It's hard to believe, but as of September 30th this year living legend Britney Spears will have been driving us crazy, loving rock and roll and seeking Amy for exactly twenty years - and what a wild ride it's been. Apart from all the personal crises (think that Justin Timberlake break-up, the whole K-Fed saga and the infamous umbrella incident), Britney has also consistently wowed us with hit single after hit single, from 'Me Against the Music' to 'Make Me'.
But amidst all the brilliant releases (Britney's last single 'Slumber Party' was her forty-first), there was a multitude of songs that didn't quite make the cut. Some of them (like Gaga's 'Telephone') were recorded by Britney before being scrapped at the last minute; while others (like Rihanna's 'Umbrella') were offered to Britney but rejected for recording for one reason or another. While some of these songs would have contributed absolutely nothing to Britney's legacy and are no loss whatsoever, its interesting to see just how many more hits she could have had if she'd played her cards right, especially in the last decade.
In this list we'll be looking at twenty-five such songs which Britney decided to pass on. Keep in mind that in this list we're including only tracks that were officially released by an artist in some capacity jthat we're able to listen to, although other confirmed demos for Britney that are still stashed away in the vault (such as ones written by Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, Sky Ferreira, Dev Hynes and Danja) would undoubtedly be equally amazing.
25. Lady Gaga - Telephone (Feat. Beyoncé)
The story of Britney passing on 'Telephone' is at this point legendary, but just in case you've forgotten about the whole saga we'll give a brief recap here. 'Telephone' was originally written by a pre-fame Gaga alongside a song called 'Quicksand' to be considered for inclusion on Britney's sixth studio album and official comeback, Circus. But while 'Quicksand' was included as a bonus track on the album, 'Telephone' was scrapped due to the presence of another similiarly themed song, the Bloodshy & Avant produced 'Phonography'.
Later, the song was reworked as a duet between the two artists; but conflict arose when Gaga wanted the track to be on the tracklist of her re-release The Fame Monster while Britney's team wanted the song on her greatest hits The Singles Collection. Ultimately, Gaga took the song back and replaced Britney's part on the duet with a new verse by Beyoncé, and the Britney version was never released either as a solo song or as a duet. Thankfully, her version went on to leak in 2010 and we got a fan-made version of the duet soon after.
24. The Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up
'When I Grow Up' was the song of the summer back in 2008, and was a huge hit for the newly reformed Pussycat Dolls minus Carmit Bachar. The song was written by Darkchild (who also worked on 'Telephone') and Rock City, but we had no idea it was meant for Britney until a demo sent to her leaked in 2011. When it was originally written for Brit, the lyrics were tailor made to her situation, opening with, "My name is Britney and I don’t care what you say," before continuing "I swear at first that I was flippin'/When they said I looked like Debbie Gibson/And then I tried to dance like Michael Jackson/But people saw me and started laughing."
It's unknown why Brit passed on the song that would go on to be a huge hit, but it's interesting to note that she was originally confirmed to have a short cameo appearance in the music video. Originally, Britney was meant to have a blink and you'll miss it appearance in the traffic jam at the beginning of the video, waving at the Dolls before driving away. Like her version of the song, however, the cameo was scrapped for unknown reasons.
23. Charli XCX - Secret (Shh)
'Secret' is one of Charli XCX's more experimental songs, which is why it may be surprising to hear that it was originally intended for the princess of pop herself. The song's co-writer, Jesse Saint John spilled the tea when discussing another song he wrote for Britney's latest album 'Love Me Down'. "I did [a] song for Charli XCX called 'Secret'' that Karen [Kwak, Britney's A&R] really liked, and for a second she thought it could be for Britney Spears." Sadly, Britney never got around to recording the demo and Charli ended up releasing it on her own EP Vroom Vroom, but it was the strength of 'Secret' that allowed Saint John to pitch 'Love Me Down' in the first place. 'Secret' is actually the second Charli song to be considered by Britney, after she wrote a song specifically for the popstar back in 2013; but we're unsure exactly what that song was, or if it has since been released by anyone other than Brit.
22. Girls Aloud - Graffiti My Soul
If you don't live in the UK, you may not have heard of Girls Aloud. Manufactured on an English television show called Popstars: The Rivals, the group soon became a mainstay of the UK charts for over a decade until their break up in 2013. While its release as the fifth single from their album What Will The Neighbours Say? was scrapped, the song 'Graffiti My Soul' nevertheless became one of their most well known tracks, with group member Cheryl Cole later stating in 2008 that if she'd had the chance to release she song as a single she would have.
Interestingly though, the song was originally written for Britney, who recorded her own version of it for inclusion on In The Zone. "The record company loved it, but Britney's people said 'Where's the chorus? Why are there no repetitive parts?'," said Bryan Higgins, who produced the song as part of Xenomania. While we've never heard even a snippet of Britney's version of the song, we may not be missing out on that much. Whether it's jealousy or honesty, Cole stated that Britney's version was "strange" and that she sang it "in that really strange voice and it freaked me out"; although she later admitted that the source of her nervousness may have come from the fact that the version she heard was unmixed.
21. Enrique Iglesias - Maybe
'Maybe' is a song written by Enrique Iglesias, Steve Morales, Kara DioGuardi and David Siegel which was first released on his Escape album in 2001. The track was later reworked as an uptempo number for the album's reissue and released as the project's fifth single in May of 2002. What's bizarre is that a month prior to the song's single release, Britney started introducing the track under the title 'My Love Was Always There' and performing it live at her Dream Within A Dream Tour shows, even going so far as to say that she wrote the song. 'Maybe' was far from a flop, hitting #12 in the US and #3 in the UK, so it's unknown exactly why Britney thought she could get away with claiming the track as her own.
20. Jennifer Lopez - Brave
'Brave' is the title track of Jennifer Lopez's sixth album, produced by frequent Britney collaborators Bloodshy & Avant and The Clutch. Originally, the song was actually written for Britney's album Blackout, but it was rejected from the final tracklisting before release. That said, I can't say that I'm too disappointed about not hearing Britney's version - while the tracks lyrics stating "I'm not afraid/Because I am brave" definitely fit into Britney's narrative, the song is pretty typically generic R&B and doesn't really offer anything new to the pop music genre like the rest of Blackout did.
19. Momoiro Clover Z - Rock The Boat
Momoiro Clover Z released 'Rock The Boat' on the album Hakkin no Yoake in 2016; but as any true Britney stan will know, the track has been in the works for much longer than that. Britney fans first heard the song in late 2011 as part of the semi-annual Britmas leaks tradition, when it was heard under it's working title 'Dangerous'. Recorded for the Circus album, 'Dangerous' has the same songwriters as bonus track 'Rock Me In' of Greg Kurstin and Coco Morier, and apart from the translated lyrics not much changed at all between it's recording and it's reinterpretation as 'Rock The Boat'.
18. LIZ - When I Rule The World
LIZ has been open about her love for Britney, from her confession that Brit taught her "how to be a popstar" to her obsession over every stan's favourite unreleased track, 'Mona Lisa'. But she got closer to Britney than she ever could have expected with her PC Music-inspired single 'When I Rule The World'. "I heard she wanted 'When I Rule'," she told The Guardian, apparently astounded that Britney even knew who she was. LIZ was ultimately so attached to the song that she had to fight for it to be her own release; and although the track definitely would have fit in with the 'Pretty Girls' vibe and aesthetic, we can't say we're sad that she won.
