L.A. Reid Thought Teairra Mari Would Be Bigger Than Rihanna

In life and in Hollywood, there are times when the underdog or the one underestimated, may end up on top. Just ask L.A. Reid who was wrong about a prediction in the music industry.

In an excerpt of his new book Sing to Me: My Story of Making Music, Finding Magic, and Searching for Who’s Next by L.A. Reid with Joel Selvin, Reid shares that he believed Teairra Mari (who now stars on Love & Hip Hop Hollywood) would be more successful than Rihanna. He writes:

After signing Rihanna, Jay Z and his team did the A&R for her first album, and I had nothing to do with it. The funny thing about Rihanna’s success was that we signed two girls at that time — Rihanna and a lovely young lady named Teairra Mari. We had an in-house company showcase and Beyoncé happened to be there with Jay Z. Teairra Mari, Rihanna, a four-girl group called Black Butterfly and Ne-Yo performed. At the label, we thought Teairra Mari would be the big star. We spent more time on her, did more work on her, paid more attention to her. Rihanna already had a hit with “Pon De Replay,” but we still thought it was the other girl. A bell went off for me, however, when, after the showcase, Beyoncé came up to me. “That Rihanna girl,” she said, “she’s a beast.”

[Billboard]

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