Top 20 Smash Hit Songs REJECTED by Other Artists

These artists must be kicking themselves for passing on these hit songs. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most popular tracks that went on to become major hits even though they were initially written for and/or passed on by other musicians. Our countdown includes “Call Me”, “Wrecking Ball”, “Rock Your Body”, “Gold Digger”, “I Don't Want to Miss a Thing”, and more! Do you think any of these songs would have been successful if they were released by a different artist? Let us know in the comments.
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#Music
#Songs
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#HitSongs
#Successful
#Smash
#Rejected
#Bands
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#Rap

[@WatchMojo]

Do you think any of these songs would have been successful if they were released by a different artist? Let us know in the comments. For more music content, click here!: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6m4g52werqWqKs

[@whitleysdollhouse877]

Yes, all of them

[@Thomas-cx6jh]

Michael Jackson's version of Rock Your Body would've been ABSOLUTELY FIREEEE!! 🔥🔥

[@rhysepoos]

Agreed, it's the most obvious example of a song clearly written for somebody else

[@ffreshfields5211]

Any song on Earth spun by michael Jackson would be fire. The man could have sung a nursery rhyme and i'd buy it

[@dhenderson1810]

I have one. "Grease Is The Word", was written by the Bee Gees for the movie "Grease". The movie studio wanted the Bee Gees to sing it, but they rejected it, because according to Barry Gibb in an interview, they had already done "Saturday Night Fever", and if they did a song for another movie, they would end up being the "soundtrack guys" and wanted to get away from performing soundtracks for movies. So the producers got soundalike Frankie Valli, from "The Four Seasons".

[@yudhabagaskara98]

Honorable mentions: Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway (written by Avril Lavigne, she ended up made her own version 18 years later)

[@camronshean1758]

14:30 Umbrella was also offered to Taio Cruz & Mary J Blige who both turned it down 18:19 ...Baby One More Time was also offered to Backstreet Boys who rejected it

[@semajjphilly88]

Baby One More Time also went to TLC first

[@camronshean1758]

@@semajjphilly88 Yeah but that was already said in the video. Didn't you watch it

[@semajjphilly88]

@@camronshean1758 currently…. your comment came first🤷🏽

[@camronshean1758]

@@semajjphilly88 You read the comments before watching the video lool. The marker for the part where it's said is there, so you can just skip to that part if you want

[@semajjphilly88]

@@camronshean1758 nooo u read & listen. Who knew that was number 1?! Anyway….

[@thatgirlfromktown]

Lets not forget that not only is Rihanna's Umbrella song fire, it also brought us Tom Holland's unforgettable performance on Lip Sync Battle!!! If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend watching it. Edit to add: if you go watch it please tell me.what you think.😊

[@iamambitious2910]

just watched it, its epic 🖤🖤🖤🖤

[@thatgirlfromktown]

@@iamambitious2910 yes, yes it is 😁

[@radhikabhatt1663]

It was so amazing

[@SensationalBanana]

Clearly they wouldn't have gotten "Dont'cha" to be as big a hit with Paris Hilton... Come on now. She couldn't sing, couldn't dance.

[@Thesportsmusicgod]

Agreed

[@semajjphilly88]

I can see Pink singing Since You Been Gone! I can hear it.

[@thingsdemystified]

she did

[@trexadvent4726]

What do you think these songs would be like if they weren't rejected at all?

[@abellewis3062]

The intended artist would be singing them. Enough said.

[@imsoboredhahaha]

“Don’t Cha” was also offered to the U.K. girl group Sugababes too

[@jamescamero4716]

Nobody cares

[@jamescamero4716]

@Kefla wow you’re so cool

[@theupliftchannel]

Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here by Deborah Cox was originally offered to Patti LaBelle

[@cjhansen6618]

I know of another song that got rejected. "One Bad Apple" recorded by The Osmond Brothers was originally intended for The Jackson 5 who turned it down to record ABC. Michael Jackson's 1st solo hit "Ben" was intended for Donny Osmond who was busy touring with his Brothers at the time. So the producers of the movie that the song "Ben" appears in offered it to Michael Jackson. Donny Osmond was able to record "Ben" for his 60th Album.

[@thewolfmankindlyrequests]

Missing a huge one here - The Boys of Summer was originally offered to Tom Petty who turned it down

[@WatchMojo]

[@susancullimore5643]

I loveTom Petty but thank God he rejected it. It is Don Henley's song and no one elses.

