Is Kelly Clarkson Ripping Off Arcade Fire?

You know, as disappointing as modern pop music can be (except for you, Justin Bieber—you’re just so gosh danged precocious!), I can’t help but admit that my overwhelming, bile-stained cynicism concerning the music industry still gets out of bed hoping for news bits like this one. Exclaim has rightly pointed out that the newest leaked track from Kelly Clarkson’s upcoming fifth album sessions (don’t tell me you’re not waiting for it with bated breath like the rest of us, right?), “Naked Eye,” sounds like a direct, nearly note-for-note ripoff of the Arcade Fire’s “Rebellion (Lies).” Sigh. I knew there was a reason I got out of bed this morning.

Listening to the track (YouTube has pulled the song, but Idolator still has it streaming–compare it to “Rebellion” below), one can’t help but wonder how this made it out of the studio without a single suit mentioning to Clarkson that really, really liking a band is one thing, but directly copping a melody (no matter how much you slather it with soaring, ProTooled vocal cheese) from them without credit and compensation is kinda sorta not legal (unless you’re Coldplay). While Clarkson has yet to comment on the similarities between “Naked Eye” and “Rebellion (Lies),” fans have found it more than a little intriguing that at recent live shows she’s played a glockenspiel and sang a ton of songs about dead relatives and Haiti. Go figure.

What do you think? Is Kelly Clarkson ripping of Arcade Fire?

Yuh Boi

oh shut up philip. You are in idiot. may it be that people have used a note or two is no problem but when you imply that that is the same as taking basically the whole song, thats when you top the mountain of idiocy. And then calling Arcade Fire a cliche is quite the accusation. listen to a bit more music before you say that. I do agree with the author of this post that she did rip arcade fires song, and oppose those who are saying "it shouldn't be heard". that is the most retarded thing i have ever heard, why would an artist sing/record a song taht they do not plan on releasing? And have that song that they recorded be another bands song with a few notes and the lyrics changed? tards.

philip

arcade fire is a cliche, like it or not. well if you really don't like it then call them a fad. clarkson's song has really good vocals and character, the melody isn't the same, the ryhthym is different. and hey genius, many bands and artists record tons of songs that never get released or are used for other things. look at how many jimi hendrix albums have been released since the 3-4 he released while he was here. hours and hours and hours of music. they are not limited to the amount of songs that YOU think they should record. there is no ripping off by clarkson. you'll notice others and on here and several other sites have agreed. we're the musically smart ones who can tell these things. arcade fire has ripped off u2's sound quite a lot and also poor david byrne's voice has been stolen by the pug faced singer in arcade fire. yeah... no rippin' off going on there... and man, they should consider getting a drummer who is actually creative and knows a drum fill or two.

10 comments

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Gooly

Yuh Boi - Many demos get made, few get on albums. This is well known. Thousands and thousands of pop songs are written every year. Most of them are never heard outside the industry. These tracks were stolen & songwriter credits aren't known. Don't jump to conclusions.

Joe

Kelly has stated on her twitter that the song was stolen and leaked. It was never intended to be on her new album.

neverafan

Naked eyes is just a demo you dumb ass.

Philip

Clarkson's demo song is not a rip off. There are millions of songs out there and many can sound similar. Arcade Fire is not exactly original either. Far from it. They've tapped into U2's sound quite a bit and David Byrne/Talking Heads vocals styles a lot too. Arcade Fire is quite the rip off band themselves and are merely a fad and becoming a cliche. As if nobody else on earth has played that little two-note intro on the bass...lol...

Travis Woods

Never said the song was official song to be released on the album--just that it was a track from the fifth album's sessions. Which it is. And that it's a ripoff of another band's song. Which it is.

Guest

It may not necessarily be a "rip off". Arcade Fire may be credited writers, or maybe she got permission to use a sample. The fact is, it's a demo that was never meant to be heard in the first place so it doesn't matter.

It's just a demo, isn't it? This isn't an official track. Want to hear an official track that IS a ripoff? Check out Kellie Pickler's Best Days Of Your Life which she wrote with Taylor Swift. It directly rips offs Wham's Last Christmas.