Some of the most recognisable pop hits reached the singer we know only after a proposal fell through. Kylie Minogue passed on “Toxic,” while a scheduling conflict sent “Ben” from Donny Osmond to Michael Jackson. The stories behind these 14 records include deliberate refusals, a missed email and an early recording that stayed unreleased while its songwriter made a version of his own.
The voices on famous pop hits can feel like part of their composition. Change the performer and the song we remember might change with them. A closer look at how these records travelled reveals several kinds of decision. A singer may pass on a lyric, a team may be looking for a different sound, or a recording may be impossible to fit into a tour schedule.
Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins has recalled that TLC were offered “…Baby One More Time.” She liked the song, but the words in the chorus made it hard for her to imagine singing it with the group. Britney Spears recorded it instead. Released in 1998, it introduced her to a mass audience and became closely identified with the start of her career.
Another of Spears’s defining pop hits, “Toxic,” had been offered to Kylie Minogue. Minogue later recalled hesitating over the title and passing on it. Once she heard what Spears did with the record, she found it difficult to picture another singer in that role. The released version arrived as a single in 2004.
Spears was on the other side of the decision with “Telephone.” Lady Gaga wrote it with Spears in mind and has said that Spears chose “Quicksand,” another Gaga composition, instead. Gaga returned to “Telephone” for The Fame Monster and recorded it with Beyoncé. The released duet is the version through which most listeners know the song.
Donny Osmond’s account of “Ben” comes down to time. He was touring with his brothers and could not get the recording done when the filmmakers needed it. The title song for the 1972 film went to Michael Jackson and became his first solo No. 1 on the US Hot 100. A scheduling decision had given another young singer a turning point.
Jackson was a possible destination for material that ended up on Justin Timberlake’s Justified. Pharrell Williams has described developing much of that music with Jackson in mind. “Rock Your Body” is associated with that batch of songs. His account concerns a body of work, so it leaves open how far any individual track got with Jackson before Timberlake recorded it.
Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” was first intended for Pink, according to the songwriters Max Martin and Dr. Luke. Clarkson recorded it for Breakaway, released in 2004. When Pink was asked later if she wished she had taken it, she said she was happy with the outcome and recognised how well Clarkson’s voice suited it.
Gloria Estefan wrote “Let’s Get Loud” with Kike Santander with her own repertoire in mind. She felt it was close to material she had already released and let it go. Jennifer Lopez recorded it for her debut, On the 6, where it had the advantage of helping to establish a catalogue rather than repeating a sound the singer had already explored.
Katy Perry’s story about “Pretty Hurts” turns on an email. Sia sent her the song and Perry missed the message. Rihanna’s team also considered it before Beyoncé recorded it. For Perry, hearing the finished song meant discovering that a choice she could have made had already passed by without her seeing it.
Céline Dion had already recorded a defining film ballad for Titanic when “There You’ll Be” came up for Pearl Harbor. She declined another assignment of that kind. Faith Hill sang the 2001 film song instead, giving the recording a place in her own crossover catalogue.
Martin Page has said Stevie Nicks was unavailable when “These Dreams,” which he wrote with Bernie Taupin, was pitched to her. It reached Heart while the band were opening up to outside material. Nancy Wilson took the lead vocal, making the finished record distinctive within the group’s own run of pop hits.
Paul Shaffer has named Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Cher and Barbra Streisand among the singers approached about “It’s Raining Men.” The Weather Girls recorded it and released it in 1982. The idea had travelled through several possible lineups before finding the voices that would become inseparable from it.
George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam wrote “How Will I Know” with Janet Jackson in mind. The people working with her were moving in another musical direction, and the song went to Whitney Houston. It appeared on her debut album and became her second US No. 1, one of the pop hits through which listeners came to recognise her voice.
CeeLo Green actually recorded “Happy.” Pharrell Williams has said the version did not come out because of decisions made elsewhere. Williams then recorded the song himself for Despicable Me 2. The recording people heard was his, even though another singer had already taken it beyond the demo stage.
Paris Hilton heard an early, unfinished form of “Don’t Cha” and did not take it up. The Pussycat Dolls’ 2005 version became the widely known pop hit, while Hilton released “Stars Are Blind” the following year. What she heard was an early version, before the arrangement and performance that would give the Dolls their breakthrough.