[@90sMillenial]

I can actually imagine MJ singing Rock Your Body. But also, I'm happy Aerosmith ended up with Don't Wanna Miss A Thing

[@Krobra91]

Celine Dion reallly needs to record all the songs she was offered but turned down many of the beame grammy winners and movie songs.. she easily could have dominated the movie song well into 2010s when she supposidly offered james cameron's avatar song by leona lewis

[@yudhabagaskara98]

leona performed mediocre avatar soundtrack and then she vanished

[@shellseasparkles1944]

“I don’t wanna miss a thing.” Was my wedding song☺️ still gives me chills and I’m so glad it was Steven who got it. There’s so much more raw emotion from him.

[@officialdjanel]

I can actually hear TLC singing Baby One More Time

[@COMPFUNK2]

“Waiting for a Star to Fall” - Boy Meets Girl, Intended for Whitney Houston “Poison” - Bell Biv DeVoe, Intended for Al B. Sure!

[@ericm.felton9386]

I know other artists are like... "Damn! Why I rejected that song?"

[@PlumbPitiful]

In the country world (which Watchmojo consistently ignores) Carrie Underwood's first single from her first album Jesus Take The Wheel was originally intended for Martina McBride but she rejected it. After having released Concrete Angel and God's Will Martina didn't want to do too many similar sounding songs in a row so passed and Carrie lucked out with a fantastic song for her official debut.

[@ALexander-ue3kj]

Honorable Mention: Pharrell's "Frontin" was originally intended for Prince.

[@myredenvelopes]

The 1973 Vickie Lawrence hit "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" was originally offered to Cher. It was declined by her manager (Sonny Bono) on the grounds that he was concerned it would upset her Southern fans. Written by Lawrence's husband Bobby Russell, she knew it was a hit, and she decided to take it on herself. It went on to become a #1 song in both the US and Canada.

[@joshuathompson5850]

What about Breakaway originally by Avril Lavigne and given to Kelly Clarkson?

[@boogernights]

I’ve read somewhere that Rob Thomas originally intended Smooth for George Michael. Reportedly Santana liked Thomas’ demo so much he asked him to sing the song.

[@trexadvent4726]

Which one of these songs is exciting and worth listening to again and again?

[@FinalBoyForum]

Shape of You by Ed Sheeran was originally offered to Little Mix but they had just finished working on Touch and thought it was too similar to be on the same album

[@wowbobwow37]

The most disturbing thing is there at most 40 artists/bands who don't write there own songs (not counting film songs). Yeah, I know it's common for this to happen, but still there are plenty who write their own stuff.

[@leonreborn1308]

Disturbing? lol this is the most common thing in the music industry since forever, and there's literally nothing wrong with it, songwriters are millionaires because of royalties

[@darrenbrown8877]

Completely agree

[@thingsdemystified]

It's not disturbing at all. Who cares who writes the song?

[@Hayastantzi92]

SloMo by Chanel, intended for Jennifer Lopez but she ignored the offer

[@popanxiety1227]

Got 3rd eurovision

[@LoveHandle4890]

Wrecking Ball was Miley Cyruses transition from a girl into a woman.

[@BUDOKAIultimate3]

It was a transition to something........

[@Solus3D]

The song is good, the video is just bad.

[@omariwalker1006]

You call that a woman?

[@TheWarmachine375]

Miley Cyrus was going through a phase and it's a bad one

[@williebelcher9303]

@@TheWarmachine375 that phase probably ended her. Career

[@amiyarose9140]

Whenever I hear "Don't Cha," all I can think about is Rasputia (Eddie Murphy) singing along to it in Norbit

[@Eliwat30]

Amen!

[@DuskyLycanroc]

Wow, "Since U Been Gone" is been offered to Pink and Hillary Duff, How bad could it be

[@maeganbyerley]

I'd love to hear Since You've Been Gone sung by P!NK Also I don't think I can imagine Celine Dion singing I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing, IMO that song was made for Aerosmith

[@mrnotificationbell]

Top 10 Low Rating Anime With Good Music/Songs Examples: Aldnoah Zero, Fate Stay Night (2006, Fate Route), Guilty Crown, Asterisk war, Darling in the franxx, Oda Nobuna No Yabou, Fireworks (movie) etc.

