When it comes to our favorite tracks, it’s hard to picture them sung by anyone other than who we’ve heard bring them to life. However, more often than you’d think, a song gets floated by several musicians that might fit the bill before it ultimately gets recorded by another. Here, take a look at some of the most popular songs of the last few decades that were almost recorded by someone other than the person who made them famous. Can you imagine what they might sound like sung by another artist?
Meghan Trainor’s ‘All About That Bass’
Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” dominated the airwaves after its 2014 release, and it’s one of those songs that’s pretty tough not to sing along to. However, before Trainor stepped into the studio, the song passed by a few major artists, including Beyoncé and Adele.
“Some artists get thousands of songs pitched and they never know, so Beyoncé herself probably never heard it,” she shared with The Guardian. “Most of these other artists’ A&R teams said they couldn’t do anything with the song because they didn’t have [the right] artist. That was the problem–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. But I’m down–I get all the performing royalties!”
Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’
It’s hard to imagine anyone other than pop princess Britney Spears bringing the iconic “Toxic” to life, but for a fleeting moment, the song could have been recorded by none other than Kylie Minogue.
“Yeah, there’s a little song called ‘Toxic’ that was headed my way, and I was like, ‘Toxic? I don’t know if I want a song called Toxic’…,” she recalled on the Audacy Check In podcast. “As it’s turned out, it was meant to be a Britney Spears song, I can’t imagine it being anything else.” Fair enough, Kylie!
Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Hungry Heart’
Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart” sung by a rock band? We don’t think so! As The Boss recalled during an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, he had seen The Ramones perform and felt inclined to write a song for them. When he presented them with “Hungry Heart,” Johnny Ramone told him to hold onto it.
Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Breakaway’
We loved this song off the Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement soundtrack, but it was actually written by none other than Avril Lavigne. “So I wrote this song and it didn’t end up on the album. It was an outtake,” Lavigne shared in a behind-the-scenes video shared to her YouTube when she recorded it herself for the 20th anniversary of her album Let Go. “It took on a life of its own when it went to Kelly and Kelly Clarkson’s had this huge career…It was one of her earlier singles.”
Miley Cyrus’ ‘We Can’t Stop’
Who knew? Miley Cyrus’ iconic “We Can’t Stop” was actually written with Rihanna in mind, as explained by the producer of the song, Mike WiLL Made-It to MTV News per Billboard. However, the singer was more taken by another one of his songs, “Pour It Up,” and instead went in that direction.
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