Britney Spears’ iconic hit, “…Baby One More Time,” almost wasn’t hers at all. In a shocking turn of events, the producer of the famous track, Swedish music producer Max Martin, revealed that he was turned down by groups like TLC and the Backstreet Boys.
Max Martin, who had already worked with Backstreet Boys on “Quit Playing Games” and Robyn on “Show Me Love,” reached out to both TLC and the Backstreet Boys for the song. However, they passed on the opportunity. It seemed like this catchy tune wasn’t resonating with his past collaborators.
But then, the tides turned when a 16-year-old Britney, known for her role in the “All-New Mickey Mouse Club,” was flown out to Sweden to work with Max on her debut album. During their time together, Max played Britney a demo of himself singing “…Baby One More Time,” and she was instantly hooked.
Britney went on to record the track, along with six others, during her week in Stockholm. And as we all know, the rest is history. “…Baby One More Time” skyrocketed to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and even earned a Grammy nomination. It also secured a spot in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Interestingly enough, Simon Cowell, the judge of “America’s Got Talent,” had heard about “…Baby One More Time” before it was released. Simon revealed on the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast that he had called up Max and begged him to give him the song for his boy band, Five, but Max turned him down.
This week marks the 25th anniversary of Britney’s massive debut track, and coincidentally, her highly anticipated memoir, “The Woman In Me,” will be hitting shelves. Fans have a lot to celebrate right now.
Original article https://www.tmz.com/2023/10/23/britney-spears-baby-one-more-time-turned-down-backstreet-boys-tlc-song/