A story circulated by the Murdoch press suggesting a feud between songwriter David Franj and singer Vanessa Amorosi has been taken completely out of context.
In an article published on Sunday in the Herald-Sun, writers Catherine Lambert and Lachlan Hastings suggest there is a feud between Franj and Amorosi over her hit song ‘Perfect’.Franj wrote the song 3 years ago and Vanessa added to it before recording the track for her latest album. “I am surprised the story has gained the coverage it has and how I have been extensively misquoted,” he tells Undercover News.
The article referred to David as a “struggling musician” although he has not been working actively in the music industry for a number of years. “To be described as a struggling musician is laughable, considering I am being featured and covered for my .com ventures in the business press,” he says.
The Herald-Sun article writers also claims that “he had been undermined in the authorship of the song” but Franj says he was honoured to have Vanessa record the song. “I think Vanessa has done a fantastic job with the song. She is a huge talent, and I am flattered she picked it up,” he says.
Although he does admit to making a comment about a moral issue of having his version removed from YouTube, he says that has been long resolved. “There is no "dispute" as the tabloid papers are suggesting. My initial comments about "moral rights" and having the song removed from YouTube have been blown out of proportion. From what I understand the video has been back online for some time,” he says.
He also says that a later story incorporating model Miranda Kerr is just another tabloid beat-up.
Any Vanessa Amorosi fan who has the single or the album would be aware that there is nothing under-handed going on. Franj is clearly identified as a writer of the song in the credits.
The Vanessa Amorosi version of ‘Perfect’ appears on her ‘Somewhere In The Real World’ album. Franj has not official released, nor does he have any plans to release, his original demo.
