Kelly Clarkson - Wireimage
Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta came out swinging at critics who bashed the label’s princess Taylor Swift for her shaky Grammy performance, but he might have made things worse for the country-pop singer.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Borchetta defended Swift as a star who might not be a technical singer, but should be hailed for her artistry. “This is not American Idol. This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note,” he said. “This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It’s not about that technically perfect performance.”
His statement hit an extremely sour note with American Idol’s inaugural winner, Kelly Clarkson. She took to her blog to write a scathing response, in which she says Borchetta is “throwing blame.”
“I understand defending your artist obviously because I have done the same in the past for artists I like, including Taylor,” she wrote, “so you might see why it’s upsetting to read you attacking American Idol for producing simply vocalists that hit ‘the high notes’… We not only hit the high notes, you forgot to mention we generally hit the ‘right’ notes as well.”
Clarkson suggested to Borchetta he take a page from her crew’s book when she has a rough performance and “simply take a breath and realize that sometimes things won’t go according to plan or work out.”
Clarkson’s sentiments were shared by fellow Idol singer David Cook, who tweeted to Kelly saying, “Kudos, @kelly_clarkson. Love it.”
Good for you Kelly, speak your mind. Agree totally with what you stated!!