Kelly Clarkson is opening up about one of her biggest hits and claims she was actually “lied to” when it came to writing the song.
During a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live, the singer responded to accusations from former RCA Records head Clive Davis’ memoir that said Clarkson pushed back on recording the song and including it on her 2004 album.
“Let’s give some backstory,” Clarkson told host Andy Cohen. “I was lied to.”
“They told me, ‘Hey, there’s these producers that want to work with you and there’s this song and it had dummy lyrics,” she recalled. “They didn’t really have lyrics yet. They were like, ‘We just want you to work with them.’ And I was told to write to the song.”
She said they then flew her to Sweden, where she learned people working on the single there were told something different.
“I get there and these two people, Luke and Max, were not told that I was writing to it and just already had it written,” Clarkson explained. “And I look like a fool ’cause I walked in and they had, the label had told me something completely different. And I just think that’s a red flag too. Why lie to me like that? Why not just get me to go there and then they’ll have the song? … I don’t like the lying.”
Despite having a “bad vibe with that song, because of the origin story,” the singer clarified that she’s still able to sing the song that fans have loved for nearly two decades because she’s “such a great compartmentalizer.”
Clarkson added, “I can put that aside and I sing the hell out of it on tour.”
In 2013, Clarkson initially slammed Davis, claiming he was spreading “false information” in his memoir, The Soundtrack of My Life. The book revisited the singer’s feud over her third studio album, My December, as well as drama around recording one of her songs.
At the time, the singer said in part, “I refuse to be bullied and I just have to clear up his memory lapses and misinformation for myself and for my fans. It feels like a violation. Growing up is awesome because you learn you don’t have to cower to anyone — even Clive Davis.”
