Kelly Clarkson has no beef with Taylor Swift

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“Maybe she’s not the best technical singer, but she’s probably the best emotional singer because everybody else who gets up there and is technically perfect, people don’t seem to want more of it. … I think (the critics) are missing the whole voice of a generation that is happening right in front of them. … She’s an extraordinary songwriter and her vocal performances are getting better. Everybody is not perfect on any given day. If you pick any of those artists that performed (on the Grammy Awards) I’m sure you can go online and find something where you go, ‘ew.’ Maybe in that moment we didn’t have the best night. But in the same breath, maybe we did. And nobody is arguing with the awards.

“The critics are missing the bigger picture. This is what always happens and is the unfortunate part of the American dream, that we build these people up to watch the critics tear them down. Well, you better have more than what you’ve got now if you think you’re going to get in the ring and fight with us. So, get in the ring. This is not ‘American Idol.’ This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note. This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It’s not about that technically perfect performance.”

And while the rest of the comments are justified, it was the American Idol comment that got the awesome, fellow multiple Grammy winner Kelly Clarkson riled up. She took to her blog saying, “Wow …..Dear Scott Borchetta,

I understand defending your artist obviously because I have done the same in the past for artists I like, including Taylor, so you might see why it’s upsetting to read you attacking American Idol for producing simply vocalists that hit ‘the high notes’. Thank you for that ‘Captain Obvious’ sense of humor because you know what, we not only hit the high notes, you forgot to mention we generally hit the ‘right’ notes as well. Every artist has a bad performance or two and that is understandable, but throwing blame will not make the situation at hand any better. I have been criticized left and right for having shaky performances before (and they were shaky) and what my manager or label executives say to me and the public is “I’ll kick butt next time” or “every performance isn’t going to be perfect” ……I bring this up because you should take a lesson from these people and instead of lashing out at other artists (that in your ‘humble’ opinion lack true artistry), you should simply take a breath and realize that sometimes things won’t go according to plan or work out and that’s okay.

Sincerely,
One of those contestants from American Idol who only made it because of her high notes ”

Well said Kelly. I had the opportunity to chat to her last week and not only did she give me an amazing interview, but she really does move me (emotionally and technically) with her performances and her music! She has no beef with Taylor either, just with Borchetta. On twitter she said, “I buy her albums and cover her songs, obviously I’m a fan.” Taylor is young and she is bound to have a crappy performance or two, don’t we all have those off days? Borchetta is a chop and Taylor will continue to be the ‘It’ girl of the music industry for many more weeks and months to come! So calm down!