17. Kelis - Milkshake
Britney fell into step with The Neptunes crew as early as 2001, when they produced Britney stand-outs 'I'm A Slave 4 U' and 'Boys'. Choosing them to produce songs for her next record In The Zone then seemed like a natural choice, and so the group wrote several songs for the project back in 2003 - one of them being a track called 'Milkshake'. Ultimately, the track never made the album and it was sent later that year to an up-and-coming singer named Kelis, who turned it into her biggest hit to date and an endlessly quotable banger.
Although there's no proof that Britney ever recorded a demo of this track, a Brit version of 'Milkshake' would definitely be something to behold, and would work brilliantly on an album next to 'Me Against the Music' and 'Early Mornin''. We can practically hear Britney's breathy vocals all over that iconic chorus already.
16. Leah McFall - Home (Feat. will.i.am)
Leah McFall was a runner-up on the second series of The Voice UK, where she was mentored by the infamous will.i.am - a man who was at the same time taking Britney under his wing on the other side of the pond. That's why it makes total sense for any record will worked on around that time to have been shopped around to both Brit and Leah, as happened with 'Home'. The track is typical will.i.am, complete with nonsensical lyrics, an overused sample and a tacky lyric video, so we can't say we're sad that Britney never jumped on this one; although with that said it would definitely be an improvement over 'It Should Be Easy'.
13. Jordin Sparks - Shy Boy/14. Jordin Sparks - Young and In Love/15. Jordin Sparks - See My Side
It might be hard to imagine winner of the sixth season of American Idol Jordin Sparks and Queen of the Lip Sync Britney Spears being offered the same tracks, but believe it or not it happened back in 2007. 'Shy Boy', 'Young and In Love' & 'See My Side' are a handful of tracks which were originally worked on by production team Bloodshy & Avant for Britney's long-awaited Blackout album; but after they didn't make it onto that album, they were passed on to label-mate Jordin Sparks for her self-titled debut.
'Shy Boy' and 'Young and In Love' aren't much of a loss: they both sound like the typical messy 2007 R&B demo that sprouted up in the wake of Timbaland's success, although undoubtedly they would have been improved by some of Britney's vocal stylings. But 'See My Side', which like 'Piece Of Me' was worked on by pop's fairy godmother Robyn, would have worked nicely alongside 'Why Should I Be Sad?' as a lullaby end to the Blackout album.
12. Jamie Lynn Spears - Follow Me
Remember Jamie Lynn Spears, Britney's little sister who made a name for herself on Nickelodeon show Zoey 101 before being fired for her unexpected teenage pregnancy? Well, she also sang the theme song for that show, titled 'Follow Me', which just so happened to be written by her big sister Brit and frequent collaborators Bloodshy & Avant. Weirdly the song was never officially released in full on any soundtrack album, although we did get an official instrumental as well as dozens of snippets of the song played throughout the show which has allowed fans to compile their own versions of the song. A demo also leaked in 2014, but it wasn't sung by either Britney or Jamie Lynn which makes Britney's writing credits and the original intent for the song a total mystery.
11. Rachel Stevens - Sweet Dreams My LA Ex
A reunion of 'Toxic' producers Bloodshy & Avant and songwriter Cathy Dennis, 'Sweet Dreams My LA Ex' was actually a pretty big hit for English popstar Rachel Stevens back in 2003, hitting #2 in the UK charts and selling 210 000 copies that year. Originally, like 'Everytime', the track was intended to be a response to Justin Timberlake's 'Cry Me A River', which was long rumoured to be about Britney; but when Stevens sang it, it was to break out from her role as a singer in S Club 7. Britney apparently passed on the track because she found the lyrics just a little too obvious, which is a real shame because the western R&B sound in the song would have worked perfectly on In The Zone.
10. f(x) - Chocolate Love/Girls' Generation - Chocolate Love
Another K-Pop convert, 'Chocolate Love' was first heard back in 2009 as a dual release for K-Pop supergroups f(x) and Girls' Generation. The song was used to promote the LG Cyon Chcolate phone in commercials, with f(x) jumping on the 'Electronic Pop Version' and Girls' Generation singing the 'Retro Pop Version'. Also worth noting is that f(x) alone recorded an English version of the song entitled 'Topbillin' Love', which was performed live during their international tour in 2010.
What's interesting is that this version of 'Topbillin' Love' was actually a throwaway track that had been written years before by Karen Poole as a demo for Britney which got rejected. Poole tried her hand at writing to the instrumental after Cathy Dennis's attempt, called at that point 'Phony Lullaby', was also rejected due to it's inclusion of lyrics Britney apparently found objectionable. Britney even tried her hand at writing to this instrumental alongside Michelle Bell, which resulted in the unreleased track 'Take Off', a song which discussed Brit's anti-war and anti-discrimination views. Cathy Dennis would later reclaim the song and morph it's instrumental into 'Sweet Dreams My LA EX', the Rachel Stevens hit mentioned above; but that didn't stop the K-Pop groups from reusing it's demo years later. 
9. BoA - Look Who's Talkin'
'Look Who's Talkin'' is a song originally written by Britney alongside Bloodshy & Avant, Henrik Jonback and Michelle Bell in 2003 during the same sessions that produced songs like 'Chaotic' and 'I've Just Begun (Having My Fun)'. Later, it resurfaced on Korean superstar BoA's debut English album, also titled BoA, as the second single from the R&B-pop project. The Britney demo leaked just a little later on as 'Look Who's Talking Now', and features almost exactly the same lyrics and production; although the words are a little more meaningful coming from a popstar who spent a lot of her early life silenced by her record label or management. Britney's version of the song was probably never strong enough to be a single, but it could have worked well as an an additional track for the Chaotic EP.
8. Pitbull & J Balvin - Hey Ma (Feat. Camila Cabello)
'Hey Ma' was released last year for the The Fate of The Furious soundtrack album as a collaboration between Pitbull, J Balvin and Camila Cabello; but if things had gone differently, the song could have had a twist from the Holy Spearit. When it was originally recorded, 'Hey Ma' featured Romeo Santos and Britney in the Balvin and Cabello parts, with Britney cooing "If you touch me right, I might stay the night" over a Latin-inspired beat.
But when the song was pitched for The Fate of The Furious, the producers requested that they be replaced, presumably to appeal to a younger audience and capitalise on the Latin American vibe of the film. While we'd generally cringe at the idea of Pitbull releasing a song with with Britney (or Pitbull releasing any song full stop), we have to admit that 'Hey Ma' featuring Britney is an absolute bop, thanks to the fact that her version was leaked as a Christmas present to the fans. We can only imagine how great this song would have sounded in a mash-up with 'Change Your Mind (No Seas Cortés)' on the Piece of Me shows.
7. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Pulse
'Pulse' was published on the ASCAP registry back during the In The Zone era as a potential candidate for Britney's album, but it didn't end up making the cut there. Instead, it was released in 2010 on the Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark album History of Modern. While we're unsure if anything was changed over that seven year period, we can definitely imagine Britney's vocals on the current version of the track, which has the same breakbeat R&B kind of style she explored on ITZ tracks such as '(I Got That) Boom Boom' and 'Me Against the Music'.
