10 Famous Songs You Had No Idea Were Covers

3. Beyonce €“ If I Were a Boy (Columbia)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdjtO4iKU-A 'If I Were a Boy' is Beyonce's best-selling release to date in the United Kingdom, yet she was not the artist to write it, or even to record it first. The original is by singer-songwriter and actress BC Jean. Jean's recording, which was rejected by her record company, is significantly different with a folk-pop sound. It carries perhaps even more emotion than Beyonce's version, with vocals falling somewhere between fragile and manic. As this is a very personal song for Jean, she was allegedly not too happy that Beyonce intended to release the song as a single. She went on to write a caps-laden declaration on her MySpace page stating that the track belonged to her. She and Beyonce later reached an agreement, the terms of which included Beyonce agreeing to appear on her debut album. Despite a handful of singles over the years, the album is still yet to be released.