Member Since: 8/9/2012
Posts: 18,572
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The Way was a 2011 Jordan Sparks Song Rejected by her Label
Quote:
Interviewer: Let’s talk about some of your biggest hits. “The Way” made Ariana Grande a credible pop star.
I don’t know if that’s my biggest hit, but I would say it definitely put my name out there. A lot of people don’t know that Ariana Grande had been trying for two years and they hadn’t broken her. People wanted to know who gave her the record that made the whole world pay attention.
What do you remember about that session?
It is funny to watch some become superstar. It’s just hilarious. She came by the studio the other day with security and I was like, “Jesus Christ, you could have come by yourself.” [Laughs]. To be honest with you, the song had been sitting on my computer for eighteen months. Maybe closer to two years. It was for Jordin Sparks.
Jordin Sparks was an artist I took time to invest in, and I believed in her, and I just felt she was going to be the next Mariah Carey in that I thought we had lost something in the music industry that represented a pure voice over hip hop and R&B. Jordin Sparks was that for me and we did “The Way” for her. She was part of the writing process. We cut the record and wanted to get Big Sean on it but the label said no.
I literally called the label like, “Are you sure?” Mind you, Jordin still believed it was her song. And I’m like, “You should probably tell Jordin you don’t want her to have this record.” They were like, “Not only is it not a hit, it’s not even going to make her album.”So months later I was asked to take a look at Ariana Grande. They wanted something cool and edgy. I was like, “Okay.” I had never heard of her, didn’t know she already had a fan base of three million.
She walks into the room — this little girl, she looked twelve but she was seventeen or eighteen. I was like, “Okay, do you want pop music?” Something dumb like that. She was like, “No I want something R&B, cool and edgy.” So she plays me “Honeymoon Avenue” and I’m like, “Is that you singing?” She’s like, “Yeah.” And I’m like, “Shut up!” And then she plays me this “Emotions” cover by Mariah Carey and I’m like, “I know exactly what I’m going play you!” So I played her “The Way” and she jumps up and she has this little spin thing that she does and then she’s crying.
I’m like why’s she crying? Mind you, I still don’t know who she is. She said, “Can I have it?” And I was like, “Yeah.” She was like, “It’s going to be my first single” and I was like, “You’re brave.” I said, “They told me it ain’t gonna be a hit, so good luck.” But she knew. She knew what she wanted. The same thing happened with “Right There.” I had it lying around. I had all these songs and she was just cutting them one by one. Ever since then, we just connected and clicked. She’s my little sister.
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http://www.idolator.com/7605268/behi...nde-ciara-jojo
Edit: I didn't mean for this to be in celeb photos, mess.
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