Updated Feb 4, 2026, 12:58 PM EST
Senior Music Editor at Screen Rant, Sarah's love of sound and story drive the beat. A globetrotting brand whisperer and award-winning journalist, she’s built cross-cultural narratives around the world—but music has always been her true north. She launched DJ Mag North America, successfully introducing the iconic UK brand to the U.S. market. Previously, she carved a space for EDM inside the pages of VIBE, blending electronic and hip-hop culture long before it was trendy.
One of the most fascinating and often overlooked dynamics in pop music history is how many superstar artists passed on songs that later became career-defining hits for someone else. From Prince to Britney Spears, this “one that got away” phenomenon has quietly shaped the modern pop canon.
A prime example is Prince’s decision not to release his own version of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a song he wrote that later became a global blockbuster when Sinéad O’Connor recorded it in 1990, proving that a rejected track can still become one of the most iconic songs of all time.
Britney Spears herself sits on both sides of this equation. Her 2001 smash “I’m a Slave 4 U,” the defining single from her third album Britney, was originally written by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo for Janet Jackson. Instead, Spears turned it into one of last year's biggest hits and her first true dance-pop anthem. Yet in other cases, Spears passed on tracks that later became major successes for other artists, including these two notable examples.
Britney Spears Turned Down Rihanna's Umbrella
Spears' Management Passed On A Song That Could Have Delivered Her Through Troubled Times
As the saying goes in the music world, what goes around, comes around. Just as Spears' musical "yoink" added another hit to her library and helped define the beginnings of her creative expansion into a grittier vibe, her passing on a song gave another artist a coveted break. According to Jacob Uitti of American Songwriter, back in 2007, songwriters Chris Stewart, Terius Nash, and Kuk Harrell crafted "Umbrella" while Spears was working on her Blackout album. Stewart, having collaborated with Spears previously, thought the song was tailor-made for her at that moment. However, Spears' management team saw things differently.
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Believing Spears had enough tracks for Blackout, her team rejected Stewart's offer without even giving her a chance to hear the demo. The song then landed in the hands of Def Jam head Antonio "L.A." Reid, a Stewart collaborator, who was working with Rihanna on her Good Girl Gone Bad album. Recognizing its fit with the album's style, Rihanna eagerly accepted the song. The rest, as they say, is history. Featuring Jay-Z, Rihanna's "Umbrella" soared to No. 1, cementing her status as a global music icon.
Spears Also Rejected Lady Gaga's Telephone
Oops, She Did It Again! The One Song Considered Redundant For Spears' Album Ended Up Being A Blockbuster
A year later, a similar situation unfolded with Lady Gaga, then an up-and-coming songwriter soon to become a musical icon. At the time, Gaga was earning a living by writing songs - many of which unexpectedly became hits - for pop stars seeking musical content to complete an album or, more likely, to achieve a hit during a "musical slump." It turns out that Gaga specifically wrote the song "Telephone" for Britney Spears to include on her Circus album.
According to Kelli Boyle of Showbiz CheatSheet, Spears recorded the song and planned to include it on the album. However, once again, her management intervened, believing that the album already contained a "telephone-themed" track, making the inclusion of "Telephone" redundant. After the rejection, Lady Gaga decided to keep the song for herself rather than offer it to other artists. She attempted to negotiate with Spears' management to feature the singer on the track, but these efforts were unsuccessful.
The song ultimately appeared on The Fame Monster, Gaga's 2009 reissue of her debut album The Fame. This proved to be a fortunate decision, as the track, which featured a collaboration with Beyoncé, garnered critical acclaim and is widely considered one of Lady Gaga's finest works. While Spears did not necessarily need help making popular music adored by millions of fans, these two incidents nevertheless point out two incidents where perhaps a little more foresight might have netted Britney Spears even more fame, fortune, and glory.
Sources: American Songwriter, Showbiz Cheatsheet
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