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    Six Hits Nicole Scherzinger Turned Down

    Watch the video version of this article here!

    In theory, Nicole Scherzinger has everything it takes to be the world's biggest popstar. She's undeniably stunning, has a versatile voice that can belt out Whitney just as well as it can lilt over opera or spit out raps, is well known for her provocative dance skills and judging by the sheer volume of reality shows she appears on seems to have a strong work ethic. And yet since her start in the entertainment industry back in 1999, it seems as though Nicole has suffered through setback after setback. From the short-lived girl groups Eden's Crush and The Pussycat Dolls; to the three different attempts at a debut solo album; to the continuous record label contracts signed, scrapped and switched, it seems as though the stars have never quite aligned for her.

    And yet, Scherzinger seems to be one of those people who has a good name in the industry; for try as they might, she just won't seem to go away. Whether she's popping up on one of her many editions of The X Factor, filling in as musical talent on Neil Patrick Harris's variety show or cameoing in Men In Black, Nicole always finds a way to maintain her public presence even when her record label fails her - and apparently, it does so regularly.

    For since she's debuted as a solo artist, Scherzy has had at least six hits that we know of that she or her label have let slip through her fingers. Whether she was simply too "busy" to record them, was suffering from endless album delays thanks to her label or because she had crises with her public image, Nicole has regularly passed on tracks only to have them go on to be successful releases at the hands of other artists.

    Check our list after the jump to see just what we could be missing out on! And keep in mind that excluded from this list are all the hits Nicole could have had if she'd joined The Black Eyed Peas - it goes without saying that her versions of 'My Humps' or 'I Gotta Feeling' would have been amazing.

    6. Lady Gaga - Just Dance (Feat. Colby O'Donis)

    Nicole and Lady Gaga were often linked both through their involvement with Interscope Records and their ongoing work with RedOne, with Gaga even opening for the Pussycat Dolls on their Doll Domination Tour in 2009. But Gaga might not have even made it that far had it not been for the success of her lead single 'Just Dance' which propelled her into worldwide superstardom. Weirdly, the song was originally offered to Nicole and the rest of the Dolls back when it was first written, but was turned down for unknown reasons. While we're sure the Dolls could have slayed the track, the possibility of a Gaga-less world is just too much for us to deal with.

    5. Jennifer Lopez - On The Floor (Feat. Pitbull)

    This one was never officially confirmed by Scherzy herself, but around the time 'On The Floor' was released it was rumoured that it had originally been recorded as a demo by Nicole - not a totally crazy piece of gossip given how regularly she was working with producer RedOne around that time. In a weird twist, it was later rumoured that J. Lo had recorded a version of Nicole's single 'Right There', but that an issue with gaining the rights of the song had stopped her from releasing the track at the last minute. While we can't 100% vouch for the veracity of this missed opportunity, it's safe to say that Nicole could have slayed 'On The Floor' and nailed the chemistry between herself and Pitbull.

    4. Christina Aguilera - The Beautiful People (From Burlesque)

    One song you may not have heard of is Christina Aguilera's 'The Beautiful People', a track recorded for the soundtrack to her film Burlesque back in 2010. The song itself was never released as a single, but it's accompanying soundtrack album did manage to hit #18 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Soundtrack Albums chart, constituting a minor success. Nicole recorded her own version of the song for her debut album which later leaked, but like the rest of that album, it ultimately remained unreleased. It's not all bad, though: Nicole ended up with writing credits on the finished version of the song (along with Ester Dean and Marilyn Manson thanks to a sample oddity), so she at least would have made some coin every time the movie played in theatres or on TV.

    3. Dave Audé - I'm Gonna (Feat. J Sutta)

    'I'm Gonna' is a cover version of 'I'm Gonna Get You', a 1992 track released by Bizarre Inc alongside vocalist Angie Brown. Nicole recorded her version of the track in 2011 alongside DJ and producer Dave Audé, but the song was never officially released. In a strange turn of events, Audé later reworked his production of the track for release with Nicole's former Pussycat Dolls bandmate J Sutta (known during her time in the group as Jessica). While the song was hardly a commercial success, it did hit #1 on the Hot Dance Club Songs; an ironic feat given that during her time in the group Sutta often played second fiddle to Scherzinger, who later in her career was struggling to even get her album released while Sutta scored #1 hits.

