Beyonce's 'Stolen' New Hit Record
Last week, I raved and raved about Beyonces new single, "If I Were a Boy." Remember? I thought it was the best thing shed ever done, and was amazed that shed even found the material.
Well, guess what? The story behind "If I Were a Boy" is absolutely scandalous. It also explains my question of why this single missed the Grammy deadline of Sept. 30, since it was ready to go at least three weeks ago. The answer: it was held up by endless legal wrangling since, in the long hallowed tradition of the music business, the young woman who wrote the melody and lyrics for "If I Were a Boy" had no idea Beyonce had even recorded her song until a stranger called with the news. By then, it was too late.
BC Jean is a hot, up-and-coming, 21-year-old female singer songwriter from San Diego. Those whove met her says shes smart and "gorgeous." But BC (her initials, legend has it, are for "beautiful child") got a cold dose of reality this summer when it comes to the record business. According to sources, she and her manager/mother have been strong-armed by Beyonces people and others who saw gold in "If I Were a Boy" and didnt care how they got it.
You can hear BC Jeans version of her own song, written with German pop-factory producer Toby Gad, at
www.bcjean.net. Its certainly as good as Beyonces if not better. Its no wonder that this young woman is now the center of so much attention.
Altogether, I am told, BC Jean wrote and recorded about a dozen songs with Gad for an album the producer was planning to make of his own. When the deal fell apart, Gad whose 300 plus credits are all co-written, never solo took the songs and started marketing them to big name, established artists. Gads past "collaborators" include Fergie, on "Big Girls Dont Cry."
Besides Beyonce, Gad brought at least one of the songs to Disney for "Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus. But Disney wanted the lyrics changed to be age-appropriate. BC Jean refused. For now, Miley and Gad have been rebuffed.
When I wrote about Beyonces version of "If I Were a Boy" last week, calls came pouring in from people who knew the real history of this story. BC Jeans mother/manager, Lori Carlson, told me she couldnt comment on the situation. But plenty of people knew the saga of Beyonces legendary manager/father Mathew Knowles aggressive pursuit of the publishing rights to the potential hit record. His goal was to get the rights to the song and to put Beyonces name on the writing credits.
The Carlsons, Im told, recently came to terms with Beyonce, after enduring the kind of record biz terrors that would curl the hair of the guys from "Hit Men." Now, "If I Were a Boy" is hitting big time. Part of the deal, my sources insist, is that the two singers will duet on BC Jeans debut album once she gets her own recording deal. Right now, managers, publishers and A&R people from all over the industry are falling over themselves trying to sign BC Jean. They should be. She seems to be the real deal, a potential artist with a big career looming in front of her. Its a shame that this is the way she had to find out about the record business.
BC Jeans story is an old one that dates back to Elvis Presley and continues til today. The larger issue, of course, is that performers who dont write their own music get no royalty when their records are played on the radio. Thats why a Performance Royalty Act is being pushed in Congress right now, and why songwriters should back it. Artists wouldnt be looking to muscle in on their business if they were paid appropriately. Beyonce simply falls into a category that also includes Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett as well as Sam Moore and Judy Collins, each of whom testified in front of Congress about the matter this year.
And by the way: BC Jeans story is pretty common. Id love to hear from all the other songwriters out there whove been ripped off just in the last year. The back stories of how records get made, how big stars who dont write their own music wind up with hit material, are always hell-raisers.
