Alicia Keys Almost Gave ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ To Christina Aguilera

Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera

Alicia Keys Almost Gave ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ To Christina Aguilera

Alicia Keys’ hit single “If I Ain’t Got You” was “this close” to being a Christina Aguilera song, Alicia Keys revealed.

During an interview with Stereogum, Alicia Keys spoke on Christina Aguilera’s song “Impossible,” that she wrote for her.

“There’s a really funny, amazing story around this song. I think we were on the same label at the time. She reached out and was like, ‘Would you write something for me?’ And then it came through so many emails. What a voice! I know I could write something fire for her. So time passed and I hadn’t written the song yet. And [the label] was like, “Do you have anything for Christina?’ I remember I had just recently written ‘If I Ain’t Got You.'”

She continued and said she hadn’t written anything, so she was going to give her “If I Ain’t Got You.”

“I told my A&R at the time, “Let’s play her ‘If I Ain’t Got You.’ He said, ‘Are you crazy? We’re not giving her that song. Are you out of your mind?’ I was like ‘Why not? I’ll write a hundred more of those, it’s fine. I think she should hear it. I don’t really think it’s a big deal.’ But I thought, ‘Fine, I’ll go write another song.’ So I went off and wrote ‘Impossible.’ I went to cut it with her and I love how she sounded on it. It was such a cool vibe for us to be able to work together during those times. But I will never forget that I would have given away ‘If I Ain’t Got You.’

The song was featured on Alicia Keys’ second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, which was released in 2003. It also won a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

Could you hear Christina Aguilera singing “If I Ain’t Got You”? Let us know in the comments.