[@black.sasuke.uchiha]

Never ceases to amaze me how they are able to consistently dodge copyright claims. Which is when you go down to the description that you see the song name and all the licenses.

[@geedeegee2971]

Logic offered 1-800 to The Chainsmokers but they turned it down for being to edgy

[@Dashingdiva73]

Corey Hart... you could have made Danger zone a hit... oh well. Kenny did it...

[@hanssolos3699]

donna summer passed on too many songs, including body yoddy yoddy.

[@trexadvent4726]

Can you do top 10 songs that should be played during Guardians of the Galaxy vol 3?

[@marcjameswhelan]

Spam much ?

[@Caracaraorangeberry]

it shows something other than song writing talent is behind many of these “artists” success.

[@olvialee7221]

84: As I clicked, I’m like “say what now?”

[@VJAllison1974]

Tina Turner will always be one of the most amazing performers and singers in the world. I did not know that "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" was written for Celine Dion. It's one of my favorite songs of all time. I remember when "Danger Zone" came out. I was 12 years old, in band camp, and we had one class that was just watching music videos and talking about music in general, what we liked and didn't like. The teacher for that class LOVED that song and played it at least once every class. By the time the week was over, all of us kids were sick of it.

[@thewalkingbad8524]

Shape of you Ed Sheeran, written for Rihana

[@Friendship1nmillion]

😲 : I thought Ed Sheeran wrote " Shape of you " . ♑️✍️🇦🇺🇳🇴

[@thewalkingbad8524]

@@Friendship1nmillion Yes but he did it for Rihana

[@camronshean1758]

There's also these songs that were originally for another artist Prince Wouldn't You Love To Love Me (Michael Jackson) En Vogue Don't Let Go (Love) (Mick Jagger & Andrea Martin) Shakira Hips Don't Lie (Originally a Fugees song called Lips Don't Lie) Mary J Blige Rainy Dayz (TLC) Usher I Don't Know (Michael Jackson) U Don't Have To Call (Michael Jackson) What's A Guy Gotta Do (Michael Jackson, *Nsync) DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love (Rihanna) Monica Before You Walk Out Of My Life (Toni Braxton) Faith Evans I Love You (Jennifer Lopez) 702 where my girls at? (TLC) Sia Chandelier (Rihanna) Cheap Thrills (Rihanna) Tamia Stranger In My House (Toni Braxton) Britney Spears I'm A Slave 4 U (Janet Jackson recorded a version) Boys (Janet Jackson recorded a version) My Big Secret (N*E*R*D, Janet Jackson) Basement Jaxx Get Me Off (Janet Jackson) Kelis Milkshake (Britney Spears) N*E*R*D Lemon (Pharrell wrote the second half for Puff Daddy aka P. Diddy) Justin Timberlake Señorita (Michael Jackson) Take It From Here (Michael Jackson) Nothin' Else (Michael Jackson) Last Night (Michael Jackson) Let's Take A Ride (Michael Jackson) Kelly Clarkson Miss Independent (Destiny's Child, Christina Aguilera) Beyoncé Crazy in Love (Christina Brave Williams from R&B girl group Rich Girl) Irreplaceable (Shania Twain) If I Were A Boy (BC Jean) Pretty Hurts (Katy Perry, Rihanna) Rihanna SOS (Christina Milian) Disturbia (Chris Brown) We Found Love (Nicole Scherzinger, Leona Lewis) Pharrell Williams Frontin' (Prince) Wiz Khalifa See You Again (Eminem) Natasha Ramos Deeper (Ashanti) Miley Cyrus We Can't Stop (Rihanna) J. Holiday Bed (Chris Brown) (The-Dream's version was played at Kanye West's Yeezy Season 5 fashion show) Lady Gaga Just Dance (The Pussyact Dolls) B.O.B. Nothin' On You (Lupe Fiasco) Miguel All I Want Is You (CeeLo Green) Ed Sheeran Shape Of You (Rihanna) Selena Gomez Come And Get It (Rihanna) Same Old Love (Rihanna) Meghan Trainor All About That Bass (Adele, Beyoncé) Iggy Azalea Black Widow (Katy Perry)

[@djpegao]

Damn, everyone wanted Michael to sing their songs.

[@arguableruby]

Alive covered by daughtry is good asf

[@ONCE_A_MOA_ALWAYS_A_MOA]

just realised it was uploaded like two minutes ago, well have fun watching ya'll

[@sagesse1986]

I have to say that Whitney Houston could turn anything into a hit.

