German hacker sorry for stealing Lady Gaga songs

BERLIN (AP) — A teenage German hacker says he's sorry for stealing pop songs from Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson and other singers — some previously unreleased — and selling them online.

Deniz A. — whose last name has not been released — told Bild newspaper in an interview on Wednesday that he and a friend hadn't set out to do anything wrong.

The 18-year-old says: "I'm sorry for everything I've done — I never thought it would go so far... we were only interested in the music."

Charges are yet to be filed.

Authorities say the two allegedly used a Trojan Horse malware to hack into the artists' computers for about 12 months before being discovered and earned more than euro10,000 ($13,240) in illegal sales.

The theft forced the advanced release of several singles, officials said Friday.