5. Kylie Minogue - Nu-Di-Ty/6. Kylie Minogue - Speakerphone
Britney and Kylie have a long history of working with the same producers and thus swapping tracks, with Kylie even turning down the demo that would go on to be a hit for Britney with 'Toxic'. "I wasn't at all angry when it worked for her," she said of the track. "It's like the fish that got away. You just have to accept it." Let's hope the feeling is mutual, because Kylie took two tracks that Britney worked on for Blackout for her own album X, both of which were produced by longtime collaborators Bloodshy & Avant.
'Nu-Di-Ty' is a quirky, fragmented pop song with a hint of R&B and tropicana which plays out like a more light-hearted version of Britney's own 'Freakshow'. While we don't have a Britney version of the track, she definitely did record one as some of her background vocals can be heard in the final version, and are even clearer when filtered out from the other vocals. Then there's 'Speakerphone', a precursor to 'Telephone' with a dreamy Euro-pop production which was definitely an album highlight. We've never heard anything of the Britney version of this one but it's safe to say she would slay it.
4. Kylie Minogue - Get Outta My Way
'Get Outta My Way' is not just one of Kylie Minogue's best songs: it's one of the best pop songs of this decade full-stop. The perfect slice of dance-pop for the summer season, 'Get Outta My Way' was originally shopped around to several artists including Britney, Alexandra Burke and Pixie Lott, and Wynter Gordon also wrote a song to the Cutfather-produced instrumental. But ultimately it was Kylie who nabbed the song, apparently due to the fact that the other potential candidates were too slow to respond. This is one of the few times where we're happy the song went to it's original artist: Britney's version of the track would probably have worked well on Femme Fatale, but Kylie needed the hit desperately and she put way more energy into the choreography than Brit could have at that point.
3. Nelly - Tilt Ya Head Back (Feat. Christina Aguilera)
The rivalry between Britney and Christina is basically a tale as old as time at this point, so it's no surprise that they'd both be put up for the same part on Nelly's 'Tilt Ya Head Back', which was a moderate hit when it was released back in 2004. Britney actually recorded vocals for this song, some of which were leaked in 2016; but according to producer Dorian Moore, her label nixed the idea of Britney collaborating with Nelly, finding the song "too urban". Janet Jackson was also considered before XTina took the final spot. It's not entirely surprising given that in 2004 Brit was still fighting for creative control with her record label, leading to the Original Doll saga that would begin her downwards spiral in 2007.
2. Selena Gomez - Whiplash
'Whiplash' is definitely not one of Selena's better known songs, and at the end of the day it is just album filler; but for a non-single track, it's surprisingly fun. Alternating between a silly metaphor-ridden chorus and a bouncy rap part spoken with an English accent, 'Whiplash' was highlighted as a standout track from When The Sun Goes Down and was performed on tour alongside a medley of Britney's own hits.
But if things had gone differently, the song may actually have ended up on Brit's comeback vehicle Circus. Britney wrote and recorded the song alongside Coco Morier and Greg Kurstin at the same time as she worked on 'Mmm Papi' and 'Rock Me In', but it failed to make the cut for unknown reasons. So far we haven't heard the demo of the song, which is a shame because I'm dying to know if the English accent was a Selena addition or if it was present in the original version as well. Judging by Englishney's raps in 'Scream & Shout', I wouldn't be surprised if that was something Brit came up with all on her own.
1.  Rihanna - Umbrella
What more needs to be said about 'Umbrella', the monster hit which launched Rihanna's career properly and transitioned her from Bajan Princess to Bad Girl? Tricky Stewart, who had previously worked on 'Me Against The Music', wrote the track alongside The-Dream intending for it to be a comeback single for the troubled Spears; but when they sent the track to her label, it was rejected without Britney even hearing the track. After Mary J. Blige passed on it too, the song ended up in Rihanna's lap, at which time she utilised her accent to create that signature "ella ella eh eh eh" chorus which made the song such a hit. It's a credit to Rih that her stamp on the song is so huge that we can't even imagine Britney singing this one.
Which of these songs would you most like to hear Britney's vocals on? Let us know in the comments down below!
Editor's Note: This is an updated version of an article that was originally posted on 04/01/2018.

Watch the video version of this article here!

Lady Gaga is well known for making promises to her fans which she doesn't always come through on. Between a handful of unreleased music videos and an entire scrapped album, Little Monsters have gotten used to taking every announcement with a grain of salt and waiting for concrete releases before jumping on the hype bandwagon. But out of all of her broken promises, most likely the hardest for Gaga's fans to digest are the failed collaborations which she's teased before their ultimate cancellation.
There are endless reasons for such cancellations, but it's safe to say that many stem from Gaga's own pickiness when it comes to her musical output. Although Gaga has worked with legends like Cher, Elton John and Britney Spears, none of these collaborations were ultimately released due to Gaga's displeasure with the material; while songs featuring rent-a-rappers such as Flo Rida and Too $hort and alleged child molester R. Kelly have been pushed by Gaga as potential hits. In other cases, behind the scenes dramas seem to have been the major contributing factor to cancellations, while yet others appear to simply be a case of bad timing.
In this list, we'll be looking at eighteen of Gaga's most high-profile features which have remained unheard. Is anyone else as excited as I am to hear #9?
1. T.I. - Lick It (Feat. Lady Gaga)
T.I. and Gaga worked together on the infamous 'Jewels and Drugs' for Gaga's ill-fated ARTPOP album, but if T.I. had had his way they would have done so a lot sooner. Back in 2010, T.I. teased that he and Gaga had worked together on a song called 'Lick It', intended at that point for his album No Mercy. "The one we have right now is entitled 'Lick It'," he stated, teasing, "I think we both have a tendency to shock the world in a lot of different ways." He further hinted that the two may continue to work together, saying "[We're] gonna go back in [the studio] and record some more songs." Ultimately, any collaboration they worked on for the album remained unreleased. According to former RadioARTPOP host Derek, who had ties to Gaga's team, Gaga found the song too "raunchy" and had never truly intended to release it with her vocals, even sending it to other singers to feature on.
2. T.I. - New National Anthem (Feat. Lady Gaga)
Following the release of 'Jewels and Drugs', T.I. later mentioned that he was in the "final stages" of having Gaga record the chorus vocals for 'New National Anthem', a song later released as a single off Paperwork. Originally featuring demo vocals from Victoria Monet, the song would later go on to feature frequent collaborator Skylar Grey, with T.I. stating that Gaga was too "busy with her current project" to record vocals for the song.
3. Britney Spears - Telephone (Feat. Lady Gaga)
You may remember that 'Telephone' was one of many hits offered to Britney that she eventually turned down for the Circus album, apparently because of the presence of another phone-themed song 'Phonography' on the project. But what you may not realise is that 'Telephone' was eventually reworked in duet form for Gaga and Britney, before debate over who owned the song halted it's release. At the time, Britney's team wanted the track for her upcoming greatest hits compilation The Singles Collection, while Gaga wanted it for The Fame Monster. After failing to come to a compromise over who the song belonged to, Gaga ended up taking it back and adding Beyoncé as a featured artist instead, leading to the hit we all know and love today.
4. Lady Gaga - TBA (Feat. Britney Spears)
It was later hinted that Gaga and Britney may have had something in the works following the release of ARTPOP. When asked who she would like to work with next, Britney stated, "I would do a duet with Lady Gaga. I think that would be a lot of fun," continuing, "I think she's very different and interesting and intricate." Gaga then took to Twitter to publicly support the duet, stating:
Although it was never officially confirmed that they worked on anything together, Gaga did attend Britney's Piece of Me show soon after, which may have been a way for them to further discuss the duet. Sadly, nothing ever eventuated.
