd. Again, I still believe that My December is among the top 10 best albums this decade but I won’t go into details because it’s just too tiring. lol At one point she said that she’d allow the record label to have their way on her fourth album if they’d let her have MD. So there you go, I believe that AIEW is a bit of compromise with the label and you can’t fault her for that, she’s just honoring her words.

    Maybe it’s calculated risk since at her age of 27 – she’s not too old to veer away from the pop world yet. She’d have a lot opportunities to do indie music later on if she so decides. She’s just making the most of her young age which is already teetering towards the point where pop may already be awkward for her. She’s been saying a lot lately how she would like to do blues album or partner with White Stripes which may be a hint that she’d want to take that risk again on her 5th album. You see, timing is everything and she has brilliantly laid out her career path in a way that would allow her to do everything at least once in her lifetime.

  • i really dont hear the similarities and
    being as cynical as i am

    controversy sells ?

  • lucy

    i really dont hear the similarities and
    being as cynical as i am

    controversy sells ?

    Could be. But it could also be that, if you’re a musician and the person singing the song, the similarities would sound quite glaring to you, even though they might not occur to people who aren’t so familiar with it. … Kelly being Kelly, I think this is more likely. I don’t get the impression that she causes controversies for cash but that she basically just blunders into controversies because she’s kind of an impetuous and maybe cranky person, who hasn’t felt really satisfied with her music career for a while now. Who knows, though, of course?

  • julesb2183

    My problem is if she goes and embraces “her artistry” again for her 5th album (if she has one), we’ll get My January – nothing new. But in her mind it will be okay because she had all the say.

  • lucy

    My problem is if she goes and embraces ‘her artistry’  again for her 5th album (if she has one), we’ll get My January – nothing new. But in her mind it will be okay because she had all the say.

    Well, if she gets into a contract where she takes more of the risk, like an indie contract, then there wouldn’t be anything the matter with that, as far as I can see.

    Artists and performers have to grow and change to get longevity anyway, and I suspect it’s darned near impossible to grow and change as a performer without having some foul-ups, mistakes, and missteps along the way. How many people who’ve made 30 or 40 albums haven’t had some stinkers in there or at least some that were very much liked by a niche audience but not by the public at large (which is more the My December story, in my opinion.) (And do we really know that Kelly has nothing new in her besides My December? I have a kind of strong suspicion that she could do non-angsty rock, country-flavored ballads, and a whole lot more, if she felt like it, and maybe she would!)

    Anyway, the only problem with doing the small-selling album in the case of most major-label contracts (I guess some are structured differently) is that the label will get furious at you because they stand to be the bigger losers if you don’t have a gazillion-selling album. .. Plus, the days of the gazillion-selling album seem to be getting ever farther behind us, so it’s quite possible that new forms of music distribution will be opening up that will give disgruntled pop princesses and others more options for what to do anyway, especially the ones who already have enough money to last a lifetime, like Kelly.

  • anna in vegas

    I have a kind of strong suspicion that she could do non-angsty rock, country-flavored ballads, and a whole lot more, if she felt like it,

    But didn’t she kind of do that unsuccessfully with Reba? :ponder_tb:


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