4 Pop Songs That Were Rejected by Major Artists but Became Huge Hits for Others

In the pop music world, songwriting credits and demos get passed around quite a bit. Some major artists decide to give a track a chance, while others opt to pass it along to the next musician. These four mega-hit pop songs were actually rejected by major artists before they were made famous by others.

1. “Wrecking Ball”

“Wrecking Ball” became a huge hit for Miley Cyrus in 2013. The song hit no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for 32 weeks. Cyrus definitely made the song (and music video) her own, but she didn’t write it; in fact, the song was originally written for none other than Beyonce.

The writers behind “Wrecking Ball” penned the tune while in a songwriting session for Queen Bey. Once it was finished, everyone agreed that it wasn’t a good fit for her, so they quickly offered it to Cyrus instead. The song went on to change Cyrus’s public image drastically.

2. “Alive”

Sia is an excellent songwriter in her own right, and nobody could perform “Alive” quite like her. She’s written songs for everyone from Rihanna to Adele, and the latter almost included the synth-pop track on her album 25.

However, Sia decided to keep the song for her 2016 record The Is Acting. It was a smart choice. Adele is an incredibly talented singer, but “Alive” was much better suited for Sia.

3. “It’s Raining Men”

We couldn’t forget this 1983 hit on our list of pop songs that were rejected by major artists and made popular by others. The Weather Girls topped the charts with “It’s Raining Men” when it was first released, and the song has since become synonymous with the 1980s’ brand of post-disco pop music. Before The Weather Girls recorded it, the song was passed around to a few famous singing divas at the time.

Specifically, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Cher, and Donna Summer each turned the song down. It’s a great song for a girl group, so we’re glad that it ultimately went to The Weather Girls.

4. “Rock Your Body”

Back in 2002, Justin Timberlake was gearing up to debut his first solo album post-NYSNC. The album was a massive success, partly due to the killer single “Rock Your Body”.

Believe it or not, the song wasn’t originally written for Timberlake. Timberlake, Chad Hugo, and Parrell Williams wrote the song for the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. Jackson rejected the song from his final album Invincible, and Timberlake liked it enough to put it on his own album. One can’t help but wonder how different it would have sounded as an MJ track.

Photo by Vince Bucci

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