5. Elton John & Lady Gaga - Hello Hello
'Hello Hello' was the first of many Elton and Gaga duets, and was recorded for the release of the 2011 Elton-funded musical animation Gnomeo & Juliet. Originally, the duet was meant to be included on the official soundtrack to the film; but possibly due to label disputes, the duet version was cut from the soundtrack and can now only be heard in the full film. While Elton's solo version appears on the album, the duet did leak several months later.
6. Lady Gaga - Room In My Heart (Feat. Elton John)
In an interview with Zane Lowe prior to the release of Joanne, Elton confirmed that he had a writing session with Gaga scheduled for the next day, saying "I'm writing with Lady Gaga tomorrow". He stated that while he wasn't a fan of ARTPOP, he had heard several songs from Joanne and found them to be a return to form. Several months later, a title named 'Room In My Heart' was registered to publishing sites, with the writers listed as Gaga and Elton and the performer as Gaga alone. A song with the same title, but this time written by Diane Warren, was also registered at the same time. Unfortunately, any Elton collaboration that may have existed remains unreleased, despite the fact that it doubtless would have worked well on the rockabilly-inspired album. 
7. Kendrick Lamar - PARTYNAUSEOUS (Feat. Lady Gaga)

'PARTYNAUSEOUS' was originally conceived as a song by Kendrick Lamar featuring Gaga back in 2012. It was planned to be released as a single on September 6th of that year from Lamar's album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, but was cut due to creative differences on which direction the song should take. This led to two different versions of the song existing: one, a slow R&B version which leaked in 2015; and another, an EDM-styled rave track which Gaga reworked as an interlude for the ARTPOP Ball tour. The song, from Gaga's perspective, details her efforts to make peace with the country of Indonesia, which banned her from performing during The Born This Way Ball Tour in 2012.
8. Kendrick Lamar - Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe (Feat. Lady Gaga)
'Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe' was another Kendrick Lamar collaboration which Gaga sang the chorus for. After their creative relationship ended, Kendrick released a solo version of the track on his album (later recruiting Jay-Z for the single release), while Gaga later leaked her contribution to the song online. "We had a date, but we had to meet the deadline for the pre-order date," Kendrick explained when asked why the song went unreleased. "That’s just the business side coming through and messing things up. But you know it’s God’s plan. I’m not really too tight about it because I know we have something special."
9. Paul McCartney - TBA (Feat. Lady Gaga)
Paul McCartney has had a song with Gaga in the can since 2015, when Gaga announced via Instagram that they had been in a session alongside instrumentalists such as Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready.
It was later revealed that the track, described as a "rollicking tune", was in fact a soundtrack selection for McCartney's long-awaited film High in the Clouds. An adaptation of his 2005 book on capitalism, High in the Clouds has been in the works since 2009 and has only just gotten a writer, so it's unlikely to be released anytime soon; but as far as we know, this duet is still planned for release at some point in the future.
10. The Midway State - Don't Give Up (Feat. Lady Gaga)
'Don't Give Up' is a cover of a duet originally recorded by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush. The idea for the collaboration came from Gaga's producer Martin Kierszenbaum, who introduced The Midway State and Gaga in 2008. "When we finished [recording], we were both super into it so shortly thereafter we recorded a video for the song [in L.A.]," said the band's Nathan Ferraro. The video itself was a homage to the original video by Gabriel and Bush, and features a still shot of Gaga and Ferraro embracing as the camera moves around them. The video, along with the song, leaked in 2008. "I didn't cry but I was disappointed," said Ferraro. "In this business you get used to that, it's just a snap of the fingers. It was just a matter of she was blowing up at the time and they can't put a huge push or millions of dollars behind every single artistic thing she does".
11. Cher - The Greatest Thing (Feat. Lady Gaga)
'The Greatest Thing' is a song originally recorded in 2007 by Gaga and longtime producer RedOne under the name 'Greatest'. "I wrote that song a long time ago, and I've never put it on one of my own albums for, really, no particular reason," Gaga said in an MTV interview. "I always write these concept records, and it just didn't fit in. But it's always been, like, this big, massive, beautiful hit record and everyone always says, 'Why don't you put that on your album?' And I said, 'I don't know, it just doesn't fit with everything else.'" Later, in 2011, when RedOne and Cher were collaborating, he pitched her the song for potential inclusion on her 25th studio album Closer To The Truth. Originally, the song was meant to be a solo track; but it was later revealed that Gaga wanted to appear on a remix "for the gays", before being convinced by RedOne to appear on the original. While the song was at one point intended to be the second single from the album, Gaga ultimately decided that she didn't like her vocals on the song, and Cher ended up axing it entirely after RedOne failed to get in contact with her in time. The song would later leak in 2013.
12. Trina - Let Dem Hoes Fight (Feat. Lady Gaga & Kalenna)

'Let Dem Hoes Fight' was one of three songs Gaga worked on alongside Kalenna, Jim Jonsin and The JAM in 2008. "We started writing a song called 'Freezer Burn' and that song turned out really good, so we did another song called 'Kaboom.'," explained Jonsin. "We were playing the songs back, trying to figure out who to give them to. So I said, ‘As far as the labels are concerned, just let them hoes fight over who gets the song.’ Everyone was like, 'Jim, that’s a great song title!' And in like 20 minutes, we had that song with Lady Gaga." A year later, when Trina was working on her album Amazin, Jonsin suggested that she rework the track for herself featuring Gaga for release on the album. While Gaga was featured on the song when the album was sent out for review, she was removed from the track by the time the album was officially released, possibly due to label conflicts. However, her version did later leak.
13. Barbra Streisand - TBA (Feat. Lady Gaga)
Barbra Streisand's thirty fourth album Partners, an all-male duet album, was in the works for over two years before it was ultimately released. When it was first announced in 2012, producer Walter Afanasieff teased that the album would include collaborations with Robin Thicke, Usher, Yo Yo Ma, Willie Nelson and Babyface - although ultimately, only the Babyface duet would make the cut. Two years later he teased that "Lionel Richie, [...] Blake Shelton, Stevie Wonder, Josh Groban, Michael Bublè, Lady Gaga, Bette Midler, Andrea Bocelli, Beyoncè, Billy Joel [and] John Mayer" would all appear on the album, but ultimately the three females made mention of were not included on the final tracklisting. It's unknown if a duet was ever recorded, but it's possible that Barbra and Gaga recorded a song together which was scrapped when she decided to go with an all-male list of partners.
14. Lady Gaga - Ratchet (Feat. Azealia Banks)
'Ratchet' was a collaboration recorded with Azealia Banks, intended for the ARTPOP project. Ultimately, after some untimely Twitter beefs on Banks's part, the song was cut from ARTPOP with Gaga stating that Banks had a "bad attitude". We have a small snippet of Gaga performing the track live, and an official instrumental was later released by producer DJ White Shadow on his Clock Is Ticking EP in 2013; but as of yet, the full version of the song has yet to be heard.
15. Lady Gaga - Red Flame (Feat. Azealia Banks)

'Red Flame' was another collaboration recorded with Azealia Banks for ARTPOP, which was cut for the same reason as 'Ratchet'. A sister song to 'Mary Jane Holland', the song explores the 'Princess High' persona Gaga was embodying at the time. A watermarked version of the song went on to leak in 2016, but it seemed to be in an unfinished state.
16. Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett - Paradise
'Paradise' was initially announced for Gaga's collaborative album with Tony Bennett, Cheek to Cheek, as one of several original songs on the album. Like much of Joanne after it, the song was a dedication to Gaga's aunt who passed away of lupus, and was intended to mark the conversation she had with her brother before she passed. Ultimately, the song went unreleased due to Gaga's nervousness over her jazz composition abilities, although she hinted that she may release the song in the future. It's unknown if Gaga was the sole artist to feature on the song or if Bennett was also involved.
17. Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett - TBA
When Cheek to Cheek was first announced, it was initially only going to include songs by one songwriter. "I can't mention the composer because I don't want anybody to do it before we do it, but there's a great composer that's very underrated, very famous, but not as famous as Gershwin or Porter," Bennett stated. "But he did as many hit songs as anybody, and so we're gonna do a big swinging album." Ultimately, the album featured a collection of songs from the Great American Songbook (including cuts from Gershwin and Porter), and only a few of them were written by the same composers. Given that recording for Cheek to Cheek occured quite a while after it's announcement, it's unlikely that a full album of songs by just one songwriter was ever recorded.
18. Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett - TBA
Immediately after the release of Cheek to Cheek, Bennett announced that he and Gaga were planning a potential sequel to the album inspired by Cole Porter's musical Red, Hot and Blue, a statement he echoed a year later when he revealed that they were releasing an album full of Porter renditions. According to Bennett, Gaga wanted to record a follow-up "right away". While giving a performance in Idaho in 2015, Bennett announced that the album would drop in 2016; and a year later, Bennett stated that the two had continued discussions regarding a second album, and that they would begin recording in 2017. In late 2017, he stated that he and Gaga had a duet that would drop on New Year's Eve, but this also did not occur. It's currently unknown if the two have recorded anything beyond their first album together.
Which of Lady Gaga's unreleased collaborations do you most want to hear? Who are you most interested in hearing her collaborate with next? Let us know in the comments down below!

When Britney Spears received the MTV Video Vanguard Award in 2011, she was praised for her iconic music videos like the schoolgirl-themed '...Baby One More Time', the intergalactic 'Oops, I Did It Again...', the sweaty and sexy 'I'm A Slave 4 U' and the film noirish 'Toxic'. But what went unmentioned was the multitude of music videos that Britney has planned throughout her career that have been cancelled for one reason or another. From music videos that were entirely filmed and edited before being scrapped (such as 'Make Me...') to others which were edited heavily after their themes proved to be problematic (hello, teen pregnancy in 'Born To Make You Happy') to mere concepts that never even saw a day of filming (like 'Hot As Ice'), Britney has had at least twenty four music videos in her career that have been scrapped. In this article we'll look over everything we know about these videos so far, and explore some of the iconic moments that could have been if they'd been released.
1. ...Baby One More Time
'...Baby One More Time' is the song that propelled Britney into stardom, and it's music video is an undeniable part of it's appeal - but if it hadn't been for Britney herself, the video could have turned out very differently. Jive initially hired Joseph Khan - who would later go on to work with Britney on music videos for 'Stronger', 'Toxic', 'Womanizer' and 'Perfume - to direct, and he got to the storyboard stage with a sci-fi inspired concept involving 2D animation, monsters and Britney as part of a hero group alternately described as "Power Rangers" or "Transformers". "They had this really bizarre video idea, this animated Power Ranger-y thing," Britney explained in her first ever Rolling Stone cover story. "I said, 'This is not right. If you want me to reach four-year-olds, then OK, but if you want me to reach my age group...'"
Ultimately, Jive scrapped the projected $800 000 Khan video and opted to go with Britney's much more simple vision which featured her as a bored schoolgirl dancing with her friends, which was made for around $250 000. Even then, Britney was continually making changes, especially when it came to wardrobe. When director Nigel Dick brought in jeans and a t-shirt for her to wear, Britney instead suggested, "'Why don't we have knee-highs and tie the shirts up to give it a little attitude?' - so it wouldn't be boring and cheesy." Britney ultimately had these pieces purchased from Kmart, and her first iconic outfit was born.
2. Born To Make You Happy
Although it can't be confirmed, rumour has it that the original Billie Woodruff-directed music video for 'Born To Make You Happy' was to feature a sleeping Britney dreaming about her ex-lover, with whom she was secretly pregnant. Allegedly, once the idea was leaked to the press and received a negative reception, Jive cancelled the idea and instead went with the dance-heavy version of the video we ultimately received. Interestingly, reviewers have pointed out that the scenes that frame the beginning and end of the video feature a sleeping Britney who appears to be heavily pregnant in at least one shot. It's possible that these scenes, and others involving the same bedroom set and Britney and her lover having a pillow fight, were leftovers from the original music video.
3. When Your Eyes Say It
'When Your Eyes Say It' was originally considered as the fourth single from Oops!... I Did It Again, to the extent that a music video was shot for the song in January 2001. The video was shot by directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who would later go on to direct films such as Little Miss Sunshine and Battle of the Sexes. Ultimately, 'Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know' was instead chosen to be the album's last single, and no elements of 'When Your Eyes Say It' have been seen by the public since it's filming.
4. Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know
After 'When Your Eyes Say It' was scrapped, a music video for 'Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know' was filmed in early 2001. Britney was inspired to choose American photographer Herb Ritts as the director following his work on Janet Jackson's 'Love Will Never Do (Without You)'. In February of 2001, however, MTV.co.uk posted a story claiming that, "Britney Spears will re-shoot the video for her next single, 'Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know' because she is unhappy with the final edit." Ultimately, it appears as if the video was not reshot, as the MTV article explicitly states that the original video was shot on a Miami Beach with Ritts in the last week of January and featured a French model - all of which is also true for the released version.
Despite this, cuts were made to the music video to remove some of the raunchier scenes. Amidst reports that her boyfriend at the time Justin Timberlake was bothered by her kissing scenes in the music video, The Philadelphia Enquirer reported that Britney's mother Lynne asked for certain shots to be removed from the video to avoid some of the more explicitly sexual content, to which Britney agreed.
5. I Love Rock N Roll
'I Love Rock N Roll' was recorded for the Crossroads film in which Britney stars, before making the tracklisting for her third album Britney as the album's fourth single. Directed by Chris Applebaum, the music video was shot in New York and was one of Britney's raunchiest yet. The raunch factor was pushed to the next level in a director's cut of the video that leaked online which featured Britney licking a puddle of oil from the floor, amongst other unseen shots. These scenes was not featured in the original video, or in the alternate cut that appeared on the Greatest Hits: My Prerogative home release, but can still be found online.
6. Me Against The Music (Feat. Madonna)
It's possible that 'Me Against The Music' was originally meant to be directed by Madonna's filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie, known for directing films such as Sherlock Holmes and Aladdin. After People.com first announced his involvement, IMDB confirmed this saying that Madonna will play a "kinky leather-clad dominatrix" and "scary nightclub owner with a string of luscious ladies on leashes" who "lures innocent scantily-clad Britney into a private room filled with other beauties". However, when asked about these rumours at an Italian press conference, Britney stated, "No, that isn't true"; and Madonna's representative Liz Rosenberg explicitly stated, "Guy Ritchie is not directing".
Even so, MTV confirmed that there are at least some deleted scenes from 'Me Against The Music'. Describing their first look at the music video, MTV described specifics about it's plot while mentioning "cool kids, flaunting pink and purple hair while taking whiffs from an oxygen tank". While most of the scenes MTV described were present in the finished product, the oxygen tank scenes are nowhere to be found.
