Musician Mary J. Blige revealed that she turned down the hit song “Umbrella,” which launched in 2007 to Rihanna among the world's biggest stars.
Appearing on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, the R'n'B diva said that this song, which she co-wrote, Jay Z who also guest starred in the same one, was originally offered, but she quickly realized that it simply did not suit her sensibilities and the audience.
"All I heard at that moment was 'eh, eh,' and I thought, 'My fans are going to go crazy if they hear me sing about eh, eh, eh,'" the singer recalled.
As she says, as soon as she heard Rihanna's version, it became clear to her that she had made the right decision.
"When I heard Rihanna do it, I said to myself, 'That was for Rihanna, it wasn't for me. It slipped my mind, but it wasn't really meant for me to begin with,'" Blige concluded.
"Umbrella" later became a global phenomenon, reaching number one in 19 countries and winning a Grammy Award, and it also became one of the most played songs on radio during the 2000s, confirming that, as Mary J. herself says, the song had indeed found its rightful artist.
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