Kelly Clarkson vs. Beyonce

Posted by Mack of Sound-Savvy On 11:08 PM


If you've got either of these two albums, you may notice one very similar track on each - and this highlights a growing problem in the industry - recycled tracks. When prepping her 4th album, All I Ever Wanted, Kelly Clarkson teamed up with One Republic frontman Ryan Tedder to pen one of the highlight songs of her album, Already Gone. Tedder provided the track while Clarkson penned the lyrics and the result was a hit which has now become the album's third single.


Already Gone - Kelly Clarkson

Unbeknownst to Clarkson at the time, Tedder had provided the same track to Beyonce Knowles, which became the backing track to Halo, the fourth single from her third album I Am...Sasha Fierce. The similarities in the tracks are uncanny and Clarkson fought a losing battle with her label to pull her record from the album before its release, out of respect for Beyonce.



When producers and writers re-use tracks like that, it shortchanges the artists and the consumers. It replaces a slot for quality original work with something that's already done, but there are examples of this all throughout the industry. Leona Lewis' Forgive Me is a recycled track that Akon provided Gwen Stefani for Sweet Escape. Ciara's latest single Work from the Fantasy Ride album, is a track by Danja originally used by Danity Kane for their song Pretty Boy. And the number of songs that followed Lil Jon's 'Yeah!' formula is pretty high. Add Ne-yo and Avril Lavigne to the list of guilty writers/producers as well.

The list could go on, but what do you think about this trend of producers re-using tracks in the industry? Is it fair? Is it lazy? Do you even care?

3 comments and counting...

  1. Anonymous Said,

    it just shows you what happens when performers don't have the talent to write their own songs. I bet you Stevie Wonder or Bob Dylan never had this problem. All the singers mentioned in this article are pretty faces that are as replaceable and forgettable as any pop sensation of the past. They're not real artists.

    Posted on July 28, 2009 at 7:16 AM

     
  2. Anonymous Said,

    Kelly Clarkson writes her own songs. Because of You, which is arguably her biggest single ever, she wrote when she was 16. The entire My December album was written and co-produced by Kelly. Some of her best songs were written by her.

    She wrote the words to Already Gone. Ryan Tedder ripped off both artists. Kelly had it first, but did not know he had also given the song to Beyonce.

    To claim that Kelly doesnt write her own lyrics, or is a real artist, is insane. It's obvious that you don't know what she went through to get My December out there.

    Kelly just wants to sing, she has claimed time and time again that she doesn't care about being famous or having #1 singles. She just wants to sing, perform, and write songs that mean something to her. Unfortunately, her label thinks otherwise.

    Posted on September 24, 2009 at 11:51 PM

     
  3. Anonymous #2, not sure if your post was directed to me, but I'm very much aware that Kelly writes her own lyrics and I actually prefer her song "Already Gone" because it has way more depth than "Halo". I also mentioned her 'situation' with My December in my post. Sounds like we share the same opinion homie :-)

    Posted on September 25, 2009 at 6:48 AM

     

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