7. Everytime
Like 'Born To Make You Happy' before it, 'Everytime' originally had a much darker video concept which was altered after it was leaked to the press and received a negative reaction. In March of 2004, MTV reported an exclusive first look at the video concept, which explicitly described Britney dying due to an overdose before being reincarnated in some form, as well as a mysterious final shot.
Director David LaChapelle, who had previously shot Britney for Rolling Stone, confirmed later in 2019 that the death theme had been Britney's own idea, saying, “For the video ‘ever time’ [sic] the only direction Britney gave me for the video was that she wanted to die, that she wanted to die in the video." After the press picked up on the video and the suicide concept began to receive negative attention, Britney's team released a statement stating that there was never any intent for her character's overdose to be viewed as intentional and that she had changed the music video to make this apparent. "Britney Spears was uncomfortable with these treatments due to the potential for a fictional accidental occurrence to be misinterpreted as a suicide," said Jive representatives. "Ms. Spears revised the treatment to ensure the video for 'Everytime' will not have a scene in it that could in any way be perceived as a reference to a suicide."
Ultimately, the final version of 'Everytime' plays out relatively similiar to its original treatment for it's first half, although the scene in which Britney pours wine from the gift basket was cut. In the final version, however, Britney's brush with death comes from a head trauma presumably caused by her violent interactions with the paparazzi, and all hints towards a drug overdose are removed. Furthermore, Britney walks through a hospital and witnesses a child being born in the final cut of the video, instead of walking past her boyfriend trying to revive her. The final version of 'Everytime' ends with Britney emerging from the bathtub with a smile on her face, as if her death was simply a fantasy; it is unknown if this was the final scene that was planned to appear in the original video.
8. Outrageous

Possibly the most infamous of all of Britney's unreleased music videos, 'Outrageous' entered production with full storyboard, plot and choreography planned out with the assistance of director Dave Meyers, who would also direct videos for 'Lucky', 'Boys' and 'Radar' as well as the 'Curious' fragrance commercial. Reports state that filming began on June 8, 2004 and the video was scheduled to be ready for air by June 28 when it would premiere on MTV. Along with making a cameo in the music video, rapper Snoop Dogg was also intended to be featured on a remixed version of the song that would be serviced to radio stations. The song was also intended to be featured as the main theme song for the Halle Berry-fronted Catwoman film.
Sadly, after one day of shooting the entire production was abruptly cancelled due to a knee injury sustained by Britney on set. Fans did see some of the scenes, however: a makeshift promotional video was spliced together from the footage that had been shot pre-injury for the Greatest Hits: My Prerogative video tape release, which included Britney walking the streets of New York in a black trench coat, performing choreography alongside her back-up dancers on a wet city street, and playing basketball with Snoop Dogg. Rumour has it that there were at least two other scenes that were initially planned for the music video, although it is unknown if either of them ever progressed past the initial planning stage. One report stated that Meyers wanted Britney to "don a replica Catwoman outfit" for the video, which Britney refused; while another said that the video was to follow Britney "being mugged in New York and Catwoman comes to the rescue". Sadly, with the video's cancellation the song also lost its status as theme song for Catwoman and Britney cancelled all remaining dates on her The Onyx Hotel Tour, marking the beginning of the downward spiral that would occur in years to come.
9. Gimme More

Although the final version of the Jake Sarfaty-directed 'Gimme More' is relatively simplistic, featuring a blonde-haired Britney voyeuristically watching a brunette-haired Britney as she pole-dances in a nightclub, the music video was actually in the works for several months and shot over multiple days before being "tweaked with input from her advisers" for it's final release. Notably, the "rebirth" and "vintage"-themed video was said to have been "choreographed entirely by Britney herself," with Brit also being involved "as early as the storyboard process, all the way through to casting and production design, with Sarafty being "handpicked by Britney". Britney was also alleged by OK Magazine to have spent $30 000 of her own money on the music video, with extras being asked to volunteer their time for free so as to save on budget.
Amongst the deleted scenes include shots of Britney walking down a street wearing funeral garb - some of these shots were leaked in 2011 alongside an alternate cut of the video, although yet others which feature her entering or exiting a limo in this outfit have yet to be seen outside of a leaked behind the scenes photo. Continuing the funeral theme is another behind the scenes photo that allegedly shows a casket in the middle of the nightclub. Another shot in the alternate cut of the video features Britney sitting in a bed alongside a cat - a still posted by Sarfaty on his official website following the video release confirms that there was another outfit change that was shot for this scene. Similarly, yet another still posted by Sarfaty shows Britney pole-dancing in a denim outfit that was not featured in the final cut. There are also stills online that feature Britney completely shirtless, with a rose-like design similar to the pattern on her arm (alongside the snake on her forearm) tattooed over her nipples. A star-like design was also featured on the wall on-set, although it didn't end up making an appearance in the video. Instead, the background featuring silhouettes of James Bond-esque women (who also appeared in the VMAs performance and the 'Piece of Me' video) are references to the logo of fashion brand Lisa Kline.
Although it has been mostly erased in the final video, the original vision for 'Gimme More' was also meant to feature a strong Elvis Presley influence, which explains Britney's short rendition of Presley's 'Trouble' at the VMAs in the month before the video's release. Britney hired Slim K, a dancer and noted Elvis impersonator, to appear in the music video, and matching drawings of Elvis and Britney were featured on the wall. Following his removal from the video, Slim K stated on MySpace, "Britney took a direction I'm not part of.. and quite frankly got NO idea where she's heading.. not my cup of tea though ... the video is dissapointing in my opinion .."
10. Piece of Me
'Piece of Me' was filmed on November 27th and 28th, 2007 and directed by Wayne Isham, who had previously worked with Britney on 'I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman'. Before the music video was shot, actor Billy Orson (who was cast as a paparazzo in the clip) described a scene to the Spanish-language Jaleouse Magazine in which Britney walks the red carpet. "While passing on a red carpet, she walks with her dancers, poses, and suddenly begins to dance in front of us," the translation reads. "The paparazzi begin to move forward, to push her and at some point she takes out a grenade, which ends up being only a sphere of water. Her and her laughing dancers go into a building, where the video continues." It's possible that this scene was cut due to Britney's fourteen hour lateness to the set, which was confirmed by Isham in 2009.
In the same 2009 interview, Isham also confirmed that the choreography Britney performs in the bathroom during the song's breakdown was a last minute addition by Spears herself. "She choreographed that last dance at the very end," he confirmed. "She did that on her own and said, 'Let's go for it.'" Additional scenes from 'Piece of Me' can also be found in the international version of the music video, which substitutes many of the opening shots with scenes of Britney wearing a short bob wig and stripping off her jacket. The improved transitions in this version between Britney dancing and the newspapers covering her suggest that this was the original cut made by Isham.
11. Hot As Ice
In early 2008, several news outlets with personal connections to Britney began to report that she was planning a music video for 'Hot As Ice' and that she'd been working intensely on the choreography. On January 21st, X17Online reported that several of their photographers had been invited to a party at Britney's house and that she'd voiced her displeasure with the 'Piece of Me' music video, saying, "I don't like the 'Piece of Me' video. The stuff they show of me on TV looks old," - a sentiment she would echo later in the year in a radio interview with Z100. As a result, Britney stated that she'd be taking control of her next music video which would be "something new, something really cool", which the publication confirmed to be 'Hot As Ice'. On the same day, People Magazine reported that Britney had been seen at Millennium Dance Complex, with the dance studio's owner Robert Baker confirming "She is working on the choreography for her song 'Hot as Ice'. She rehearsed an amazing routine with a chair."
