Today’s passionate defense of Taylor’s much-maligned performance at Sunday night’s Grammy Awards by her record label president has drawn the ire of one its incidental Read the full post.
Feb 4
2010
05:19 PM ET
Kelly Clarkson responds to Taylor Swift's record-label defense: 'Take a lesson'
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In a nutshell, Taylor Swift would never, ever make it to AI’s Hollywood week on the merits of her voice alone. Having said that, however, she is a talented songwriter with a voice that is just good enough to sing her own songs (that, let’s not forget, are written in her limited range). That she is relatively easy on the eyes makes her marketable; otherwise, she’d be a good songwriter. Period. That Kelly Clarkson can sing the proverbial phone book does not prevent her, or the very few like her, from having emotional range as well.
You can say the same for Beyonce in the snese you can go to any projects and find woman that can sing better than her. The fact she is “easy on the eyes”, is why she is BEYONCE!!!!!!!
taylor has alot more skill then any one or anything out there and you know how people say beoncce is better well SHES NOT!!! cause taylor has very cut videos.And some are very chic and sexy.and if any of you have not check out all about meg then do it cause i have new stuff on there and i love it when you guys comment so tell me what you think of it.
rocket108 I’m with you! and another thing to all you guys saying beyonce’s better because taylor only writes about boys boys boys all the time? well so does beyonce don’t believe me? go check’em out for your self. Taylor is the best out there so just shut up
kelly is an ugly wreck who really can’t sing, I think she should just keep her mouth closed, scott was making a funny, and thats it. End of story.
Someone should get his mouth washed with soap. What a loser. lol
Oh, noooo attack of the rotten, rude children I’m soooo afraid!
Yeah, and you’re making things funnier because of your dumb brain. Kelly can kick Taylor’s butt anytime. But the fact that Taylor’s young and just LUCKY is what contributes to her being overrated. I doubt you would even defend her if she wasn’t so popular. Anyway, people who aren’t fools can easily blurt out that Kelly is the better singer (by an infinite number of miles) the moment someone asks them who’s the better singer: Kelly or Taylor? Can’t explain too much in here. Goodness know when someone’s head out there would explode and spill sickening fragments of poorly- developed brain and contaminate other respondents, including me, with his mental retardation.
Bless your heart, dumb ass.
Team Kelly for sure. Not only was Scott completely classless for trying to point the finger at other artists, he truly is doing HIS artist Taylor Swift no favors. I don’t mean just in terms of the points the author (correctly) made either – I mean, it is time to face the facts that Taylor….can’t…..sing. Do the girl a favor, face it and do something about it. Instead of having her tour everywhere all the time, take some time out for lessons. Seriously, I am one of those people who loves Taylor Swift’s music – it is GOOD pop/country as far as I’m concerned and I love the lyrics, I love the themes, I love the beats & the melodies. But the first time I heard her live on one of these award shows a few years back, I could NOT believe it. I said to my friend, she is flat, isn’t she?, because I couldn’t trust what my ears were telling me. And of all the live performances on all the shows since then, she has probably had only one passably good outing. Her people are NOT doing her any favors. I watched her with Stevie Nicks and thought she did not come off as an awestruck teen with an idol – she now has a little bit of arrogance to her performance (IMO). No one should think they are “all that” when they are so clearly not. And that leads me to the last point I want to make about Mr. Scott Borchetta – how dare he advocate for a world where GOOD singers are denigrated and BAD singers elevated? Kelly had it correct – the Idols not only hit the high notes, they hit them RIGHT. And no one, certainly no RECORD COMPANY Bigwig, should ever be quoted again making that totally bogus claim.
God, I love this woman…
Milli Vanilli sold millions and won a grammy, which was stripped after the public found out it wasn’t their voices on their records. The Grammys had credibility then. Fast forward 20 years, record company are now able to enhance voices to the extent that they don’t need to substitute talented vocalists for mediocre ones. So, Taylor Swift gets a by, even though (the public found out) that vocally she is not any better than Milli Vanilli. That’s the reason for the outrage. The Arts are about excellence, not about feeling sorry for people who can’t live up to the hype.
Sorry, but this is an ignorant comment. I am not a particular fan of Swift, but if you knew anything about her background, you would know that unlike Milli Vanilli, which was totally created by a record label, Swift achieved small-town success on her own with nothing more than her unaided voice and an acoustic guitar. Your general point about the many music artists who lack talent may be valid, but applying it to Swift is baseless and reveals your own lack of knowledge. You don’t have to like her music, but she *can* sing.
I’m sorry too, but my ears don’t lie and I still don’t think Swift “sings” up to traditional standards. However, I’ll keep an open mind on her other so-called talents. So, why don’t educate me. Direct me to reliable sites or sources on Ms. Swift’s rise to stardom or music she’s written that you feel demonstrates her talent, because I’m struggling to justify her success based on a musical gift or artistic merit. By the way, for the sake of comparison, I also “looked up” the much hyped Lady Gaga (who is, by the way, only 3 years older than Swift). IMO she’s like a Madonna who can sing. I am not particularly fan and have not purchased any of her music (though I’ve heard it enough), but I can admit her credentials and performances (some a them) support her current success.
