Kelly Clarkson: 'I didn't copy Beyoncé'

Kelly Clarkson has denied the suggestion that she ripped off Beyoncé's hit single 'Halo' for her upcoming track 'Already Gone'.

The singer explained that the similarity between the two songs resulted from both artists working with songwriter-producer Ryan Tedder of One Republic, CBC News reports.

Clarkson said: "Ryan and I met each other at the record label, before he was working with anyone else. We wrote about six songs together, four or five of them made the album.

"It was all fine and dandy. I'd never heard of a song called 'Halo'. Her album came out when my album was already being printed."

She added: "No-one's gonna be sittin' at home, thinking, 'Man, Ryan Tedder gave Beyoncé and Kelly the same track to write to'. No, they're just gonna be saying I ripped someone off. I called Ryan and said, 'I don't understand. Why would you do that?'"

The former American Idol star claimed that she "fought and fought" to prevent her record label from releasing the track as a single, but the company refused to agree to her request.

Clarkson said: "In the end, they're releasing it without my consent. It sucks, but it's one of those things I have no control over.

"I already made my album. At this point, the record company can do whatever they want with it. It's kind of a s**tty situation, but... you know, you learn."