While Britney's rehearsals were briefly paused by her hospitalisation on January 31st, People reported that she returned to Millennium on February 8th and 9th to continue working on the choreography for 'Hot As Ice'. The last confirmation we have of Britney rehearsing 'Hot As Ice' was by People on February 12th, who reported that she had spent around 90 minutes working on a routine for the song after teaching an hour-long dance class to six children at Millennium earlier in the day. 
Despite her hard work, Britney's efforts to create a music video for 'Hot As Ice' were proven to be in vain when Jive announced that they would be launching a poll on Britney's official website to decide on which single would be the third from Blackout, with 'Break The Ice' receiving 39% of the votes. It's possible that Britney's displeasure over this decision is what led to her refusal to appear in the 'Break The Ice' music video, with Jive being forced to use an animated version of the star instead. Britney's original concept for 'Hot As Ice' was never revealed, and her chair choreography for the song hasn't been seen on any tour since.
12. Radar
Due to contractual obligations with producers Bloodshy & Avant, a single release and music video for 'Radar' was always planned from the time of it's original inclusion on the Blackout album, with songwriting group The Clutch suggesting that it was at one point meant to be the album's third single. Following strong digital downloads for the song that led to it peaking at #52 on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs Chart and #7 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, Sony confirmed 'Radar' as the fourth single from Blackout and sent out CD singles to certain countries in July of 2008, including Sweden (where it peaked at #8) and New Zealand (where it peaked at #32).
To supplement the song's release as a single, Britney's manager Larry Rudolph confirmed in June of 2008 that she would be filming a music video that month in England. "The theme is her and her girlfriends are going to be looking all around London trying to find a boy who she met in a club," he told the New York Post. "Every time they think they have him, it's someone else." Following reports that Britney would be directing the music video, Rudolph further clarified that she would be co-directing, saying "She will be behind the camera as much as possible; she wants to make sure it's exactly right."
Despite Rolling Stone seemingly confirming that the video was in fact shot later that month, nothing more was heard from Britney's team regarding it and the 'Radar' single release was scrapped when Britney began recording Circus sooner than expected and Sony wanted to move on from the controversies surrounding the Blackout era. Ultimately, the song was remixed and added to Circus as a bonus track and a new music video was shot in May of 2009 with Dave Meyers in order to fulfil Britney's contract with Bloodshy & Avant, and no more details about the original music video have ever been released. 
13. When I Grow Up
Following the news that she at one point conceptualised a whole diss album about them, fans were surprised when it was announced that Britney was set to make a cameo appearance in the music video for The Pussycat Dolls' comeback single 'When I Grow Up', directed by frequent Britney collaborator Joseph Khan. "In the scene shot [Wednesday], Britney is driving in a car. They all wave at each other as they are passing in traffic — that is it," a source told Us Magazine. "Of course, Britney looks hot and blonde."
Ultimately, the scene didn't make the music video's finished version, with lead Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger confirming that the cut was due to a continuity error. When asked about the deleted scene in a radio interview with Ryan Seacrest, Scherzinger stated, "We were on a seperate location, so we didn't even get to shoot together, so like, her eye line and our eye line were like, staring at each other's boobs and foreheads, and it just didn't, it just didn't work out."
14. Circus
The 'Circus' music video, directed by Francis Lawrence, has many alternate cuts, some of which can be seen in the version of the video used in All Star Saturday Night promos. However, the most significant deleted scenes involve Britney walking a tightrope with a miniature umbrella while wearing a pink bustier and a multi-coloured skirt. While these scenes have never been officially released in HD, fans quickly spotted behind the scenes footage of her filming them in the 'Circus: Making The Video' featurette.
15. If U Seek Amy
'If U Seek Amy' was always going to make for a controversial music video, but the version that fans received in October of 2009 is actually toned down compared to the initial video concept conceptualised by 'My Prerogative' director Jake Nava.
In February 2009, the video concept and storyboard stills for the song leaked were leaked by StarzLife, and detailed a party in which Britney goes from "wearing a super sexy pair of black leather underwear and dancing around provocatively with “all of the boys and all of the girls”, to putting on a new face and looking like a primp and proper conservative upper class housewife". The leak described the apple pie scene in detail, before claiming that the video was meant to end with Britney winking into the camera. While the final version of the video loosely follows this setup, Britney was more covered up throughout the opening half of the final version, and her transformation into Stepford Wife-ney was sudden rather than gradual. Furthermore, the Fox News-esque scenes which bookmarked the beginning and end of the finished product went unmentioned, suggesting that these were later additions.
In a more minor change, X17Online reported that the front door of the house that Britney emerges from at the end of the video allegedly originally displayed a red heart reading "I Love You" in large letters. It is unknown why this was removed from the final cut.
16. 3
Following the release of the directors cut of '3', Rolling Stone writer Daniel Kreps commented that the original version "was essentially filmed and edited in the matter of days to coincide with The Singles Collection release", and that the directors cut "seems to find a better cadence with the music". It's possible that the rushed nature of the original video is the reason for several deleted scenes featuring Britney with her hair in a bun and alternating between two all black outfits which were not shown in the original video. These scenes were restored in the director's cut version of the music video.
17. Hold It Against Me

'Hold It Against Me' was directed by Jonas Åkerlund in early January 2011, and features at least one deleted scene. In teasers released before the video's February 17 premiere, eagle-eyed fans can spot a shot of Britney wearing a white shirt with black and red hot pants surrounded by backup dancers. While some scenes from this set-up do appear in the final music video, they are displayed only in extremely quick cuts and only in black and white. It's unknown why the majority of these scenes were cut from the final version.
Prior to the video's release, choreographer Brian Friedman also teased several details from the music video in an interview with MTV which did not make the video's final cut. Along with confirming that the music video was initially meant to feature ten male backup dancers (the finished product featured only six), Friedman also simply stated "I love nudity," when asked what his favourite part of the video was. Ultimately, there was no nudity from either Britney or her dancers in the final cut of the video.
18. TBA (David LaChapelle Directed)
David LaChapelle, who had previously worked with Britney for 'Everytime', mentioned in an interview in January 2011 that he wanted to work on the music video for the second single from Femme Fatale and that he planned to use designs from Heidi.com as outfits. While Heidi.com designers were excited about this prospect, it was also specifically mentioned that, "There's still a lot of administrative stuff to be done," and that "David LaChapelle has to send his concept for the video to Britney's managers."
19. I Wanna Go
The music video for 'I Wanna Go' was filmed in LA and directed by Chris Marrs Piliero. Several hours ahead of the music video's premiere, Britney posted two images of her in a red dress on her Facebook page, along with the caption, "So excited for you all to see the music video for ‘I Wanna Go’ tonight at 12am PST!" Ultimately, the scenes involving the red dress were not included in the final music video, despite Britney's official website confirming that they were stills from the shoot. It's unknown why these scenes were scrapped.