It’s not my job, to educate you, but you could start with Wikipedia.
I did go to Wikipedia BEFORE responding to you and, frankly, it wasn’t all that flattering. But, since it is not the most reliable source, I wanted to find out what sources you used to develop your argument in her defense, since you called my comment ignorant.
Team Kelly all the way. As for Taylor Swift, she’s sweet and maybe an ok writer. Singer??? I am not sure only time will tell. I do think her record label did more harm than good. It was a terrible performance that would have been forgotten if left alone. She so over exposed it’s not funny. I truly believe she has Kanye to thank for all of the awards. Album of the year????? Give me a break. If that’s the best the music industry has to offer. Their in serious trouble.
Ok honestly, Scott Borechetta was right–music isn’t a compeptition and it’s sooo much more than singing the right notes (which most artists these days don’t even do thanks to auto-tune.) Music is about emotion which Taylor has an incredible amount of. Sure her vocals aren’t perfect and some might think her singing is annoying but wouldn’t you rather hear someone use real instruments and sing about something they’re feeling? Most of the music on the radio today uses so much auto tune it makes eveyone sound like robots and the songs are just plain stupid songs that no one can relate to. You wanna know the reason some people think Taylor Swift is annoying? Hmm maybe because she’s the only singer who is true to HERSELF and doesn’t change her style or voice in order to be liked. So hate as much as you want, Taylor is just about the only real musician out there.
If I think someone is annoying, I am not going to listen to them even if they are singing something they are feeling (which everyone does) and use real instruments (how do you use a fake instrument?). That was a pretty ridiculous statement musiclover. And on to your next sentence… You yourself said Taylor’s vocals aren’t perfect, meaning she would have to have technical help on her cd, so… Then you take the artists like Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. If you’ve ever heard anyone who works with them, they’ve always said those artists need ZERO help on their cds to hit the notes. The only things they do are clean up the sound, not the singer or the notes. So Taylor actually uses more machine, making that statement yet again, ridiculous. And on to the next one; you’re jsut full of these things for me to respond to. Only singer true to herself and doesn’t change her style or voice in order to be lied? Good joke. What do you call remixing your singles to fit pop, and not your ORIGINAL country format. Ok then, if that’s not changing her style I don’t know what is. Nice to know she stays true to herself, she should be in pop then, because she certainly doesn’t stay true to country, which she isn’t anyways before she changes her songs. So thank you so much for sounding like a 10 year old, which you probably are. Oh, and I’ll add that I’m 16 and am getting awfully tired of hearing Taylor Swift’s name.
Sorry for the typos- “just full of these things to respond to” and “doesn’t change her style or voice in order to be liked”
why is everyone, like, totally dissing taylor swift? i think she is an amazing singer, and she actually sings songs that have true meaning to her, and she sings about things she has experienced.
You call her an amazing singer? No offense but I’m not like saying Taylor’s the worst singer out there and Kelly’s the best one, but you just can’t call Taylor an amazing nor worst singer. For one simple logical reason: She just isn’t a singer.
Team Kelly! Taylor Swift’s singing ability (she doesn’t even have a singing ability) is one hell of a cataclysmic phenomenon!I greatly pity Stevie Nicks for having that terrible opportunity to sing with her live on national TV.
Love ya, Kelly!!!
Kelly has a point, but she was overreacting. Scott did not mean to knock down American Idol contestants; he was simply giving an example of a situation wherein vocal ability deems all, and songwriting plays absolutely no role.
Kelly Clarkson is known almost exclusively for her voice. She co-writes only about 60% of her own songs, and certainly never writes independently. Her biggest hits have been written entirely by other people. (“Breakaway”, “Since U Been Gone”, “My Life Would Suck Without You”, “Mr. Know It All”)
Taylor Swift is more of an artist than she is, and that’s a fact. Kelly has 2 Grammys, Taylor has 4. Yet Kelly has been in the music industry for four years longer. She has no BMI Awards, which is a songwriting award, and Taylor has 13. Taylor has been nominated for 2 World Music Awards, Kelly none.
Therefore, arguing that Taylor is more of an artist and a writer than most American Idol winners, who become recording artists simply because they can hit high notes (which is important, but won’t get you very far in terms of accolades and achievements), is a valid point.
I watched this on tnoaher site Tracey, and it made me weep like a baby. I’m buying her book too. We woman have to remember how awesome we really are and how much we need each other. Love this…
You guys are all forgetting the fact that Taylor’s songs go past “You Belong With Me” and, yeah, Kelly’s voice is great, but she doesn’t write all her own music. Taylor does. Maybe try listening to Taylor’s music before you judge her. Popular does not equal bad. That’s like saying that Alyson Hannigan can’t act because she’s been in popular shows/movies. It’s ignorant. So what if Taylor struggled with this one performance. Did anyone catch her “Mean” performance at the Grammy’s this year? You know, the one that garnered a standing ovation? It was dedicated to those who can’t see past their own jealousy and pretentiousness and be able to recognize the intelligence that comes through most of Taylor’s songs.