[@ALexander-ue3kj]

Duhhh

[@danielferrieri7434]

Top Ten Most Used Songs for Movies

[@jmommy881]

Time after time, meant for Kenny Rodgers, and you would know the rest. Huge hit.

[@pyrokatarina]

I love that song

[@andrewm3612]

​@@pyrokatarinaSame here. One of my many favourite songs from the 80s.

[@gtownmonarch]

How about Kelly Clarkson’s Miss Independent, which was offered to Christina Aguilera?

[@sapentah4585]

In malaysia, rejected songs are played on radio. And so sumbang

[@jtforeman72]

Disturbed's cover of Sound of Silence. Ram Jam's cover of Black Betty.

[@whitleysdollhouse877]

Is there any more Smash Hit Songs REJECTED by other Artists, yes or no?

[@jonathanaguero884]

I can not believe you didn't mention Simple Minds' Don't You (Forget About Me) that was offered to Billy Idol, rejected by him but eventually recorded for one of his hits compilations.

[@bertsausse2128]

How could you leave out Simple Minds smash hit "(Don't you) Forget About Me" from The Breakfast Club soundtrack. It was originally offered to Billy Idol.

[@trexadvent4726]

Can you do comic book origin of DC Music_Meister?

[@marcjameswhelan]

Bot

[@ILJ68]

Another track expressly written for, and passed on by Stevie Nicks was These Dreams which then went to Heart giving the veteran band their 1st Billboard Hot 100 hit.

[@Maypril1894]

I've heard that SloMo by Chanel (spain's entry for eurovision this year) was orignally written for JLo

[@freddiemolinajr.8397]

good video

[@GottaGetBeefy]

LMAO @ "the right fit for her vocal range" 🤣🤣

[@Deathstroke4200]

Call me is making a comeback with Jon Bernthal's American Gigalo

[@mayuthedemon33]

Got love mikey cyrus

[@christopherlively8477]

Can't believe Paris turned down that "Don't Cha" song! It's as bland and shallow as she portrays herself

[@michaelle8384]

Don’t know who brigette Kelly is

[@abellewis3062]

Honorable mention: Irreplaceable is Beyoncé’s song. But Ne-Yo originally wrote it for Shania Twain or Faith Hill.

[@Friendship1nmillion]

Actually , after hearing about the Top Gun soundtrack #classic 📀 " Danger Zone " I wish { British born } Australian singer/songwriter John Farnham had recorded it . ♑️✍️🇦🇺🇳🇴

[@josh72456]

Only know Call Me, Danger Zone, Don't Cha, It's Raining Men, I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing, Holiday, What's Love Got To With It, Rock Your Body, Hit Me Baby One More Time, Happy and Wrecking Ball .

[@bennymora3086]

Can you imagine if the artists didn't reject the songs?😶‍🌫

[@18mjames]

Early gang

[@marcjameswhelan]

Sad gang

[@djtranquilosantos3175]

@watchmojo throwing shades lololololol

[@MichaelPop72]

Can see anyone else doing Call Me but Debbie and nobody but Rihanna for Umbrella.

[@mylsyl]

All or nothing by o Town rejected by westlife Bye bye bye by nsync rejected by 5ive

[@antant8009]

Since u been gone is such a fucking hit

[@MjB12345]

Miley sang wrecking ball perfectly

[@KevinWood44]

They should not be called artists. Artists CREATE they are performers. If you write your own songs and choreograph your own dances fine you are artist. These people are singers/performers NOT artists. Taylor Swift, Billy Joel, John Lennon, Sia, Adele, Beibs, Eminem, Johnny Cash, Keith Urban, Lady Gaga, Kanya, Ed Sheeran....ARTISTS!

[@unaitithomas1259]

Half of the artist that you just named have got songs from other ppl Music is not like selling a picture of somebody claiming it for their own end it would not be where it is today if everyone was selfish with every song they wrote Some people right and some perform and some do everything

[@KevinWood44]

@@unaitithomas1259 Most of them write a majority of their music. Yea they may have gotten a few songs from song writers but nothing as bad as Rihanna, Celin Dion, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Sinatra.....They don't write one word of their own music

[@MateusHonrado]

@@KevinWood44 Just because of most of their best known hits are written by professional songwriters doesn't mean they never wrote a song at all. Rihanna has co-written some of her hits like "Kiss It Better", Celine Dion co-wrote Diana King's "Treat Her Like a Lady" before covering it for her album Let's Talk About Love and Whitney Houston co-wrote "Queen of the Night" for The Bodyguard OST.