20. Work Bitch
Like 'Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know', the Ben Mor-fronted 'Work Bitch' originally had a raunchier cut that was scrapped in favour of a less mature version. This time, however, it was Britney herself who was pushing for a more tame video. “Oh my god, we showed way more skin and did way more stuff for the video then what is actually there," Britney stated in an interview with The TJ Show. "Like, I cut out half the video because I am a mother and because, you know, I have children, and it’s just hard to play sexy mom while you’re being a pop star as well. I just have to be true to myself and you know, feel it out when I do stuff.”
While a raunchier cut of 'Work Bitch' would be more than welcome, it was later confirmed that the sexier scenes that were cut from the final music video didn't actually involve Britney at all. In an interview with MTV, Mor stated that anything that Britney found too racy didn't involve her or her costuming, and said that "It was easy to make a racier cut only because of the extras and the cutaways".
21. Perfume

The 'Perfume' music video was directed by Britney mainstay Joseph Kahn and filmed over three days from November 19th to 21st in 2013 in the California desert. It depicts Britney as one of two women vying for the attention of their lover, played by Alexander Kjellevik. Prior to it's release on December 10, Kahn Tweeted that the released video was "extremely different" from his original edit, further stating that Britney's performance in it was "unbelievable". He would later say that the original cut was a minute longer, and that it featured a "shocking" ending.
Following several months of pressure from fans to release the original 'Perfume' music video, including an online petition addressed to RCA, the music video's original concept was leaked in July of 2014 on Britney fan-site Exhale.
Kahn himself would later confirm the validity of this concept, but remarked that he changed the shots of Britney disintegrating towards the end during filming to keep the music video "more grounded". It is currently unknown what the "shocking" ending Kahn alluded to would have entailed. He further confirmed that the song would have stopped playing at the moment Britney realises that she is being asked to kill her lover, most likely accounting for the one minute of additional runtime that Kahn's cut would have had.
While it can't be confirmed, it's probable that the wire ring described in the original concept is the same one Britney gave to her partner in the final cut. The released version of the video also features a shot of Britney in the bathroom reacting to a phone (implied to be her lovers) as it receives a message from someone named Cindy. It's likely that the original context of this shot was Britney learning about her next assassination, and that the contents of the message were changed in post-production.
Although RCA never gave a reason for their cancellation of the music video, Kahn speculated that it had to do with Britney's upcoming Vegas residency and her label's desire to shy away from the dark subject matter. The source which leaked the video's original concept further stated that the label was worried mostly about the killing scenes, possibly due to the negative reaction that 'Criminal' received internationally for it's gun violence. While there are no announced plans to release the director's cut anytime soon, fans did receive some leaked stills which feature a battered and bruised Britney from towards the end of the video in mid-2016.
22. Alien
During her I Am Britney Jean documentary, Britney confirmed that she planned for 'Alien' to be released as an upcoming single from the album, but this never came to fruition. It's unknown if a music video was ever conceptualised for the track. Similarly, 'It Should Be Easy' and 'Tik Tik Boom' both serviced official remixes and were serviced to nightclubs, but it was later confirmed that neither were considered as singles from the album; it is unknown if they ever were or if music videos were envisioned.
23. TBA (Chris Applebaum Directed)
Following their discussion of the original concept for 'Perfume', the same source also mentioned that Britney was planning to release a new "big budget" music video in "late summer/early fall" of 2014. The music video was intended to be directed by Chris Applebaum, who also worked on film clips for 'Overprotected' and 'I Love Rock N Roll'. Ultimately, no other music video ever eventuated in 2014, with Britney's next music video for 'Pretty Girls' in 2015 being directed by Cameron Duddy.
24. Make Me... (Feat. G-Eazy)

On June 2nd of 2016, E! News reported that Britney was in the midst of filming the music video for her comeback single 'Make Me...' and that it was set to be directed by former 'Everytime' collaborator David Lachapelle. Britney also posted behind the scenes photos of her making the video on her Twitter, including a shot of her with guest rapper G-Eazy, a photo set of her with an unidentified male model, and a final photo of her surrounded by sixteen half-naked male backup dancers. A low-quality minute long clip of the music video would also go on to leak in mid-July, featuring Britney and her dancers performing choreography in a warehouse-like scene and shots of Britney in a cage covered in sparkly red body paint.
Despite this, when Britney spoke of the music video to Australian radio station 104.1 2DayFM later that month, she described a video that seemed to be entirely different from the one teased to fans. "The video that I just shot is me and all my girls. We're making guys audition for us," she stated. "The whole theme is us basically playing with them. It's really kind of fun and it's interesting." When the video was finally released in early August, almost all traces of the original David LaChapelle concept were nowhere to be seen and the new director was confirmed to be Randee St. Nicholas.
While there was never any official confirmation, multiple fan theories exist as to why the LaChapelle version of the video was scrapped. Early reports simply stated that Britney thought the video was "too sexy"; while Britney's manager Larry Rudolph responded to a fan petition to release the music video by saying "The video just didn’t work", a sentiment echoed by LaChapelle in 2019 when he commented, "The video/song wasn’t released because Britney didn’t like it." Some fans have suggested that the music video was scrapped due to a disagreement between Britney and LaChapelle, due to a behind the scenes video from the set of his cut that featured Britney calling the director an "asshole" and saying "I don't like it" (although it's impossible to tell whether or not this was in jest).

Still, allegations of Britney being unhappy with the video's concept or raunchiness seem strange given how involved she was in the concept. In particular, Britney specifically requested that LaChapelle shoot her in the cage to create one of the video's most explicit moments, a possible nod to her ongoing conservatorship. "The only direction Britney ever gave me for this video is for me to film her in the cage," LaChapelle stated when discussing his support for the #FreeBritney movement. "At the time I didn’t understand why would you want to be filmed in a cage? At first I envisioned to film her as a tigress, but she wanted to be filmed more timid, like a kitten. For everyone on my team, at least, we could tell something was off.”
A version of the music video containing scenes shot by LaChapelle leaked in 2019 and extensively featured this scene. The video also featured a loosely biblical plot which followed Britney and her lover leaving a music video shoot to drive through the desert and arrive at their home, only to find an eviction notice on the door from "Eden Jurisdiction #1" for "Adam" and "Eve". After resuscitating her lover after a near-death experience, he and Britney demolish the house using a crane.
Despite the fact that it utilised the scenes he shot with Britney, however, LaChapelle would later confirm that this leaked version of the video was not the full extent of his original concept, but a cut created by RCA. "This is some of my footage, this is not my edit," he stated, before insinuating that her record label had released the leak as something of a distraction for fans. "I find it very suspect that the video was ‘leaked’ while Britney was 'away.'" LaChapelle's statement adds credence to the idea that the video was scrapped after relationships between himself and RCA broke down, an idea first suggested by fans when they noticed that he had refused to give the label his footage with G-Eazy, forcing them to use watermarked copies in the official video.
Fans have further speculated that the original cut of the video was over ten minutes long and featured scenes that still have yet to leak. In their exclusive behind the scenes look at the LaChapelle version of 'Make Me...', E! also posted a video interview with Britney in which she wore black boots and a nude leotard with black detailing, which was not depicted in the leak. The next day, a video leaked from the set which depicted Britney in the crane with backup dancers on top of it, another scene which didn't appear; and the Lachapelle-shot single cover, which features Britney wearing white in the desert, is also rumoured to be taken from a scene in the video. Given the tense relationships between all parties involved, it's unlikely that LaChapelle's original length cut will ever be seen.
Which scrapped music video would you most like to see from Britney? Let us know in the comments section down below!