Top 15 songs that were originally intended for other artists

It’s hard to think of our favorite songs being sung by another artists, but a lot of times that’s exactly what happens in the music business. Some of the biggest hits today were written by writers who had a particular artist in mind to sing their song. However, that artist turned the song down and it got passed along until it landed in the hands of someone who was willing to sing it. Seeing as these songs have gone on to become highly successful, it’s seems odd to imagine how someone else’s vocals would sound on the song. You can’t help but think would the song have been as successful if the intended artist had decided to record the song? Sometimes things simply happen for a reason. All the intended artists were great candidates for the song, but maybe their vocals didn't quite match up with the song. TheCelebrityCafe.com takes a look at the Top 15 songs that were originally intended for other artists.

Image courtesy of INFphoto.com

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15. Meghan Trainor- All About That Bass

“All About That Bass” was co-written by Meghan Trainor and pitched to several artists including Beyoncé. However considering how many pitches Beyoncé likely hears a day, Trainor isn’t sure if the “Drunk in Love” singer actually got to hear the song.

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14. Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora- Black Widow
“Black Widow” was intented to be a song on Katy Perry’s Prism, but was cut from the final track listing. Perry, who didn’t want the song to go to waste, passed it along to Iggy Azalea.

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1. Lady Gaga ft. Beyoncé- Telephone
Lady Gaga wrote “Telephone” for Britney Spears, who turned the song down. The song was saved to be on Gaga’s The Fame Monster. Although Spears didn’t fully record the track, a demo of her singing the song leaked in 2010.

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2. Rihanna- Disturbia
Chris Brown co-wrote “Disturbia” and was considering it for the deluxe version of his Exclusive album. He ultimately opted to record “Forever” instead and give “Disturbia” to his then girlfriend, Rihanna. Under Rihanna’s vocals, the song landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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11. Justin Timberlake- Rock Your Body

“Rock Your Body” was turned down by Michael Jackson before Justin Timberlake recorded it for his Justified album. It is reported that Jackson turned other songs down as well before they were handed over to Timberlake.

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10. Kelly Clarkson- Since U Been Gone
“Since U Been Gone” was originally written for Pink, who turned it down. The song was then pitched to Hillary Duff. However, Clive Davis convinced producers to give the song to Kelly Clarkson, who recorded the song for her Breakaway album

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9. Jay Z & Kanye West- N—gas in Paris

“N—gas in Paris” was originally written for Pusha T, but even he admits that he doesn’t know if he could have made the song as successful as Jay Z and Kanye West did. "I tell people all the time that I don't know if I would've attacked it that way,"Pusha T said in a 2011 interview. "Which means the record might not have been as special once I got on it."

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8. Rihanna- Umbrella

The Dream reportedly offered “Umbrella” to Britney Spears in order to help her make a comeback. However, the track was turned down. The track then went on to become No. 1 under Rihanna’s vocals.

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7. B.o.B ft. Bruno Mars- Nothing on You

Rapper Lupe Fiasco says he was once depressed and suicidal after Atlantic Records rejected his version of “Nothing on You” and went with B.o.B’s version instead. “That was the tipping point,” Lupe said in an interview. “It was less about the bruised ego but more the audacity of it. It was mentally destructive. I say it with a certain laissez-faire now because I’m past it, but back then, hearin’ that sh--t, it f--ked me up.”

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6. Britney Spears- Baby One More Time

Before “Baby One More Time” arrived in the hands of Britney Spears, it was originally intended for R & B group TLC’s Fan Mail album. However, the group rejected it.

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5. Pharrell- Happy

“Happy” has brought Pharrell a lot of success, but he originally had Cee Lo Green in mind for the song, which he co-wrote. After recording the track, Green decided to push “Happy” aside and focus on his own album. Ultimately the film company for Despicable Me 2 insisted that Pharrell record the song himself for the movie soundtrack.

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4. Irreplaceable

Before “Irreplaceable” landed on Beyoncé’s B’Day album and became one of her most successful songs, it was intended to be a country song. Ne-Yo originally wrote the song with Faith Hill and Shania Twain in mind.

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3. Miley Cyrus- We Can’t Stop

Writer and producer Mike Will Made It originally had Rihanna in mind for “We Can’t Stop.” However, she was unable to record the song and it landed in the hands of Miley Cyrus, who earned her first UK number one single from the song.

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2. Rihanna- We Found Love ft. Calvin Harris

This Rihanna song was number 1 for six weeks, but before that it was in the hands of Leona Lewis and Nicole Scherzinger.

In an interview, Leona Lewis discussed the song saying, “It was the same version and production but mine’s better.”

Scherzinger also discussed having the song in her hands. “I’ve got the demo of the song and I was busy at the time,” she said.

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1. Black Eyed Peas- My Humps

Black Eyed Peas member, will.i.am, originally had The Pussycat Dolls in mind when he wrote “My Humps.” The song off the Blacked Eyed Peas Monkey Business album later went on to go double platinum.