Britney Spears’ first single almost didn’t get recorded

Britney Spears is a pop culture superstar. For years, the pop star has opened doors in the music industry and become a pop culture’s mainstay. However, she might not have gotten there without one hit single. And now we are learning her debut single, “Baby One More Time”, almost didn’t get recorded by the star.

Britney Spears’ first single almost didn’t get recorded.

While Britney holds multiple awards, one that stands out is having one of the best-selling songs of all time (as her first single). Released in 1998, the single topped the charts in over twenty countries and sold over ten million singles worldwide.  Could it have been the music video that got there?

The music video featured Britney dressed like a schoolgirl walking and dancing with friends at school while singing about her love interest. Was it the outfit that caught the attention? Maybe. At the time, Britney was just sixteen years old. And after being relatively unknown in the music industry at the time, the former The Mickey Mouse Club star was departing from her previous image.  However, with the popular hooks in the single and sound, it was destined to be a hit, and that is why the single almost didn’t get recorded by Britney.

Before it was presented to Britney, both the Backstreet Boys and TLC passed on it. However, there was one person that wanted the single and that was Simon Cowell. Simon and Max Martin, the producer of the song, are friends. And when the song was being produced, Simon wanted the single to go to the boyband he was working with at the time – 5ive.

In a recent appearance on Howie Mandel’s podcast, “Howie Mandel Does Stuff”, Simon spoke about the hit single. He said:  “The guy plays it down the phone to me, this song ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time.’ I’m like, ‘My God, I’ve got to have this song.’ So, I phoned up Max. I said, ‘Max. Please, please give me this song.’ And he went, ‘I’ve promised it to someone else.’ And I said, ‘Well, I’ll send you a Mercedes — literally a Mercedes 500 SL if I can have this song.’ And he went, ‘No. I promised it to somebody else.’ And I went, ‘Who?’ He said, ‘Britney Spears.’ I said, ‘Max, let me give you some advice. No one is going to have a hit with a name called Britney Spears.’”

Could you imagine the song going to anyone but Britney? Sound off below!