These 19 Songs All Feature Incredibly Famous Backing Vocalists, And I Had Absolutely No Idea
Sam Cleal
5 min read
1. Rick Astley on “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” by Elton John
John Bettmann / WireImage, Jim Spellman / Getty ImagesJohn and David actually worked on “Fame” together after they met in New York for the first time in 1975. David idolised John, and their jamming in the studio led to two songs for David’s Young Americans: “Fame” and a cover of “Across the Universe”. You can hear John singing falsetto backing vocals on the former.
A song on the same album — “Fascination” — features backing vocals from one Luther Vandross!
Angela Weiss / AFP / Getty Images, Steve Granitz / WireImage / Getty ImagesDoes the name “Nils Sjoberg” mean anything to anyone? Well, that’s the alias Taylor used when she was credited with cowriting and recording Calvin Harris’s 2016 song. Her team later confirmed she was involved, as did Calvin. Taylor can be heard singing the “ooh, ooh, ohhhh” parts at 0:35, 0:39, 0:43, 1:21, 1:25, 1:29, 2:39, 2:43, 2:47, 3:41, 3:44, and 3:48.
Bruce Glikas / FilmMagic / Getty Images, Gary Null / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal / Getty ImagesThe Righteous Brothers first recorded this song in 1964, and Cher — then 16 — provided backing vocals. She would go on to catch the attention of producer Brian Stone, who signed her soon after, remarking that she “had this killer voice. We had her standing like 50 feet from the mic all the way in the back of the studio, but all you could hear was her.”
Jason LaVeris / FilmMagic / Getty Images, John Phillips / Getty ImagesPharrell was one of the many writers of Camila’s 2017 hit and provided backing vocals in the shape of the “heys” and “ooh, ooh, oohs,” à la Nils Sjoberg. According to Camila, Pharrell reached out to her team to collaborate, and she showed him what they had of the song so far: “He came in and cracked the code…I loved all his ad-libs, so we kept them all in.”
Mike Marsland / WireImage / Getty Images, Stuart Franklin / Getty ImagesEd cowrote this song with Justin and Benny Blanco for Justin’s 2015 album, Purpose, but he originally intended it for his own 2017 album, ÷. Speaking to Jack Antonoff, Ed shared that he thought the song wouldn’t have done as well if he’d released it, commenting that Justin “was on such a roll at that point.”
Mindy Small / FilmMagic / Getty Images, Steve Granitz / FilmMagic / Getty ImagesWho knew that THE Tamar Braxton was a supporting vocalist on THE Lady’s Gaga’s 2011 hit? Tamar is known for her TV appearances but also her five-octave coloratura soprano vocal range. Listen out for those high notes on the chorus!
Jason Merritt / FilmMagic / Getty Images, Jason LaVeris / Getty Images for iHeartMediaThis is another case of an artist being a writer on the song and later providing vocals during recording. Justin also coproduced the track and even provided a drumbeat by playing an actual bucket in the studio, which Beyoncé liked so much that she kept it in!
Amanda Edwards / WireImage / Getty Images, Fryderyk Gabowicz / Picture Alliance / Getty ImagesSo yeah, you know that nursery rhyme–sounding song that Eminem sampled? Well, it’s by Kids Incorporated star Martika, who had several of her costars provide backing vocals on the chorus, including Fergie! The track was released back in 1988 on Martika’s eponymous debut album and became her biggest hit, charting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in the US. Again, I feel that you hear Fergs on the chorus if you really listen.
Emma McIntyre / WireImage / Getty Images, JB Lacroix / WireImage / Getty ImagesIf you don’t know this song, it’s actually a verified bop! Released in 2016, the song was cowritten by Meghan, who also recorded vocals for the demo. Meghan texted the demo to Jennifer, who loved it and immediately asked to do a cut for the album she was working on. Meghan’s vocal remained on the track, and I actually can’t believe I never noticed her voice before!
Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images for DCP, John Shearer / Getty Images for MTV/ViacomCBSCharli cowrote “Same Old Love” with producer duo Stargate and originally thought the song should go to Rihanna, who interestingly tweeted out the lyrics back in 2014. Stargate ended up presenting it to Selena instead during a recording session, and she recorded it for her 2015 album, Revival. Charli’s voice was retained for the chorus, and you can particularly hear her on the “oooh, woah, ohh” parts.
Valerie Macon / Getty Images, Jason Merritt / Getty ImagesHow on earth did Academy Award–winning actor Jamie Foxx become involved in Ariana’s hit track “Focus”? Well, it seems to be a bit of a mystery. After the song came out, fans wondered who the background voice saying “Focus on me” was, with many suggesting it was American civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson. Ariana later confirmed on Snapchat that it was Jamie, as did the man himself!
Jamie has also provided backing vocals on a great many other songs, including “Gold Digger” by Kanye West.
Evan Agostini / Getty Images, David A. Smith / Getty ImagesOkay, so this is strictly more of a duet, but I just HAVE to mention Jack’s secondary lead vocals on this iconic noughties track. Many will remember this 2003 song for being a) amazing and b) bizarre as hell. The music video features actor Tina Kanarek lip-synching to Jack’s vocals, leading many to believe it was her voice, but once you clock it’s the legendary White Stripes lead singer and guitarist, you can’t un-hear it!
Evening Standard / Hulton Archive / Getty Images, Jason LaVeris / FilmMagic / Getty ImagesThe Bee Gees wrote this song and offered it to Diana back in 1985. Barry ended up recording backing vocals for the song, while Diana did her thing over the top of the chorus. It became Diana’s second solo No. 1 song in the UK.
Angelo Deligio / Mondadori / Getty Images, Evening Standard / Getty ImagesPeter had long been friends with Kate when she provided backing vocals for his anti-war ballad back in 1980. The iconic British chanteuse sings “jeux sans frontières” in the background, which translates to the song’s title, and is also a reference to a famous Europe-wide television game show.
Frazer Harrison / FilmMagic / Getty Images, Amy Sussman / Getty ImagesIf you don’t know this song, you haven’t lived! Released on Paris’s debut studio album, Paris, back in 2006, the song was cowritten by he-who-shall-not-be-named, which is how Kesha became involved as a supporting artist. Before she hit the big time, Kesha also provided backing vocals on Britney’s song “Lace and Leather”.
Mike Coppola / Getty ImagesAgain, this song is straight fire! Steve released the song on his fourth solo LP, Back in the High Life, back in 1986. Chaka provided backing vocals and even appears in the video, so I don’t quite know why it took me so long to realise it was her, given how much I like this song! Whitney Houston later covered the song, which was remixed in 2019 by Kygo, giving it greater prominence as a track.
Mark Mainz / Getty Images, Aaron Rapoport / Corbis / Getty ImagesThe Halloween classic was originally released by the Motown label in 1984, which was founded by Rockwell’s father, Berry Gordy. It features Michael’s voice fairly prominently on the chorus, and Jermaine Jackson also sings additional backup.
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Did we leave out any examples? Let us know in the comments below!
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