It’s not uncommon in the music world to hear many iconic pop songs which were originally intended for someone else to perform. Still, it would be a strange world with Britney Spears singing "Umbrella," considering how it is strongly identified with Rihanna, or imagine Britney Spears NOT singing "Baby One More Time!"
We’ve collected 14 hit songs meant for others singers, and some of them were actually turned down by them!
Scherzinger says, "I've got the demo of that song and I was busy at the time."
The song was written by Ne-Yo, and was originally a country song. It was re-arranged as a mid-tempo ballad with pop and R&B influences by modifying the vocal arrangements and instrumentation.
Max Martin's pop track was originally offered to TLC for their "Fan Mail" album, but the R&B group rejected the song, which later made Britney world famous.
Imagine the world with Michael Jackson singing Neptunes-produced bangers like "Rock Your Body" instead of the uneven fare of 1999's "Invincible." And imagine that Justin Timberlake's solo debut didn't include tracks like this ubiquitous dance-starter.
Dr. Luke and Max Martin teamed up to give P!nk another hit, and after she turned it down, they called Hillary Duff. But the story goes that Clive Davis convinced the producers to give the song to Clarkson.
The song's producer, Mike WiLL Made-It, has confirmed that the party track was first intended for his "Pour It Up" collaborator, Rihanna.
"I tell people all the time that I don't know if I would've attacked it that way," he said in a 2011 interview, "which means the record might not have been as special once I got on it."
When Armageddon was being shot , Steven Tyler was supposed to author a sentimental song with his band for the film. After the band went into the studio and found it difficult to come up with an appropriate song, they found a track by Diane Warren, originally intended for Celine Dion.
"I listened to a snippet of it in the record company offices and decided against it," Minogue said in a 2008 interview. "It's like the fish that got away. You just have to accept it."
P!nk eventually recorded her own version of the song, complete with the exact same arrangement, and placed it on her "Greatest Hits… So Far!!!" compilation in 2010.
A little too late, don't you think?
The single was originally offered to both the Sugababes and Paris Hilton before ending up with the Pussycat Dolls, who used the track as the lead single from their 2005 debut album "PCD."
One of the co-writers of the song was Avril Lavigne and she was considering putting the song on one of her own albums.
The Neptunes' slinky pop track was almost given a completely different context. If Janet took the song, maybe Britney could NEVER dance with a python on the VMAs stage!
Brown thought it was more suitable for a female singer.
