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"Run Run Run" is a song originally written by Joacim Persson, Ry Cuming, and David Jost, recorded by the German rock band Tokio Hotel and American singer Kelly Clarkson featuring John Legend in separate versions for their respective studio albums Kings of Suburbia (2014) and Piece by Piece (2015). Produced by Tom Kaulitz and Bill Kaulitz, and Persson; with additional writing by Bill Kaulitz, Tom Kaulitz, and Johan Alkenäs, Tokio Hotel released their version as the first promotional single from Kings of Suburbia on September 12, 2014. Clarkson later released her version, produced by Jason Halbert with additional writing by Tim James and Antonina Armato of the musical duo Rock Mafia, as the third promotional single from Piece by Piece on February 25, 2015.

Background

"Run Run Run" was originally written by Joacim Persson, Ry Cuming, and David Jost. A demo with Jost's vocals was pitched to Kelly Clarkson in 2013, who decided to put the song on hold for recording. During that time, the song was also being recorded by Tokio Hotel. In an interview with the German branch of Interview, Tokio Hotel band member Tom and Bill Kaulitz revealed that they recorded their version themselves, without the aid of any vocal producers. They also remarked that the song presented an uncharted territory for them.

In an interview on Spin, Clarkson revealed that she had found out about Tokio Hotel's version three days after releasing hers. She remarked, "I was just talking to my assistant about it, like, 'Man, I gotta reach out to them about it!' I didn't cover them, because the only time I'd ever heard that song was from my publisher, who sent it to me and said, 'Hey, I have this demo with a piano and a vocal from David Jost,' one of the writers. That's the only way I knew it was the song. I didn't know it was already out there, so that was really fun finding out". She also added, "It's a great song so I could see why another band would wanna sing it. It's so good and intense, but I guess we have the duet version." Clarkson later posted on social networking site Twitter saying that she wasn't given all the information needed and that it looked like she had ripped them off as she would never do that to any artist. While Tokio Hotel offered their salutations and replied that they have received Clarkson's version weeks before it was released as her record label RCA Records had asked them for their publishing information.

Tokio Hotel version

Tokio Hotel's version of "Run Run Run" is a soft rock ballad, using a piano played by Bali Harko as its main instrument and Bill Kaulitz as its all vocals. The track, produced by Persson, Bill Kaulitz, and Tom Kaulitz, also received additional writing by Bill Kaulitz, Tom Kaulitz, and Johan Alkenas. Tokio Hotel released "Run Run Run" as the first promotional single from their fifth studio album Kings of Suburbia on September 12, 2014. Filmed by Gianluca Fellini in black-and-white, the song's accompanying music video was also released on the same day, marking their first music video since 2010.

Tokio Hotel's version of "Run Run Run" entered the SNEP Singles Chart at number 80 on the chart week of September 8, 2014.

Kelly Clarkson version

Clarkson's version, also a soft rock piano ballad, features American singer John Legend. The song, produced by Jason Halbert with additional writing by the Rock Mafia duo Tim James and Antonina Armato, was originally envisioned as a solo track. Clarkson reached out with Legend while he was on tour to record it as a duet. She remarked, "He got back to me within ten minutes of sending the email. 'Oh my God, I'd love to do it. Send me the file!' He was on tour so we weren't able to actually be in the studio at the same time, but he's perfect for the song and how I wanted to take it — very dark and very soulful."

Clarkson later released her version featuring Legend as the third promotional single from her seventh studio album Piece by Piece on February 25, 2015. On street date release of Clarkson's version, Tokio Hotel also issued a press release showing their support for the song while coinciding with the announcement of their third extended play Feel It All. Clarkson's version featuring Legend entered the South Korean Gaon International Singles Chart at number 89 on the chart week ending February 28, 2015 and peaked at number 40.

Critical reception

Clarkson's version received widespread critical acclaim with particular praise on vocals and production. John Walker of MTV stated that "Everyone should wanna collaborate with Kelly Clarkson" and "See what happens when you collaborate with Kelly, everybody?, you and weep with envy." Clarkson was initially criticized for not listing Tokio Hotel as writers for the song, due to Clarkson receiving the song before the latter did, as the original version did not contain the additional lyrics by Tokio Hotel and Clarkson's version received additional lyrics by her own team. Nevertheless, Clarkson responded to the criticism on Twitter, stating "there are now “2 versions of a great song” and went on to say that she meant “no disrespect” for not including them as writers on the song.

Charts

References

1. ^ Kings of Suburbia (booklet). Tokio Hotel. Hoffmann, Beznner, Roth, & Jost GbR under exclusive license to Polydor/Island. 2014. 602537982004.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
2. ^ Piece by Piece (booklet). Kelly Clarkson. 19 Recordings Limited under exclusive license to RCA Records. 2015. 88875070862.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
3. ^ Carley, Brennan (February 27, 2015). "Q&A: Kelly Clarkson Talks 'Piece By Piece,' Identity Politics, and Recording While Pregnant". Spin. SpinMedia. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
4. ^ Peters, Harald (November 26, 2014). "Tokio Hotel A bis Z, Teil 2". Interview (in German). Germany: Brant Publications. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
5. ^ Garibaldi, Christina (February 27, 2015). "Kelly Clarkson Had No Idea She Was Covering Tokio Hotel's Song". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
6. Tokio Hotel (September 10, 2014). "We instantly loved your version when it was played for us weeks ago and your record company asked us for our publishing info". Twitter. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
7. "Tokio Hotel wekt nieuwsgierigheid fans" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. September 14, 2014. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
8. "Run, Run, Run: get Tokio Hotel's first brand new song". Tokio Hotel. September 10, 2014. Archived from the original on September 15, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
9. "Tokio Hotel – Run, Run, Run". GianlucaFellini.com. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
10. Walker, John (September 12, 2014). "Tokio Hotel Make A Somber Return With 'Run, Run, Run'". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
11. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. September 8, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
12. "Tokio Hotel – Run Run Run" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
13. "Kelly Clarkson feat. John Legend: 'Run Run Run' Single Review". FDRMX LLC. February 27, 2015. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
14. Perricone, Kathleen. "Kelly Clarkson Reveals 'Piece by Piece' Cover Art, Surprise Collaborator". Ryan Seacrest Enterprises. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
15. Walker, John (February 24, 2015). "Everyone Should Wanna Collaborate With Kelly Clarkson After Listening To These Three New Songs". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
16. Tokio Hotel (February 26, 2015). "Tokio Hotel / Kelly Clarkson feat. John Legend covern Tokio Hotel-Song Run Run Run / Bookingvertrag mit William Morris Endeavor unterzeichnet / Neue Single Feel It All am 27. März 2015" (Press release) (in German). Universal Music Group. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
17. ^ "Gaon Digital Chart Chart 2015년 11주차" (in Korean). Gaon. March 7, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
18. "Everyone Should Wanna Collaborate with Kelly Clarkson After Listening to These Three New Songs". MTV. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015.
19. "Kelly Clarkson Had No Idea She Was Covering Tokio Hotel's Song". MTV. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015.
20. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 11. týden 2015 in the date selector. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
21. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201511 into search. Retrieved March 23, 2015.

• 2010s ballads
• 2014 songs
• Kelly Clarkson songs
• Tokio Hotel songs
• John Legend songs
• Songs written by Antonina Armato
• Songs written by Tim James (musician)
• Songs written by David Jost
• Songs written by Tom Kaulitz
• Songs written by Bill Kaulitz
• Songs written by Joacim Persson
• Rock ballads