Simon Cowell has revealed that he has offered a songwriter a Mercedes to give his band Five the now popular song Hit Me Baby One More Time, but it was already promised to Britney Spears.
The record executive, 62, said he told Swedish producer Max Martin that “no one will have a hit by the name of Britney Spears” when he tried to land the 1998 song.
He said he was desperate to get Hit Me Baby One More Time – originally written for TLC – for his own boy band Five, because he was sure it would be a hit.
Hit track: Simon Cowell has revealed that he has offered a songwriter a Mercedes to give his band Five the song Hit Me Baby One More Time, but it was already promised to Britney Spears
Speaking on the Howie Mandel does things podcast, Simon said he went so far as to offer Max a flash Mercedes in exchange for what became a chart-topping hit.
But Simon explained that he was sadly “wrong” as Max, who has written songs for Katy Perry and the Backstreet Boys, said he had already promised the song to Britney, which became her breakthrough music industry.
Simon explained, “I had a boy band called Five at the time, which I put together, we were about to break them out of America.
“Someone calls me from America and says I just played this song. It was written for TLC, and he played me on the phone and said, ‘oh my god, I gotta have this song’.
The record executive, 62, said he told Swedish producer Max Martin that “no one will have a hit by the name of Britney Spears” (pictured) as he tried to land the 1998 song.
‘So I called Max and said ‘please, please give me this number’. And he said, “I promised someone else.” And I said, ‘Well, I’ll send you a Mercedes 500 SL if I can have this number’.
‘And he said ‘no, I promised someone else’. And I said ‘who?’ and he went, ‘Britney Spears’. And I said, ‘Max, let me give you some advice, no one is going to have a hit by the name of Britney Spears’. She wasn’t even known.’
Despite missing out on the song, which topped the charts in 22 countries, Simon said Max had made the “right decision” by honoring his promise to give the song to Britney.
‘He is honorable. He promised the song and he wouldn’t break the promise, and look, he made the right decision,” he said.
Missed: He said he was desperate to get Hit Me Baby One More Time – which was originally written for TLC – for his boy band Five (pictured), because he was sure it would be a hit
‘We’re still good friends now, listen, I would have taken the car! And remember, no one had heard of this girl before, so he wouldn’t break his promise. So I missed that, but that’s how we got to know each other and became friends.’
Elsewhere on the podcast, Simon talked about the first song and first music video he released in the music industry – a song called So Macho by his then-girlfriend Sinitta.
Talking about his romance with Sinitta, Simon said they started dating before sharing her ambitions to become a singer, and then they decided to make her first record together.
“I met her, and I liked her, we started dating and then she told me she wanted to be a singer, and I heard some demos, and I went, ‘Okay, I’ll make the record,’” Simon said.
Success: Despite missing out on the song, which topped the charts in 22 countries, Simon said Max had made the “right decision” by honoring his promise to give the song to Britney
The entrepreneur explained that he only got around £3,500 from the label he worked for to make the record and video, and he decided to take up the challenge.
He explained: ‘The video cost me £1,500, I had to make the record. It took me a year and a half to break the record and it went to number two on the charts, selling a million copies, so that was my first hit.”
However, the record company then went bankrupt and Simon was encouraged to sell his shares.
Simon said he was forced to sell his house and his Porsche and move back in with his parents, but said he was very lucky to have found someone confident in his career after his hit with Sinitta.
Big Break: Simon also talked about the first song and first music video he released in the music industry – a song called So Macho by his then-girlfriend Sinitta (both pictured in 2007)
He explained: ‘I was about 27/28. I was very lucky, I found a bank manager who believed in me and he said, ‘I’ll give you a loan and you have to pay it back to me, because if you’ve done it once, you probably will. it one more time, so I’m going to support you.”
“It took me about four years to pay it all back, but it was interesting because everything I thought I loved — my stupid Porsche or my house — I didn’t care, I gave it back. My mother and father were overjoyed, they didn’t want me to leave at all.’
Talking about his relationship with Sinitta, Simon revealed that he is still good friends with her and she also gets along well with his fiancée Lauren Silverman.
“She’s still one of my best friends. You can still love your exes,” he said.
Simon has previously had high profile relationships with the likes of Sinitta, Jackie St. Clair and Terri Seymour and has remained close friends with his former flames.
Exes: Simon has previously had high profile relationships with the likes of Sinitta (pictured in 2006) Jackie St. Clair and Terri Seymour and has remained close friends with his former flames
Simon and Sinitta had a famous date in the 1980s when she was signed to his label, Fanfare Records, and had an on-again, off-again relationship for 20 years.
In 2020, Sinitta suggested that her on-off romance with Simon was “never really over” until he had son Eric with girlfriend Lauren in 2014.
When asked when her and Simon “finally stopped” their love affair, the singer, 58, told New! Magazine: “There was always an element of ‘well, it’s never really over’.”
“But when Eric was born, that was it. I would never come between his family.’
Romance: In 2020, Sinitta suggested that her on-off romance with Simon was “never really over” until he had son Eric in 2014 with girlfriend Lauren Silverman (both pictured in November)
The X Factor creator met his now fiancé Lauren while still married to millionaire property developer Andrew.
Their affair became famous and Simon’s life changed in late July 2013 when news broke of Lauren’s pregnancy with their son Eric.
Simon posed the question about the couple’s New Year’s getaway to Barbados in the presence of their son Eric and Lauren’s son Adam.
Despite Simon’s previous staunch vows to never walk down the aisle, an insider recently claimed that over the past two years — during which the global pandemic struck and the star broke his back after a bicycle accident — Simon changed his mind.
Simon previously admitted that he may never see himself dating again when he started to change his mind about marriage after falling in love with Lauren.
He said he decided to propose to his longtime girlfriend in January after feeling they were already engaged while living together during the lockdown.
He described the Covid-19 pandemic as a “make or break” moment for relationships and said lockdown helped him and Lauren get closer and realize just how much they can relate to each other.
He told The Sun: “I just couldn’t see myself ever dating anyone again. The idea of going out on a first date now is too weird.”
Family: Simon proposed to Lauren during the New Year’s outing in Barbados with their son Eric and Lauren’s son Adam