Battle Rages Over Kelly Clarkson's Beyoncé Rip-Off

Clarkson calls foul on producer for giving Grammy winners same track; he proclaims innocence

By Gina Serpe Jul 29, 2009 8:20 PMTags

It's not just the songs that are getting played.

If, when Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone" was released this month, you thought the melody sounded a bit—how should we put this?—familiar, you weren't the only one.

The original American Idol champ is engaged in a public battle with her frequent collaborator, OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, blaming him for what many discerning fans have long suspected: using the same music as Beyoncé's "Halo," which he also worked on.

"Her album came out when my album was already being printed," Clarkson told Canada's CBC radio last week.

"No one's gonna be sittin' at home, thinking, 'Man, Ryan Tedder gave Beyoncé 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?' "

Funny you should ask, Kelly.

"'Already Gone' is one of the best songs I've written or produced since 'Bleeding Love' and stands tall on its own merits apart from 'Halo,' " he said in a statement.

"They are two entirely different songs conceptually, melodically and 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 and absurd."

In her interview, Clarkson said she fought to prevent the record label from releasing the tune as a single out of respect for Beyoncé, but Tedder is holding fast to his defense, stubbornly defying listeners to find similarities in the two tracks.

"I challenge people to listen and form their own opinions," he said.

We know a dare when we hear one. Listen to the tracks and take our poll to tell us what you think.

—Additional reporting by Ashley Fultz

Poll

Kelly vs. Beyoncé Song Poll

Sure, the songs may have the same beat, but whose would you rather listen to?
Beyoncé's. She's everything I need and more
17.7%
Kelly's. My life would suck without her music
50.4%
Joe Satriani's. Wait, what was the question again?
10.6%
You're wrong. They're not similar
21.3%

________

If this singing thing doesn't work out, Beyoncé can always fall back on her career as a designer. Check out her stylings and those of her fellow star multi-hyphenates in our Celeb Fashion Lines gallery.