"Get This Party Started" Was Written For Madonna But Ended Up With Pink, And 14 Other Songs That Were Written By A Different Artist

"Beyoncé just slid into home base and threw the money down and it was a really awkward situation.”

Many artists pen their own songs and lyrics, some (as you may find), even write songs for a host of other musicians. This means that some iconic tracks were actually written by other people or other huge artists.

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So, here are 15 huge songs that were written by someone else:

1. "We Found Love" – Rihanna

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Granted, there weren't actually too many lyrics to write in the composition of this track, but those that we do hear from the vocals of Rihanna were written by Calvin Harris, who also produced it. 

Topping the charts for 10 whole weeks, We Found Love became one of RIhanna's biggest hits, and she has Calvin to thank for creating the song (I guess he also has her to thank for singing it). 

Have a listen here:

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2. "Pretty Hurts" – Beyoncé

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Legendary songwriter Sia was the one who wrote Pretty Hurts, but it almost went to two different artists before Beyoncé got her hands on it. Sia explained how she actually wrote it for Katy Perry, but the singer never ended up hearing it. Sia went on to explain how a bit of an awkward situation then unfolded with Rihanna and Beyoncé both wanting the song: 

"I sent to Beyoncé's people and Rihanna’s people and Rihanna heard it and she had it on hold for eight months and her management forgot to secure it by paying for the track and Beyoncé just slid into home base and threw the money down and it was a really awkward situation.”

Have a listen here:

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3. "Till the World Ends" – Britney Spears

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It's been reported that Britney doesn't write all of her own songs, and Till the World End is one that was written by another famous musician, Kesha, who herself features on a remix of the track. 

Speaking about writing for Britney, Kesha said: “It was so much fun to put my brain in the sexy Britney Spears brain and express myself almost as if I were possessed by her.”

She also said: "That song was written specifically for Britney, I put my brain in Britney Spears land and wrote that whole song for her."

Have a listen:

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4. "Irreplaceable" – Beyoncé

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This song ended up with Beyoncé, even though the original writer, Ne-Yo, had intended to keep it for himself. Ne-Yo said that, while he wanted to keep it for himself, he thought the lyrics sounded "a little bit misogynistic, a little bit mean,” when being sung by a man. He was thus happy for Beyoncè to take the song!

Have a listen:

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5. "Party in the USA" – Miley Cyrus

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Famously, Miley Cyrus kinda hated this song, so it's no surprise that she didn't write it herself. On the song, she said:" I didn't write it [and] I didn't expect it to be popular, originally."

It was actually Jessie J, along with Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly who wrote the track, and Jessie initially intended on singing it herself. The label, however, didn't agree, and the song ended up with Miley. Still, though, Jessie said the royalties paid her rent for "like, three years." 

Here it is:

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6. "Little Things" – One Direction

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This hit for the boyband was actually written by Ed Sheeran and Fiona Bevan years before the song came out. According to Ed, the two had actually lost the song years before, but she sent it to him saying, "remember this?" 

At the time, Ed was in the studio with the One Direction boys – he showed it to them and they were keen on it, so they decided to record it for their album. 

Here it is:

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7. "Forget You" – Cee Lo Green

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It was actually Bruna Mars and Philip Lawrence who penned that famous track that was on every radio station in 2010. While the two were writing it though, they actually considered not finishing it, but when Cee Lo heard it, he wanted to give it a try. 

It's a good thing he did because the song became one of the biggest tracks of the year!

This is it:

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8. "I Will Always Love You" – Whitney Houston

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It's a song that will always be associated with Whitney, but, as many of you may know, the song was originally written and performed by Dolly Parton. She wrote it about her then-partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, and even prevented Elvis from covering it, which he'd wanted to do. 

When it came time for Whitney to produce her version, which obviously became one of the biggest hits of all time, Dolly herself helped with the production!

Have a listen:

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9. "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" – Marvin Gaye

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The legendary Motown track is probably most known for Marvin Gaye's version, but the track made its way around various artists including Gladys Knight & the Pips, The Temptations, The Undisputed Truth and The Miracles. It was initially written, however, by legendary songwriters and producers Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. 

Have a listen:

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10. “…Baby One More Time” – Britney Spears

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One of Britney's most recognisable, and confusingly worded tracks, this song became a huge hit, but it was actually written by Swedish songwriter Max Martin and Swedish-Moroccan songwriter Rami Yacoub.

Apparently, the Swedes thought that 'hit' was a new American slang word for 'call', thus the song was about a girl asking her recent ex-boyfriend to call her again. Britney's label liked the track, but didn't want to have 'hit me' in the title, so it became, "Baby One More Time."

Look here:

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11. "Material Girl" – Madonna

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The iconic, and somewhat controversial song was actually written by Peter Brown and Robert Rans. While Madonna did admit that the song did a lot for her career, she also regretted the 'misinterpretation' that the media got from it, as she said: 

“I can’t completely disdain the song and the video, because they certainly were important to my career. But talk about the media hanging on a phrase and misinterpreting the damn thing as well. I didn’t write that song and the video was about how the girl rejected diamonds and money. But God forbid irony should be understood. So when I’m ninety, I’ll still be the material girl.” 

Have a listen:

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12. "My Heart Will Go On" – Celine Dion

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Naturally, being a song for the Titanic film, it's no surprise that this wasn't written by Celine Dion. It actually was composed and written by James Horner and Will Jennings respectively, and wasn't really supposed to exist. That's because director James Cameron had specifically asked for the music to be without lyrics. 

However, when writing the final song of the film, James got Jennings to write lyrics for the music, and they secretly got Celine to record a demo. Three weeks before the film was finished, James Cameron agreed to put the song in at the end. 

Here it is:

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13. "My Way" – Frank Sinatra

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Paul Anka was the one who wrote one of Frank Sinatra's biggest songs, and he wrote it after Frank told him he was thinking of retiring. The two went for dinner in Vegas, and Paul recalled the experience: 

"The Rat Pack was over. He was tired. He was being hassled by the FBI and all that kind of stuff. And I was motivated at that moment to write a song for him."

It was midnight by the time Paul got back to his typewriter: "I sat down at the typewriter and I said to myself, 'OK, if Sinatra were writing these words, retiring, etc, metaphorically, and it just came out."  

Paul finished writing the song in five hours, and it went on to become one of Frank's most recognisable tracks. 

Have a listen:

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14. "Don’t Cha" – The Pussycat Dolls

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It was actually Cee-Lo Green who composed the track known most as a Pussycat Dolls song, but he actually initially recorded it with Ms. Alamaze, a former backing singer with Outkast. 

Ms. Alamaze, however, relinquished the rights to the song in order to get out of her contract with Universal. Producers Justin Martin and Sammy D then made a remix of Don't Cha, which gathered a lot of traction. Cee-Lo then records an almost identical version with the Pussycat Dolls, with an added verse from Busta Rhymes, and the track becomes hugely popular. 

Some listeners, however, found the Ms. Alamaze version, and much preferred it, saying such things as: "The Pussycat Dolls are better known as the Copycat Dolls."

Here's the track:

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15. "Get the Party Started" – Pink

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The iconic Pink song was actually written by 4 Non Blondes frontwoman Linda Perry, and wasn't actually initially meant for Pink. The song was initially written for Madonna, but she actually passed on the song. But, a week later, Linda got a call from Pink, who was asking for a track. Having just written Get the Party Started, she sent it to Pink, and it eventually became one of her most iconic songs. 

Take a look:

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What other iconic songs were written by someone else? Let us know in the comments below!

Thumbnail credits: Bryan Bedder / Getty Images for Disney+