3 Famous Pop Songs That Were Almost Sung by Somebody Else

In the great landscape of modern music, perhaps the strangest area of territory is the pop songs field. So often, when we think of artists, we think that they are toiling away in their bedrooms, writing songs. But that’s not always the case, especially when it comes to pop compositions. Pop hits can be written by a cadre of people or by one person and then passed around to different artists to try on.

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We wanted to examine three songs that became major pop hits, garnering billions and billions of streams, that almost went to another performer. Indeed, these are three insanely famous pop songs that were almost sung by somebody else.

“…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears from ‘…Baby One More Time’ (1998)

The debut single that instantly made Britney Spears into a household name almost never went to her. The two people who wrote it, Max Martin and Rami Yacoub, first approached the pop trio TLC. But the group quickly rejected it, deciding that the chorus was not right for them.

“It’s good for her. But was I going to say, ‘Hit me baby one more time’? Hell no!” T-Boz said to MTV News after Spears’ version blew up. “Every song isn’t good for each artist, and when you’re a real artist you know what you believe in and what you really want to sing.”

One singer’s trash is another singer’s treasure…

“Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber from ‘Purpose’ (2015)

Another tune that has garnered billions of streams, Justin Bieber’s clever hit “Love Yourself” was originally written and first recorded by the British-born hit-maker Ed Sheeran. It seemed like there was a time you could put a quarter into Sheeran and out would pop a massive hit. And “Love Yourself” is yet another example.

He said it didn’t fit his new album at the time, Divide, and so he gave it to Justin, who made it a smoothed-out sensation. “Justin took it and did his thing on it, and released it as a single and made it what it is,” added Sheeran.

“Pretty Hurts” by Beyoncé from ‘Beyoncé’ (2014)

There is a cost to everything. Want to live off the grid? That won’t be easy. Want to be the center of global culture? Not easy either. That is what this song from Beyoncé is all about. But it almost never found Queen Bee. Instead, songwriter Sia sent it to Katy Perry, who never responded. Then she sent it to Rihanna and Beyoncé, creating a bidding war. In the end, Beyoncé got it, and it went on to be a giant hit for the dazzling performer.

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