[@Hahnfruh]

At least SOMEONE else gets it.

[@PlumbPitiful]

Singing IS an art.

[@timeovandecandelaere1709]

Sia fait un excellent travail 😍. Adèle doit le regretter

[@silly_hue-wheat]

I can't imagine beyonce singing wrecking ball

[@PlumbPitiful]

I can. Very easily actually

[@unaitithomas1259]

The song how would I know by Whitney Houston is my favorite track from her🤍🤍🤍

[@rluv4evr]

I think it's crazy that these artists don't: "write" their own songs. I've lost so much respect for a lot of Stars.

[@waittillfamewtf2385]

💥 "No Time To Die" (2020) 🔫 Billie Eilish, offered to Taylor Swift

[@MateusHonrado]

Any source for that?

[@waittillfamewtf2385]

@@MateusHonrado no time to lie

[@MateusHonrado]

@@waittillfamewtf2385 Yeah, I'm not buying that at all because number one, Billie has never said that she originally wrote it for another person and number two, Eon Productions invited her and her brother to do the theme song, which both accepted.

[@waittillfamewtf2385]

@@MateusHonrado "fool me once, fool me twice, are you death or paradise?"

[@MateusHonrado]

@@waittillfamewtf2385 What?

[@alifhussaini]

You will never see taylor on this list cause she wrote her own song on her own

[@MateusHonrado]

Actually, she co-wrote the song "This Is What You Came For" by her then-boyfriend Calvin Harris.

[@popanxiety1227]

Ariana Grandes Debut Album Was Originally Meant For Season 6 American Idol Winner Jordin Sparks

[@freddiemolinajr.8397]

watch mojo is a good channel

[@olvialee7221]

What? The song in Armageddon was supposed to be for Céline Dion but Aerosmith rocked it

[@reginasuangco8563]

Make it right & Permission to dance BTS, written for Ed Sheeran

[@jennifergreen6510]

Ed Sheeran co-wrote those songs FOR BTS. Make It Right has songwriting credits by 3 members of BTS.

[@user-nt3hb6zn7z]

Cheap Thrills and Chandelier written and sung by Sia , both rejected by Rihanna

[@charlie6909]

Thank you Ariana for singing God is a woman.

[@weezfromw.p.2865]

Tweet had day dontcha first

[@theell9014]

Oh my goodness, I can't believe you missed the song "Physical". It was originally offered to Rod Stewart who passed on it. The song then went to Tina Turner, who also passed, but Tina's manager was also Olivia Newton-John's manager, so it found its way to her.

[@jorgeadairramos7469]

I'm posible Z

[@marcjameswhelan]

Loser bot

[@popmans9999]

Actually Kylie is happy that Briney got Toxic. She said it belong to her.

[@janerohrer9266]

I don’t wanna miss a thing by Celine dion? Could see that

[@rhyndawatson4173]

I wish Gloria had recorded the song it would have been fire, a real voice

[@darrenbrown8877]

How redicoulous Getting nominated for an award for a song you didn't even write

[@brookelynnenewcomer943]

Fun fact weather girls changed their name to weather girls after it's raining men.

[@dreindahouse6590]

I can hear cee-lo in happy , it was perfectly made for him ,you guys missed chandelier which was intended for Rihanna but which she turned down and Sia song it

[@thingsdemystified]

A lot of these songs wouldn't have been hits if they were sung by the intended artists. That's what a lot of people don't seem to be getting. They're giving way too much credit to the song writers.

[@marcjameswhelan]

I'm always first to make a comment

[@trotmnn]

WRECKING BALL WAS WRITTEN FOR BEYONCE EXCUSE MEEEEE

[@tiger31623]

Why I'm i always first to make a comment

[@abs_kuzmin_2010]

Well today your not so that's not true

[@Reaperguy67]

@@abs_kuzmin_2010 tiger spams this in every video

[@Reaperguy67]

Nobody cares if you are

[@abellewis3062]

I love Since U Been Gone. Kelly Clarkson is the only woman who can sing that song. 🎶 🎤 Enough said.