This level of deliberate ignorance is the current state of journalism.
Not only did Chapman, a lesbian - not "queer" - woman, give Combs approval to cover the song, but as the sole writer and composer, she reaps royalties for his recording, not to mention the uptick in the already considerable exposure of her original recording and back catalogue as a whole from the interest.
āI never expected to find myself on the country charts, but Iām honored to be there,ā Chapman tellsĀ BillboardĀ in an exclusive statement. āIām happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced āFast Car.āā [..] Combsā version hasĀ generated at least $500,000Ā in global publishing royalties,Ā BillboardĀ estimates, with the bulk going to Chapman who owns both the writersā and publisherās share of the song. Additionally, the success of Combsā version has boosted Chapmanās original, with weekly consumption of Chapmanās version increasing 44% since Combsā version was released, according to Luminate.
[ Source: Billboard ]
[ Source: Spotify ]
It couldn't be that Chapman isn't a Country singer, and that an established Country singer is going to do better in the Country charts with a Country cover. No, we have to invent tired identity politics clickbait bullshit involving a racially motivated conspiracy to concoct stories out of thin air.
Consider how much of a shot "I Will Always Love You" had in the R&B charts until Whitney Houston covered Dolly Parton's song. Surely we must conclude that Parton's lack of traction in the R&B genre until Houston's cover came along could only be due to racism against her, right?
Is this level of disempowering and demoralizing language calculated and deliberate, or inadvertent and incompetent? š¤
