Mary J Blige Finally Confirms That She Was Originally Supposed To Sing ‘Umbrella’ Before It Went To Rihanna.

Mary J Blige Confirms That She Was Originally Supposed To Sing ‘Umbrella‘

It’s not a new feat in the music industry, to have one song written with a certain artist in mind, only for it to be passed on to another artist and become a hit song.

After all, Beyoncé’s hit song, Halo, was originally written for Leona Lewis before it went to Beyoncé.

It’s not a secret that Rihanna’s Hit Song Umbrella was originally written with artist Britney Spears in mind.

The songwriters behind Umbrella, Terius “The Dream” Nash, Christopher “Tricky” Stewart, and Kuk Harrell originally wanted to Britney Spears to sing Umbrella.

It was inspired by  a 2007 incident when Britney Spears was at a gas station and thrashed a paparazzi’s car with an umbrella.

Said The Dream

“That record was written out of pure pressure in life.I was getting checks out of the game. I had a publishing deal. It clicked. It’s almost like having an out of body experience. I watched myself walk in and write that record. The record was written for Britney Spears.”

Britney Spears’ team turned the song down ,saying they didn’t see its potential, so it was offered to Mary J Blige.

For the longest while, some believed that it was just a rumor that Mary J Blige was offered Umbrella before it went to Rihanna, but the former recently confirmed  it during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.

Mary J Blige revealed this during a question and answer segment with the fans while she was promoting Power Book II: Ghost.

Said Mary J Blige

“Yes! It was during Grammy time for me. It was a big Grammy time; I was nominated for eight Grammys and I was trying to get myself together for that. And during that time, that’s when ‘Umbrella’ came to me and I couldn’t do anything with it because I was so busy with my own life.”

She also revealed that she felt the song didn’t really suit her style and sound so and she felt like it was meant for Rihanna.

The rest, as they say is history.