Multiplatinum-selling recording artist Kelly Clarkson — winner of the first season of American Idol — hit her blog in a fury on Thursday, after the head of Taylor Swift’s record label made a biting reference to the TV talent show that catapulted her to stardom in his attempt to defend the country star’s widely-panned Grammys duet with Stevie Nicks.
On Thursday, Scott Borchetta, CEO of Big Machine Records, defended Swift’s Grammys performance by referencing the reality singing competition that introduced the world to Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, and Carrie Underwood.
“She is the voice of this generation. She speaks directly to (her fans), and they speak directly back to her,” Borchetta told The Tennessean. “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.”
Bloggers and media outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, pounced on Swift’s off-key performance, which Borchetta blames on technical issues.
But it was Borchetta’s remark about Idol — not Taylor’s offensive screeching — that sent Kelly clicking away at her keyboard in a blogged response, she writes:
“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 its 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.”
The powerhouse rattled on with: “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,’” Kelly wrote. “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.”
The “Since U Been Gone” hitmaker completed her blog by signing: “Sincerely, One of those contestants from American Idol who only made it because of her high notes.”