    2. Gnarls Barkley - Crazy

    Possibly the strangest of all the songs Scherzinger has turned down, 'Crazy' was the Gnarls Barkley song which won a Grammy Award in 2007 and which was at one point so successful and overplayed that the band decided to remove the single from music stores so that people would "remember the song fondly and not get sick of it." Nicole was offered the song during sessions with Cee-Lo which also spawned 'Don't Cha', but refused the song for unknown reasons. While the song was a huge hit at Gnarls Barkley's hands, we have to wonder whether a Nicole version would have been as successful: it doesn't quite fit her sex kitten image and we're not quite sure she could pull off the mysterious persona that made the song popular.

    1. Rihanna - We Found Love (Feat. Calvin Harris)

    In an interview with Notion magazine, Nicole confessed the most sinful of all sins: that she'd passed on one of the biggest songs of 2011 and an iconic hit for Rihanna, the Calvin Harris produced 'We Found Love'. "I've got the demo of that song and I was busy at the time [it was sent to me]", she mentioned in the interview. "They'd sent me a few dance tracks and I wasn't able to get to them and I was like, 'Oh there's so much dance and I want to take a break from it.' That was my fault. I slept on it." Of course, she's not entirely alone with her regrets on passing on the track - fellow The X Factor UK star Leona Lewis can keep her company, after she scrapped her recorded version of the song due to a desire to release her Avicii collaboration 'Collide' as the lead single from her Glassheart album instead. It's a shame given just how badly both of these girls needed the hit.

    Which of these songs do you think Nicole would have slayed the most? Would they even have been as successful if she'd released them as singles? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

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    At least she gave the chance for these songs to become hits! I love her but that girl seems to be cursed or something like that. Maybe Just Dance could've been a big hit if was released by PCD, but i don't think that even We Found Love or On the Floor would've been hits on her voice because outside UK people seems to ignore anything she does :cypher:

    (but i really would love to listen to We Found Love on her voice, if only she recorded a demo)

     

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    47 minutes ago, lightyears said:

    At least she gave the chance for these songs to become hits! I love her but that girl seems to be cursed or something like that. Maybe Just Dance could've been a big hit if was released by PCD, but i don't think that even We Found Love or On the Floor would've been hits on her voice because outside UK people seems to ignore anything she does :cypher:

    (but i really would love to listen to We Found Love on her voice, if only she recorded a demo)

     

    I've gotta agree with you... :flush: I can imagine 'We Found Love' going top ten in the UK and maybe 'On The Floor' as well with the right promo, and 'Just Dance' probably could have smashed. But I think there's just something about her people don't like which makes it impossible for her to have a real hit, especially in the US. :/

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    Her second album was TRAGIC. Not a single song which was at least decent. Killer Love has some bops on it, but she has died with BFL. She would not be successful with any of these songs, because she doesn't have a proper fanbase. It's something like with Geri Halliwell. As Spice Girls they were HUGE, but after they broke up... Geri had some hits, but was never really successful. Many PCD fans left Sherzy, because of the rumors that she was the reason for PCD breaking up as she wanted to prsue a solo career. Then she couldn't release an album and stuff and her fanbase just died.

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    Wow didn't know about these! I'm actually glad she passed them for most, maybe On the Floor could be the one she would slay.

    Hope for episode like this with Britney in the future.

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    23 hours ago, Tweener said:

    Her second album was TRAGIC. Not a single song which was at least decent. Killer Love has some bops on it, but she has died with BFL. She would not be successful with any of these songs, because she doesn't have a proper fanbase. It's something like with Geri Halliwell. As Spice Girls they were HUGE, but after they broke up... Geri had some hits, but was never really successful. Many PCD fans left Sherzy, because of the rumors that she was the reason for PCD breaking up as she wanted to prsue a solo career. Then she couldn't release an album and stuff and her fanbase just died.

