Kelly Clarkson: I didn’t steal from Beyonce!!
Kelly Clarkson is battling her record label over her new single — because it sounds exactly like the new Beyoncé song.
The winner of the first “American Idol” had been fighting behind the scenes to keep her latest single, “Almost Gone,” from being released, the singer said in an interview over the weekend with Canada’s CBC radio network.
Now that it’s out and on the radio, her bitter fight has become public.
The dispute began after Clarkson realized that “Almost Gone,” a tune she co-wrote with hit songwriter Ryan Tedder, was a dead-ringer for another Tedder tune, Beyonce’s megahit, “Halo.”
In essence, Tedder gave both singers a tune with the same backing track — without telling Clarkson, who wrote the lyrics.
Only when her new CD, “All I Ever Wanted,” was ready to be shipped did she hear “Halo” and realized what had happened. But it was too late to make any changes.
A hurt Clarkson said she confronted her co-writer on the phone , “I don’t understand. Why would you do that?
“No one’s gonna be sittin’ at home, thinking ‘Man, Ryan Tedder gave Beyoncé and Kelly the same track to write to.’ ” she said. “No, they’re just gonna be saying I ripped someone off.”
The sound-alike “Halo” went on to become a hit for Beyoncé, peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
After two Clarkson hit singles — “My Life Would Suck Without You” and “I Do Not Hook Up” — from “All I Ever Wanted,” RCA decided to release “Almost Gone” to radio stations as the third single.
“I fought and fought” to stop it, she said, but couldn’t. “In the end, they’re releasing it without my consent,” says a frustrated Clarkson. “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 sh- – -y situation, but . . . you know, you learn.”
