Dr Luke Responds To Kelly Clarkson’s Blackmail Claims

Dr Luke has responded to Kelly Clarkson’s claims that she was ‘blackmailed’ into working with the producer by her label.

Kelly spoke out about her experience of working with Dr Luke, real name Lukasz Gottwald, on Australia’s KIIS 106.5 during a discussion about Kesha’s ongoing legal battle to be freed from her contract with the producer, who she says drugged her and ‘sexually, physically, verbally and emotionally’ abused her.

Copyright [Lester Cohen/WireImage for ASCAP]

Recalling her time working with him, Kelly said: “I’ll be honest about the guy, but I don’t know that situation. He’s not a good person, to me. We’ve clashed. He’s difficult to work with, he’s kind of demeaning.

“Obviously he’s a talented dude but he’s lied a lot. Musically it’s been really hard for me because he will just lie to people and it makes the artist look bad.

“When so many artists don’t like you, that says something. I only worked with him because literally I was blackmailed by my label. It was a really hard time for me.”

Dr Luke’s spokesperson has since responded to the claims, sending an extract from Sony Music chief Clive Davis’s 2013 memoir ‘The Soundtrack of My Life’ to Digital Spy.

Copyright [Jameson Bedonie/Splash News]

The excerpt starts by talking about Kelly recording ‘Breakaway’ for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, before continuing: “As we were gathering material for the album, however, I met with the songwriter-producer Max Martin, who had some songs he had written with his partner Luke Gottwald, better known as Dr Luke, that he wanted to play for me.

“He told me that because of his extensive work with the likes of Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys, he had somewhat gotten a reputation for softer pop artists, and he wanted these songs to be done by rock artists because he was tired of being typecast.

“The songs were ‘Since U Been Gone’ and 'Behind These Hazel Eyes’. I heard them, and told him that I really loved them both. Then I told him that I wanted them for Kelly Clarkson. He instantly lost his cool. 'Are you crazy?’ he said. 'Didn’t I tell you that I wanted these songs to go to rock artists? That I didn’t want to be typecast? Now you want to give them to an American Idol winner!’”

Copyright [Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP]

Clive writes that he wanted the songs for Kelly as he believed they’d help steer her career in a ‘promising direction’, adding: “I was able to calm [Max] down and try to reason with him. 'You don’t understand,’ I said. 'Kelly’s got a great voice, she’s got real potential, and she likes edge. Look, you’ll produce it. You’ll get the right performance.

“‘If you don’t get the right performance, I’ll understand if you don’t want to let the songs be used. But you’ve really got to give this a shot. I believe so firmly that this will be great for her. And for you.’ We spent a long time discussing it, and finally, based totally on my relationship with him, he said yes.”

He went on to say Kelly found it ‘hard’ to work with Max and Luke, who he describes as ‘very strong, hands-on producers’, claiming that Kelly didn’t like the change from American Idol to making records in the studio.

He wrote: “Max and Luke were relentless in getting the right performance of their song. Kelly got her back up, and from her perspective, she had a horrible experience in the studio. She’d never work with them again, she said.

“Then, after all the work was done, I listened to the performances. They were terrific. I could not have been more thrilled. This was a whole new direction for Kelly, so far away from 'A Moment Like This’, which defined her first year’s experience.”

Clive also worked on Kelly’s 2009 album ‘All I Ever Wanted’, and brought in ‘My Life Would Suck Without You’, which was written and produced by Max and Dr Luke.