From Rejection to Radiance

Some pop songs are built to last. Boy Meets Girl's 1988 single, Waiting for a Star to Fall, is one of them. But here's the entertaining twist: no one wanted it.

Songwriters Shannon Rubicam and George Merrill were already successful, having penned massive hits for Whitney Houston. Naturally, they offered the song to her, but in a famously baffling moment, her label boss, Clive Davis, said no.

The song then floated to Belinda Carlisle, who even cut a demo, but she passed. Instead of shelving the track, Rubicam and Merrill made an act of quiet defiance: they recorded it themselves. That leap of faith changed everything. Their own version became a global smash and their one unforgettable entry into pop immortality.

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Where Fantasy Meets Folklore

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