Many singers have their signature songs, but the most interesting thing is that often, those songs are written for someone else.
Another interesting thing is that after a few years, the initial demo versions are available on streaming services like iTunes and Spotify, even with videos on YouTube.
Many of us imagine how things would be if the original artists kept the songs. Would they have more sales on their albums or more sold concert tickets? Would they be more popular than they are now? We can’t ever know.
But what we can discover is which songs were intended for someone else before known artists released them.
1. Shayne Ward – King of My Castle
It was initially released in 1997 and then remixed to a club version by Wamdue Project and Gaelle Adisson as vocals. Many years later Shayne Ward decided to cover this song.
In the initial cover version, Britney Spears sang a significant part of the lyrics. The song was never released. But, in 2021, the duet leaked, along with Britney’s solo version. And her fans went crazy imagining how popular the song would be back in 2009.
2. Rihanna – Umbrella
“Umbrella” was the song that ensured Rihanna’s place on the music scene. But, do you know that she was the third choice for an artist to sing it? It was first offered to Mary J Blige and then to Britney Spears.
Britney decided to go with another song, while Mary was too busy to record “Umbrella” at the moment. So, Rihanna took it and made it legendary.
3. Aerosmith – I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing
The demo version of this song was made for a female vocalist, accompanied by a piano. Steven Tyler decided to make a hard rock demo, especially for his daughter Liv, starring in the movie “Armageddon.” The author Diane Warren loved Aerosmith’s version.
Coming in theaters one year later than “Titanic,” Warren thought the song would be another hit for Celine Dion. In this case, Aerosmith did a great job with the “Armageddon” soundtrack.
4. Britney Spears – Baby One More Time
We all remember the debut hit that launched Britney Spears. But, do you know “Baby One More Time” was written for the famous band TLC?
The girls denied singing verses like “Hit me baby” because they were too mature, and a song like that would be bad for their popularity. Well, we can say the music scene would be much different without Britney singing this song.
5. Britney Spears – Toxic
This is another Britney’s signature song that was intended for someone else. The Australian pop sensation Kylie Minogue once said that “Toxic” was for her, but she decided to let it go.
Luckily, she was happy for the song to work that well for Britney.
6. Ed Sheeran – Shape of You
Ed Sheeran wrote the song, and he planned to offer it to Rihanna. What changed his mind? He liked how his voice goes well with the lyrics. And the rest is history.
7. Kelis – Milkshake
You won’t believe this, but “Milkshake” was intended to be a part of Britney’s album “In The Zone.”
But, when things should be done in a different way, they will find the right path. That’s how the song found its path to Kelis, creating one of the most iconic tunes of the 2000s.
8. Gnarls Barkley – Crazy
Things would be much different if Pussycat Dolls accepted the song “Crazy.” Nicole Scherzinger passed it without being clear about the reasons.
We can only imagine how “Crazy” would sound with Nicole’s voice and recognizable Pussycat Dolls’ dance moves.
9. Pussycat Dolls – Don’t Cha
“Don’t Cha” was first written for Paris Hilton. She turned it down, because she didn’t like the demo. Later, Paris said a different version was represented to her.
She even claims that if the song was the same, she would accept it without letting someone else take it.
10. Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris – We Found Love
The original singer still thinks she did a better job with this tune. But, we would never know why Calvin Harris decided to go with Rihanna in the official version instead of the original with Leona Lewis.
Bonus Song: Pink – Get The Party Started
We all love this catchy tune, which was a signature party anthem in the 2000s. It was written by the legendary artist and songwriter Linda Perry from 4 Non Blonds.
She offered the song to Madonna, and really wanted the pop diva to accept it. But she passed, and Pink got the song. Probably Madonna was really sorry later to turn down this huge hit.
As you can see, many tunes somehow found their way to the right artist. Or maybe they would be bigger if the first choices accepted them? We think that things turned out great for everyone in the end.
Do you know any other song that was intended for someone else?
