2022-09-14

How Will I Know

Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know" was originally intended for Janet Jackson. The song was featured on Houston's debut album as the third single.

Rock Your Body

Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body" was written by himself and The Neptunes - originally for Michael Jackson. The song was going to be featured on Jackson's last album "Invincible", before being rejected by Jackson and his production crew. Instead Timberlake recorded the song, making it the second single for his album "Justified."

Baby One More Time

TLC declined the song "Baby One More Time" when they first heard it. Britney Spears and her production crew grabbed the song for Spears to record as her debut song on her first album - which was also named after the chart topping hit. Spears first heard the song in the studio - as it was recorded by Toni Braxton who also passed on the single. "Baby One More Time" is one of the best-selling singles of all times, selling 10 million copies.

Golden Years

David Bowie wrote "Golden Years" in 1975 and gave the song to Elvis Presley. After Presley's decline, Bowie decided to record the single. "Golden Years" ended up on Bowie's 1976 classic album "Station to Station."

Umbrella

Rihanna's catchy song "Umbrella" was written by The Dream and Tricky Stewart with Britney Spears in mind. Mary J. Blige also heard the hit track and pleaded with production to allow her to record the track - in the end Rihanna won the battle. "Umbrella" was the song that helped Rihanna proclaim pop-star status.

Hungry Heart

Bruce Springsteen wrote "Hungry Heart" for the Ramones but his producer and manager convinced him to keep it for himself. "Hungry Heart" ended up becoming Springsteen's first major chart hit.

Call Me

Blondie's "Call Me" was number one for six weeks in the U.S. and the biggest selling song of 1980. The song was originally given to Stevie Nicks but due to label politics it didn't make the cut. Originally the track was titled Man Machine.

4 Songs You Didn’t Realize Were Christian
Many of us have sung their songs a million times without even knowing they had a Christian message. Read next feature >
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