Hit songs that were originally written for someone else
Some of the biggest songs in pop history almost belonged to somebody else entirely. A songwriter has one voice in mind. That voice steps away, or just isn’t right for it, and the song lands somewhere nobody expected instead.
A few of those examples follow.
“Nothing Compares 2 U”
Sinéad O’Connor’s stark, tear-streaked cover hit number one worldwide in 1990 and became the song most people now associate with her name. Prince got there first, though almost nobody remembers it. He wrote and performed the original himself in 1985 for a side project called The Family, and it went nowhere. Billboard later ranked O’Connor’s single the top track of the entire decade.
A private goodbye letter turned into one of the best-selling singles ever released
Dolly Parton composed “I Will Always Love You” in 1973, nothing more than a message to her mentor, Porter Wagoner. Nineteen years sat between that moment and The Bodyguard. Whitney Houston’s take gave listeners what the country original never came close to.
What was “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” actually about before Cyndi Lauper got to it?
Men chasing women. Robert Hazard’s 1979 recording told the whole story from a male point of view, with nothing about independence. Lauper rebuilt the meaning from scratch in 1983. Same lyrics, almost word for word. A completely different song by the time she finished with it, charting in ten countries. Draw your own conclusion about whether Hazard minded the royalty checks.
Kelly Clarkson was the third name on the list for “Since U Been Gone”
Pink turned it down first. Hilary Duff’s team looked next, dropping out once the higher notes proved out of reach for her range. Third time worked. Max Martin and Dr. Luke handed it to Clarkson, and her recording became one of the biggest pop singles of its decade.
Janet Jackson’s own team called this song a bad fit for her
Whitney Houston’s second number one says otherwise. George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam crafted “How Will I Know” with Jackson specifically in mind. Her management declined it, unconvinced it matched where her sound was heading. An Arista executive salvaged it for Houston’s debut instead. February 1986. Chart-topper.
“Irreplaceable” switched genres and got rejected a second time before it ever reached Beyoncé
Ne-Yo pictured Shania Twain or Faith Hill on this one first, written as a country song before he reworked it toward R&B. Chrisette Michele heard the demo next and turned it down too. Beyoncé recorded it in 2006. Weeks parked at number one followed.
The bottom line
None of these were writing problems. Every one of them just needed the right voice to show up, and once it did, that voice ended up more identified with the song than whoever it was originally written for.
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