Celine Dion's managers have spoken out to defend the superstar against the "hurtful" criticism from singer/songwriter Daniel Merriweather, who accused her of failing to publicly credit him after covering one of his tracks.

Dion debuted the new song Water and a Flame, the title track of her next album, on U.S. Tv talk show Katie in April (13), but failed to acknowledge the track as a new rendition of the Australian star's 2009 duet with Grammy winner Adele.

Merriweather published an online rant accusing Dion of trying to "pass the lyrics off as her own" and criticising the singer for not giving him any recognition, but now Dion's management team has defended her actions.

A statement posted on Dion's official website insists she never claimed Merriweather's lyrics were her own during the Tv interview.

The message reads, "Celine certainly doesn't claim in any way whatsoever that she wrote the song... While we can understand Daniel's disappointment by not having his name mentioned during Katie Couric's interview, it's rather unfair to Celine to be on the receiving end of the many disparaging comments that have now become public.

"Throughout Celine's 32 year career she has always been very vocal about sharing the credit for her successes. She has been very vocal about the fact that she does not write her own songs... and that she is fortunate to have wonderful and talented writers to provide these gifts to her. For her to be accused of 'stealing' a song is not only grossly inaccurate, but also very hurtful...

"She loves Daniel Merriweather and (co-writer) Eg White's song so much, and would never want to do any harm to them... nor take away anything from them... in fact, the opposite would be true. We hope this clears up any misconceptions regarding Celine's intentions."