Vallejo's 'So Damn Beautiful' released as 'Original' single by New Zealand Idol Michael Murphy

AUSTIN, TX. (www.vallejomusic.com) - Austin band Vallejo was surprised to learn that their previous release, 'So Damn Beautiful', is getting some attention in New Zealand and it's not from Vallejo, but from NZ Idol Runner-up Michael Murphy. The band was contacted by Regan Cunliffe at Idolblog.com late Thursday afternoon to inform the band of these recent developments.

Vallejo co-wrote the lyrics to 'So Damn Beautiful' with songwriter Chris Rodriguez in January 2002 while in Miami recording the song for a follow-up release to 2000's Into the New (Epic/Crescent Moon).
'So Damn Beautiful' was later released on Vallejo's Stereo (VMG, Nov. 2002) in the U.S. and in Japan (Universal Music International, Oct. 2002).
'This is all a surprise to us,' says drummer Alejandro Vallejo. 'We're currently following up on the details and are looking into our options.'

From www.stuff.co.nz: Snap! Idol runner up's 'original' song someone else's
A storm of controversy has hit Taupo singing star Michael Murphy on the eve of his debut on TV2's Top of the Pops.
The NZ Idol runner up is due to perform his long-awaited first single So Damn Beautiful, which he has been touting as an original, on the television programme tonight. But it turns out that it is someone else's original. The song was not only written by an American, it was released by Texan rockers Vallejo in 2002 and nominated for a Grammy in the same year.
The news has sent Murphy's fans into a spin. The unofficial fan site Idolblog.com is humming with posts of disbelief.

Murphy's manager Paul Ellis was reported yesterday accepting blame for the mix-up. He told The Press in Christchurch that he came across the song four years ago after signing songwriter Chris Rodriguez while working in New York, and did not realise a band had "cut" a version of the song in the interim.
For more information: www.vallejomusic.com, www.idolblog.com