The 'America's Got Talent' judge reveals he once offered Max Martin a luxurious car in an attempt to own the song which later went on to become one of the bestselling singles of all time.
- Sep 16, 2022
AceShowbiz - Simon Cowell once attempted to bribe songwriter Max Martin with a Mercedes in exchange for Britney Spears' mega-hit "...Baby One More Time". In an effort to own the rights to the pop classic, the 62-year-old music mogul tried to offer Max a luxury car after he heard the 1998 tune, which the Swedish studio wizard had originally penned for boy band Backstreet Boys and R&B group TLC.
Simon remarked that someone with her name would never "have a hit" when he was told it was for a little-known Britney back then. "My God, I've got to have this song," Simon remembered thinking.
He spilled on his fellow "America's Got Talent" star's "Howie Mandel Does Stuff Podcast", "So I phoned up Max. I said, 'Max. Please, please give me this song.' And he went, 'I've promised it to someone else.' And I said, 'Well, I'll send you a Mercedes - literally a Mercedes 500 SL if I can have this song.' "
"And he went, 'No. I promised it to somebody else.' And I went, 'Who?' And he went, 'Britney Spears.' I went, 'Max, let me give you some advice. No one is going to have a hit with a name called Britney Spears."
However, he couldn't have been more wrong, with "...Baby One More Time" topping the charts across the globe and going triple-platinum in the UK. The single is one of the best-selling songs of all time having sold in excess of 10 million copies.
Meanwhile, Britney recently claimed she "probably won't perform again" because she's "pretty traumatised for life." The "Toxic" hitmaker went on a rant about the "worst" experience ever working with "offensive people" on her live shows in the past, and she suggested she wouldn't return to the stage again because she's "stubborn" and wants to prove her "point."
In a since-deleted Instagram post, she said, "The most offensive SO CALLED professional pictures on every tour. I mean they could have at least cheated and retouched them for me… just saying… two day shoots for new show in Vegas literally the worst ever… and me excited for the pictures for five months on tour… they never showed me any.
"I'd rather quit s*** in my pool and shoot photos of myself in studios over working with the most offensive people in my life," she added, "I'm pretty traumatised for life and yes I'm p***** as f*** and no I won't probably perform again just because I'm stubborn and I will make my point."
The 40-year-old pop idol signed off the post, "kiss my God damn mother f****** a**."
The "Lucky" singer's last tour was "The Piece of Me Tour" in 2018. Britney previously said she had "no idea" if she would ever perform again. The "Gimme More" singer has been adjusting to her freedom since her lengthy conservatorship came to an end last year.