    I honestly liked 'Your Love', 'Electric Blue' and 'Run' on her latest album but the rest of the songs were a boring mess. :flush: But part of the reason for that was a messy public image and lack of promo as well. Let's not forget this is the same woman who announced 'Pretty' as a single and performed it on The X Factor but then never released it to radio or let anyone buy a studio version anywhere. :stretcher: 

    1 hour ago, BlackoutZone said:

    Wow didn't know about these! I'm actually glad she passed them for most, maybe On the Floor could be the one she would slay.

    Hope for episode like this with Britney in the future.

    Thanks so much boo! <3 Good idea...I wonder what songs Britney passed on other than 'Umbrella'. :/ 

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    Just now, Countess said:

    Thanks so much boo! <3 Good idea...I wonder what songs Britney passed on other than 'Umbrella'. :/ 

    I can obviously help you with that if you would like to prepare such episode.

    Speaking of Nicole, When I Grow Up was originally meant for Britney for example, here is the original demo:

    Later she was even meant to appear in the music video for PCD single, but they also scrapped this idea. There is also Telephone obviously, Selena Gomez - Whiplash, Rechel Stevens - Sweet Dreams My LA Ex, Girls Aloud - Grafitti My Soul, Charli XCX - Secret (Shh), Jordin Sparks - songs from her debut album produced by Bloodshy & Avant, BoA - Look Who's Talking, apparently JLo - Brave, OMD - Pulse and probably more I can't even remember now.

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    15 minutes ago, BlackoutZone said:

    I can obviously help you with that if you would like to prepare such episode.

    Speaking of Nicole, When I Grow Up was originally meant for Britney for example, here is the original demo:

    Later she was even meant to appear in the music video for PCD single, but they also scrapped this idea. There is also Telephone obviously, Selena Gomez - Whiplash, Rechel Stevens - Sweet Dreams My LA Ex, Girls Aloud - Grafitti My Soul, Charli XCX - Secret (Shh), Jordin Sparks - songs from her debut album produced by Bloodshy & Avant, BoA - Look Who's Talking, apparently JLo - Brave, OMD - Pulse and probably more I can't even remember now.

    Oooh, true! I forgot about all those ones she wrote herself as well that ended up on other people's album! Plus every Myah Marie track ever written... :stretcher: I'll look into this, thank you! <3 

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    29 minutes ago, Countess said:

    Oooh, true! I forgot about all those ones she wrote herself as well that ended up on other people's album! Plus every Myah Marie track ever written... :stretcher: I'll look into this, thank you! <3 

    True :shocked: There is also that Zoey 101 Theme song her sister end up singing I think?

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    19 hours ago, BlackoutZone said:

    True :shocked: There is also that Zoey 101 Theme song her sister end up singing I think?

    Oh, 'Follow Me' or whatever? I know she wrote that and had backing vocals so I wouldn't be at all surprised if she had a full demo of it out there somewhere. :/ 

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    On 7/5/2017 at 8:31 AM, Countess said:

    Thanks so much boo! <3 Good idea...I wonder what songs Britney passed on other than 'Umbrella'. :/ 

    Graffitti My Soul (Girls Aloud), Look Who's Talkin' (BoA), Whiplash (Selena), Get Outta My Way, Nu-Di-ty. (she did the BV tho), Speakerphone (Kylie Minogue), Telephone (Gaga) I remember those off the top of my head but they are more out there.

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    On 5/12/2017 at 0:26 PM, Baby V Alex said:

    Graffitti My Soul (Girls Aloud), Look Who's Talkin' (BoA), Whiplash (Selena), Get Outta My Way, Nu-Di-ty. (she did the BV tho), Speakerphone (Kylie Minogue), Telephone (Gaga) I remember those off the top of my head but they are more out there.

    I wish we had a demo version of 'Get Outta My Way', I would love to hear Brit's vocals on that!

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    On 16/5/2017 at 5:10 AM, Countess said:

    I wish we had a demo version of 'Get Outta My Way', I would love to hear Brit's vocals on that!

    Sadly she never recorded the track, the writers submitted the track to Kylie's & Britney's team they both wanted the track but they chose Kylie at the end so Britney was never able to record it.

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