What happened with Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and 'Telephone'?

[MakeMySugarFall]

So a Matt Stopera article on Buzzfeed led to another article on an interview with Lady Gaga from 2011 where she talks about hating the song Telephone - notably this:

 

What’s your worst song?
I hate ‘Telephone’. Is that terrible to say? It’s the song I have the most difficult time listening to.

 

Because it was offered to Britney first?
Well that’s not exactly what happened, but I don’t want to delve into that. I could delve into it if you turn that (motions to recorder) off… But ultimately the mix and the process of getting the production finished was very stressful for me. So when I say it’s my worst song it has nothing to do with the song, just my emotional connection to it.

 

What does she mean Britney wasn't offered the song Telephone first? Everything I've read said that's how it went down - unless Gaga was just being snarky back then (maybe she was tired of the Britney comparisons that every female popstar gets)? Anyone know?

[studlygeorge]

I thought the song was gonna be released on Circus, but was kept out for Phonography. Then it was gonna be on The Singles Collection, but they opted for 3. Then Gaga got the track and wanted to feature Britney (we have this version), but Britney and her team decided against it.

 

Thats the story as far as I know. Aside from producing the track, I can see how this back and forth could’ve been stressful for Gaga as well. 

[MMbritbritFAN]

It could be that she got so much pushback from the label that it was a pain for her, who knows? It couldn't have been easy having Britney on the song then not having her on the song to it being a solo song then back to a feature with an entirely different artist. Probably too many cooks in the kitchen for her liking.

[MakeMySugarFall]

17 hours ago, studlygeorge said:

I thought the song was gonna be released on Circus, but was kept out for Phonography. Then it was gonna be on The Singles Collection, but they opted for 3. Then Gaga got the track and wanted to feature Britney (we have this version), but Britney and her team decided against it.

 

Thats the story as far as I know. Aside from producing the track, I can see how this back and forth could’ve been stressful for Gaga as well. 

 

10 hours ago, MMbritbritFAN said:

It could be that she got so much pushback from the label that it was a pain for her, who knows? It couldn't have been easy having Britney on the song then not having her on the song to it being a solo song then back to a feature with an entirely different artist. Probably too many cooks in the kitchen for her liking.

Thank you, guys! I hadn’t heard these back stories, but her answer makes so much more sense now. I thought it was a simple “offered to Britney then Gaga” scenario. That does sound stressful tbh. 

[Wendy Williams]

18 hours ago, studlygeorge said:

I thought the song was gonna be released on Circus, but was kept out for Phonography. Then it was gonna be on The Singles Collection, but they opted for 3. Then Gaga got the track and wanted to feature Britney (we have this version), but Britney and her team decided against it.

 

Thats the story as far as I know. Aside from producing the track, I can see how this back and forth could’ve been stressful for Gaga as well. 

Sounds pretty messy for Gaga tbh

[Mrs Jared Leto]

maybe its not because of britney, but because of beyonce?

[Legendary]

I kind of wish that this was Britney's song instead of Lady Gaga's because it would have meant another #1 for her  And I like the song

[Curious.Btfls]

On ‎2018‎-‎03‎-‎17 at 12:13 AM, MMbritbritFAN said:

It could be that she got so much pushback from the label that it was a pain for her, who knows? It couldn't have been easy having Britney on the song then not having her on the song to it being a solo song then back to a feature with an entirely different artist. Probably too many cooks in the kitchen for her liking.

I love your layout 

[Legendary]

@joesphthemerman Why does my post make you sad? It was a half joke kind of post 

[TokyoSoldier]

It is a shame when one can't feel a connection to a song that they wrote. Maybe the recording process of the song wasn't very fun for Gaga? Maybe she'll tell us the full story someday. And maybe Britney will shed some light on it too, cause I always felt like her team rejected the song and not Britney herself.

[MakeMySugarFall]

1 hour ago, HarajukuPunkBoy said:

It is a shame when one can't feel a connection to a song that they wrote. Maybe the recording process of the song wasn't very fun for Gaga? Maybe she'll tell us the full story someday. And maybe Britney will shed some light on it too, cause I always felt like her team rejected the song and not Britney herself.

Happened a lot with Britney in the past from what I’ve read - she didn’t even hear the song, a lot of times her team rejected it before (though I know she recorded a demo on this). Not that that’s necessarily good or bad, it just is what it is. 

[TokyoSoldier]

All I hope is that the "non-autotune" Britney demo of Telephone will leak soon. We know it exists since her vocals are raw in that unreleased duet with Gaga from 2015

[Legendary]

Me too 

[TokyoSoldier]

4 hours ago, MakeMySugarFall said:

Happened a lot with Britney in the past from what I’ve read - she didn’t even hear the song, a lot of times her team rejected it before (though I know she recorded a demo on this). Not that that’s necessarily good or bad, it just is what it is. 

I'm guessing she also never heard the original demos for Rihanna's "Umbrella" and PCD's "When I Grow Up" and "Happily Never After" during the Blackout recording times