3 Pop Hits That I Bet You Didn’t Realize Were Written by Rock Legends

When artists write for other artists, they usually stay within their genre. But there are writers with enough of a skill set to branch out beyond their typical sound, becoming genre-benders from behind the scenes. The three pop songs below were all written by rock legends. Check out these hits with surprising authorship.

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“Manic Monday” (The Bangles)

Few rockers have made the genre as melodic as Prince did. His approach to songwriting focused on groove over all else. He could just as easily be considered a pop artist with his many hits. If you need proof of his aptitude in pop, check out The Bangles’ “Manic Monday.” Surprisingly, it was written by Prince.

The Bangles took what Prince wrote and put their own spin on it. The girl group recalled that it appeased Prince, which, famously, isn’t easy.

“I knew it was a Prince song and I wanted to do a great job on it,” Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles once said. “Prince came to our rehearsal after the record was done, and he was really thrilled with how it came out. I think he might have said something like, ‘Oh, I was surprised you guys didn’t use my track,’ or something. But he was very happy with it.”

“Breakaway” (Kelly Clarkson)

Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway” was co-written by pop-rock princess Avril Lavigne. The alternative artist left her unique mark on this pop hit, adding an edge to Clarkson’s sound.

Initially, the song was set to be recorded by Lavigne, but she decided it wasn’t right for her career. “The song is for everyone going out on their own,” Clarkson once said of the onus behind this name-making hit.

“Wake Me Up” (Avicii)

Mike Einziger from Incubus helped pen the 2015 EDM hit from Avicii, “Wake Me Up.” This song is set far apart from Incubus’ alternative rock sound. Einziger proved his adaptability by working on this pop hit.

Einziger wasn’t familiar with Avicii before he was tapped to work on this song. “Someone from his camp contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in working on something with him,” he once said. “At first I was puzzled, thinking, ‘How would that work?’ But then I was like, ‘Why in the world would I not?’” His leap of faith in working on this project paid off monumentally.

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