13 hits that were almost sung by someone else

Songwriters Max Martin and Rami Yacoub wrote their song for the girl group TLC, who already had great success with the eponymous “Baby-Baby-Baby”. However, the band felt that the song did not suit their style. « ‘Hit me one more time baby’? Not really! I don’t sing like that,” says TLC singer T-Boz. And so the song went to an as yet unknown young pop group called Britney Spears.

Hard to believe, but Rihanna was only the third choice. The songwriters first approached Britney Spears with the song in 2007. When she declined, they contacted Mary J. Blige’s team, but received no response. So they accepted the offer from Island Def Jam, who managed to secure the song for their rising star, Rihanna.

Songwriter Cat Stevens had no intention of becoming a recording artist when he recorded a demo of “The First Cut Is the Deepest” in 1965, but did so with the hope that his songs would be interpreted by other singers. He sold the song to American singer PP Arnold’s team for £30…

…who had a big hit with it. So big that there was a demand for the songwriter’s own interpretations. So Stevens re-recorded the song and released it on his second album New Masters in 1967:

It also became an international hit for decades for various artists such as Keith Hampshire, Rod Stewart and Sheryl Crow.

The song was probably lost due to the sheer volume of songs sent to Beyoncé. And is ‘All About That Bass’ really an Adele song? In any case, it worked out pretty well for Meghan Trainor in the end, the songwriter finally sang her hit herself.

“After seeing the Ramones live, I was like, man, I gotta write them a song,” said Springsteen. “So I went home, sat down at my table and wrote it – more or less exactly in the time it took me to finally sing it. We made a demo of it and I played it for Johnny [Ramone] and he said, ‘No, you better keep it.’ He was right. I got hit with it.”

And here’s Springsteen with his hit:

_{IF the Ramones had recorded “Hungry Heart,” it might have sounded like this…}

_{… or something like this:}

“Yes, the song was offered to me, but not in the arrangement as we know it today,” says the hotel heiress. “If I had heard the version we know today, of course I would have taken the chance.”

…but decided to record the song with his Black Eyed Peas.

Instead, he gave the song “Beep” to the Pussycat Dolls.

When P!nk rejected the song, the songwriters sent Dr. Luke and Max Martin (he again) take him to Hilary Duff. Duff’s management also turned him down, fearing that Duff would struggle to hit the high notes. It was then decided to give American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson a chance. The decision turned out to be the right one, as the song stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a whopping 46 weeks.

The 1990s provided a seemingly endless stream of boy bands for a seemingly endless fan base of impressionable teens. Boy band 5ive, put together by impresario Simon Cowell, had already had some chart success in Britain when they were offered a song called ‘Bye Bye Bye’. They turned the song down and one of the members reportedly remarked, “What a sack of shit.”

In the end, this decision seriously damaged her career, especially after the worldwide success of NSYNC. “After that, it was really just ‘bye bye’ for 5ive,” says Cowell.

Dolly Parton first released her iconic song in 1974 – and none other than the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll came out as a fan. Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker, demanded that 50 percent of the publishing rights go to Elvis. Dolly Parton refused with a heavy heart: “I cried all night. I would have loved to hear Elvis sing my song. But I had to tell him, I’m sorry honey, I can’t give you the publication.” In the end, this was a wise move, as Dolly Parton has left the song in the top ten several times: in 1974 when it was first released, in 1982 when she re-recorded it for a movie soundtrack, and in 1992 when Whitney Houston released the song.

Lady Gaga wished so badly that Britney Spears would release her song. The latter even recorded a demo for their album “Circus”. When she decided not to use it, Lady Gaga kept it to herself.

Before the song became a hit – thanks in large part to the 1985 blockbuster, The Breakfast Club – it was sent to Billy Idol. He was quite unimpressed and dropped the song, opening a hole for the fledgling Scottish band The Simple Minds.

The latter almost rejected the song as well, but changed her mind after meeting the film’s director, John Hughes, and music producer Keith Forsey, who convinced her to give it a go.

S Club 7 – become a member?

Yes, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” was actually written for her. But her manager Simon Fuller (yes, from the reality format “Pop Idol”/”DSDS” etc.) refused. Although… this song would have Real can be sung by someone other than Kylie?