“The Song Machine” http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/03/26/the-song-machine?printable=true¤tPage=all
Beyoncé’s “Halo” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnVUHWCynig
Kelly Clarkson’s “Already Gone” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0T3WAbU6tg
The article “The Song Machine” by John Seabrook writes about what goes into creating hit music. Seabrook informs us on how most songs played on the Top Forty radio are collaborations between producers and “top-line” writers who in some cases are the singers too; the producer composes the chord progressions, programs the beats, arranges instrument sounds and then sends his track to top-liners who then come up with primary melodies, lyrics and hooks. Producers sometimes send their tracks to more than one top-liner, which is why certain songs sound similar and can lead to problems between famous singers who fear that they will be accused of copying. An example of this occurrence is apparent in Beyoncé’s song “Halo” and Kelly Clarkson’s song “Already Gone”.
Although this habit producers partake in causes problems between singers, I find it interesting to analyze how the initial track evokes similar or different emotions from the writers, which can be discovered in the lyrics of their songs. For example, Beyoncé’s “Halo” is about someone who finally lets his or her guard down because he or she finally feels comfortable to let a person into his or her life. “Already Gone” by Kelly Clarkson is about a girl who knows her relationship will not work and she therefore must leave so that they can both be happy. Even though the lyrics to “Halo” and “Already Gone” were written to the same track, the emotion Beyoncé recognized was completely opposite than what Kelly Clarkson wrote to; While Beyoncé wrote about accepting someone into one’s life, Kelly wrote about someone having to leave another persons life. It’s really amazing to me how the two singer/songwriters used the same track and created lyrics that are almost polar opposites. At the same time though, is it a coincidence that their lyrics are polar opposites and not two completely irrelevant topics?