The Ones That Got Away: 18 HUGE Songs Turned Down By Other Singers
They're all huge hit songs, but these tracks were originally meant to be sung by different artists - check out who COULD have been singing your favourite jam if they hadn't turned it down.
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1. Wiz Khalifa's 'See You Again' was turned down by Eminem.
Before Wiz Khalifa snapped up one of the biggest songs of 2015 with Charlie Puth, it was originally offered to Eminem, who was busy working on the Southpaw movie, rivaling Fast & Furious, with buddy 50 Cent. Fiddy revealed why Slim Shady let this one get away; " At the time we had to make a decision between doing [Southpaw] and the song for Fast & Furious. [...] He decided to do Southpaw because he was invested in the project." (Pics: YouTube/PA)
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2. Liam Payne & Rita Ora's Fifty Shades track 'For You' was originally pegged for Justin Bieber
The makers of Fifty Shades Freed originally wanted to get Justin Bieber on the soundtrack for the new movie, but as he was taking some well-earned time off from working, they managed to get Liam and Rita to fill in instead. Picture: Instagram/Getty
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3. Sia's 'Alive' was turned down by Adele AND Rihanna
Sia's new track was originally written with, and for, Adele, but the publicity-shy singer decided not to record the track at the last minute. Sia kept the tune for herself and explained, "It’s about [Adele’s] life, so I now sing a song from [Adele’s] perspective.” Apparently the tune was also offered to Rihanna for 'Anti', but she decided not to run with it. (Pictures: Getty)
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4. Miley Cyrus' 'We Can't Stop' was turned down by Rihanna
RiRi could have been the one cavorting around with some oversized teddies if she had taken on 'We Can't Stop' as Mike Will originally wrote the song for her. He explained, "When I originally worked on 'We Can't Stop,' we had did it for Rihanna. The idea was more towards Rihanna. Rihanna, she heard 'Pour It Up' right away, and she didn't even hear 'We Can't Stop.'" (Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
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5. Kelis' 'Milkshake' was turned down by Britney Spears
This iconic female anthem was originally meant for princess of pop, Britney, for her 'In The Zone' album, but she turned it down. Luckily Kelis picked it up and made it just as amazing. (Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
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6. Rihanna's 'SOS' was turned down by Christina Milian
Rihanna's hit song 'SOS' was one of the biggest smashes from the start of her career, but the song was originally offered to Christina Milian who passed up on the track. (Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
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7. Jennifer Lopez's 'Get Right' was turned down by Usher
JLo's 'Get Right' is actually a reworking of a beat Usher had created for his own album. When he scrapped his song 'Ride', parts of it made it into Jennifer's track - and created one of the biggest dance floor fillers from the Latina lovely. (Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
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8. Rihanna's 'Umbrella' was turned down by Britney Spears
'Umbrella' was originally penned for Ms Spears, but her team passed on it because she had already finished her album. It was then offered up to Mary J Blige who also turned it down before RiRi got her hands on it and firmly ingrained one of the most annoyingly catchy choruses in our heads for life. It paid off - Rih won a Grammy for it in 2008! (Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
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9. Iggy Azalea's 'Black Widow' was turned down by Katy Perry
Iggy and Rita Ora's kickass collab almost didn't happen - Katy Perry co-wrote the track for her own record for Iggy to feature on. Ms Azalea managed to convince her to hand over the song, explaining, "She had just put her album out, so I said, ‘Hey, Katy, why don’t you let me take this and do something for it? I have an album that’s just about to drop. And I would love to see it kind of come out for the world to hear asap.’ And she said ‘Alright.'” (Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
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10. Rihanna's 'Disturbia' was turned down by Chris Brown
'Disturbia' was actually written by Rihanna's ex, Chris Brown, for the re-release of his 'Exclusive' album but after finishing the song, he decided it would sound better being sung by a female and offered it up to RiRi. (Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
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11. Lady Gaga's 'Telephone' was turned down by Britney Spears
Mother Monster penned 'Telephone' for Britney - who even recorded a demo of the track - but ended up keeping it for herself when Miss Spears decided not to take it. (Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
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12. Pharrell Williams' 'Happy' was turned down by Cee Lo Green
'Happy' was one of the HUGEST hits of 2014 but it almost went to Cee Lo Green. Cee Lo loved the track so much he even recorded it but his people didn't think it was right for him. Pharrell explained, "He sounded amazing on it. I mean, he burns my version! But - how do I say this diplomatically? The powers that be, at the time, did not see it fit for him. Some folks on his team just felt that the priority should be on [Cee Lo's] album at the time, so they elected not to."(Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
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13. Meghan Trainor's 'All About That Bass' was turned down by Adele & Beyonce.
It was the hit that made Meghan a household name but before she recorded it herself, she offered the track up to Adele and Bey. She revealed, "Some artists get thousands of songs pitched and they never know, so Beyoncé herself probably never heard it. There weren't any singers at the time [who fit the song]. Adele was the only one, but she wasn't rapping and singing sassy songs with swears in them." (Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
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14. Britney Spears' 'Baby One More Time' was turned down by TLC
TLC were offered the song that kickstarted Britney's stellar career but they knew it wasn't right for them. T-Boz explained, "I was like, I like the song but do I think it’s a hit? Do I think it’s TLC? I’m not saying ’hit me baby.’ No disrespect to Britney, it’s good for her. But was I going to say ’hit me baby one more time’? Hell no! Every song isn’t good for each artist. So, I’m clear that it was a hit, but I’m also clear that it wasn’t for TLC.” (Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
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15. Kelly Clarkson's 'Miss Independent' was turned down by Christina Aguilera
We could TOTALLY see Xtina singing this feisty track, and it was originally recorded for her 'Stripped' album but never completed. Kelly took on the track and made it one of the must-haves on any girly party playlist. (Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
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16. Britney Spears' 'Toxic' was turned down by Kylie Minogue
'Toxic' was pegged for Kylie's 'Body Language' album but the Aussie singer turned it down. She later said, "I wasn't at all angry when it worked for her. It's like the fish that got away. You just have to accept it." (Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
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17. Beyonce's 'Pretty Hurts' was turned down by Rihanna AND Katy Perry
Before Beyonce recorded 'Pretty Hurts', she and Sia had written it for Katy. When Katy failed to record it, it was offered to RiRi who also didn't get round to the song so Bey laid down the vocals herself. (Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
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18. Rihanna's 'We Found Love' was turned down by Nicole Scherzinger
Scherzy was sent the demo of 'We Found Love' but couldn't take on the track as she was so busy. She later said, "I passed on 'We Found Love'. I got the demo of that song and I was busy at the time. They’d sent me a few dance tracks and I wasn’t able to get to them and I was like, 'Oh, there’s so much dance and I want to take a break from it'. That was my fault. I slept on it." (Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
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19. PussyCat Dolls' 'Don't Cha' was turned down by Sugababes and Paris Hilton.
Who can forget the PCD classic 'Don't Cha'? Well, it could well have been recorded by the Sugababes or Paris Hilton but they both turned it down. Paris later said, "I think I did hear the song, but not in the format that we all came to know and love. If I'd heard that, of course I'd have jumped at the chance." (Pictures: YouTube/Getty)
