What would have happened if Katy Perry or Rihanna recorded what eventually came to be Beyoncé’s “Pretty Hurts“?
According to the song’s songwriter, it could have easily happened. In a new profile on Sia Furler, The New York Times reveals:
Furler wrote this self-help ballad — “It’s the soul that needs the surgery,” goes one line — at her small apartment in the Angelino Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. She cut the song with Ammo, a songwriter and producer, on the same day she sang on David Guetta’s “Titanium.”
Furler emailed the song to her friend Katy Perry, but Perry didn’t see the email. So Furler passed the song along to Rihanna’s manager, who held it for eight months, but ultimately did not pay the fee to secure the track. “When Beyoncé heard it, she slid into home base and just closed the deal,” Furler says.
Last summer, Dr. Luke, one of Perry’s producers, got hold of the Beyoncé version and played it for Perry. She loved it. She texted Furler: “I’m pretty hurt you never sent me this song.” Furler responded: “Check your email.” Still sounding disappointed, Perry says, “It was meant to be with Beyoncé, of course.
Ouch. Poor Katy.
In an earlier interview with iTunes Radio about “Pretty Hurts,” Beyoncé spoke firsthand about fighting for the song.
“Sia is such a genius. The second I heard the song, I’m like, ‘I have to sing this song, I don’t care how hard I have to fight for this song, this is my song!'”
She fought, and she won.
It’s not uncommon for things like this to happen in the music industry. You’d be surprised at how many of your favorite songs were originally meant for someone else. It does serve as a prime lesson for us all though — always check and double check your email!
https://twitter.com/Sia/statuses/412666867518414848
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