American Idle

In case you don’t already know, here’s the scoop: Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic wrote Kelly Clarkson’s “Already Gone.” Okay, but the real controversy? Tedder wrote the same melody for Beyonce’s song “Halo” and Clarkson is pissed, thinking Tedder ripped her off.

Kelly Clarkson - “Already Gone”

Say what? Yeah, that’s what I thought, Tedder. Anyway, Clarkson, knowing that Tedder wrote the same melody for both songs, didn’t want “Already Gone” as her third single on her album.

So, she told CBC that “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?’”

The palpably frustrated Clarkson claims she “fought and fought” to try and prevent her label from releasing Already Gone as her third single, out of respect for Beyonce.

“In the end, they’re releasing it without my consent,” she sighs. “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.”

And here’s “Halo,” the Beyonce song. Notice the similarities?

Here’s Tedder’s uh, reply, I mean, excuse, the one he originally wrote before he thought better of being a jerk and had his PR person write one and deleted this one…or so he thought:

 From his deleted MySpace page:  

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.

Then he had his PR hack write a statement, um, better excuse for ripping Clarkson off so that his career as a songwriter doesn’t go in the toilet. Oh, wait, it’s too late for that. But here’s his statement, anyway:

“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.”

I’ve formed mine and Ryan Tedder is a rip-off artist.

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