Microsoft is opening up its Xbox Live online service to gamers on other platforms — namely, PlayStation 4 and PC. Whoa.

In a move that's up there with Sonic the Hedgehog appearing next to Super Mario in a video game, Microsoft announced this morning on its Xbox blog that it's opening up the Xbox Live online platform — the service you use to play games online through an Xbox One or Xbox 360 — to every platform. 

First, in addition to natively supporting cross-platform play between Xbox One and Windows 10 games that use Xbox Live, we’re enabling developers to support cross-network play as well. This means players on Xbox One and Windows 10 using Xbox Live will be able to play with players on different online multiplayer networks – including other console and PC networks.

That's a huge move.

It means games like "Destiny" or "Call of Duty" could be played online, together, by players who are on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. It means Microsoft is putting the ball in Sony's court on doing the right thing: making as many cross-platform games as possible playable across both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. 

Think about the situation right now: you buy this year's "Call of Duty" on Xbox One, and your buddy buys it on PlayStation 4. You want to play the game online together, but you can't. It's the same game, with the same online modes. The only reason you can't play the game online together is because you're on different platforms, and the platform-makers — Sony and Microsoft — don't allow you to play games online with people on the rival's platform. 

That's dumb. Microsoft is saying, "We agree. That is dumb. Enough.", and enabling game makers who are developing games for both platforms — the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One — to allow online play across both. Rad!

Considering Microsoft and Sony's long rivalry between Xbox and PlayStation, this is a pretty major philosophical shift. It's a smart move from a company that's putting up a solid fight against the PlayStation 4's continued dominance in sales (over 36 million sold). Frankly, we're excited to see what comes of this from Sony's side; we reached out and haven't heard back just yet.

In the meantime, Tech Insider favorite "Rocket League" is getting cross-platform support for online play between Xbox One and PC. Bizarrely, the game already has cross-platform support between PlayStation 4 and PC, just not between all three platforms. Rather, PlayStation 4 players can play with PC players, and Xbox One players can play with PC players, but Xbox One and PlayStation 4 players can't play together. Which is just as silly as it sounds.

Maybe "Rocket League" will be the first game in a new, consumer-first paradigm where you can simply play games with your friends regardless of what platform they bought the game on! Fingers crossed, but maybe don't bet on it.

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Ariana Grande did double duty hosting and performing on "Saturday Night Live," and absolutely killed it.

Story by Ian Phillips and editing by Ben Nigh

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For the first time since "House of Cards" debuted on Netflix, its new episodes have coincided with an actual presidential election. And though it was filmed months ago, there have been some uneasy similarities between the show's latest season and recent, often ugly developments in the election.

"That was crazy," Neve Campbell, who joined "House of Cards" this season as political strategist Leeann Harvey, told Business Insider. "People have been saying it's like [executive producer Beau Willimon] had ESP with this season, because of the similarities."

One storyline in particular has jumped out at viewers and the media for its likeness to a particular Donald Trump dust-up: Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) instructs Leann (Neve Campbell) to dig up a photo of Frank's father with a leader of the Klu Klux Klan. In a plan to hurt Frank's chances in the election, Leann then has it secretly posted on a roadside billboard with the words "Underwood 2016." It would force Frank to reveal his family's connection to the white supremacist group, and hurt a key relationship with black leaders.

Frank Underwood is a Democrat in the world of the show, but in recent weeks, Donald Trump has also been faced with defining his relationship to white supremacists, especially after KKK leader David Duke endorsed the real-estate mogul for president. After failing several times to disavow the support, Trump finally denounced Duke and the KKK.

"It's astonishing in a bad way," Campbell said of the coincidences, "only because who wants someone who's running [for president] to be involved with the KKK? You would hope that our story would have been too far-fetched or too negative, but here we are."

Campbell, a Canadian native who has been acting since age 15, was introduced to most US viewers on the Fox teen drama "Party of Five." After six seasons on the show, she went on to star in the "Scream" movie franchise, "The Craft," and "Wild Things," among others.

With a career spanning nearly three decades, she said comparisons between Washington, DC, and Hollywood are understandable.

"I do in some senses feel that Hollywood and Washington are similar in that first of all, they are male-dominated worlds, which is not unusual. There are a lot of industries like that," the 42-year-old actress said. "But also, there's a lot of politics when it comes to the ins and outs of getting things done, getting a film made."

"There's a lot of different things that have to happen, a lot of people have to be on the same page, there's a lot of game-playing. I suppose that would be a similarity to Washington... I would imagine it's very much the same trying to get a bill passed."

"House of Cards" season four is currently streaming on Netflix.

SEE ALSO: 5 'House of Cards' plot lines that seem ripped from the presidential election

SEE ALSO: 'House of Cards' creator thinks Hillary Clinton is closest to a real life Claire Underwood

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NOW WATCH: All the new Netflix shows you’ll be binge-watching this year

John Boyega really brought the heart from the "Star Wars" universe.

The "Force Awakens" actor spent Friday dressed in character as Finn and delivered "Star Wars" toys to children at the Royal Hospital in London. 

Boyega was passing out the toys for the Rays of Sunshine Children's Charity and was joined by Daniel Bell, a five-year-old diagnosed with a brain tumor. Bell's wish was to meet Finn and take toys to the sick children in the hospital with him.

"I stayed in character while I was with this brave boy asking him what a car was," Boyega wrote on Instagram. "He taught Finn about everything earth-related! Really thankful for the opportunity this child granted me and I'm just humbled! I hope I played a little part in making you smile young stormtrooper."

Boyega's Finn and Bell, dressed as a stormtrooper, were joined by a young girl named Layla, who was dressed as Rey. 

There was also time for a lightsaber duel, as you can see in the photos below.

Boyega was ecstatic at the chance to grant Bell's wish, the Daily Mirror reported.

"When I heard about Daniel's wish to meet Finn, I jumped at the chance to make it come true," he said. "It was fantastic to be a part of his very special wish with Rays of Sunshine."

"It was also great to meet the children at the Royal London Hospital and be a part of something so positive," the British actor added.

Bell's mom, Rosalind, called the experience "priceless."

"To see Daniel smile like that without a care in the world after everything he's been through, knowing how much time and effort Rays of Sunshine have put in to his wish and that John Boyega gave his time to make it come true, is priceless," she said. 

She also wrote a note on Facebook: “Thank you so so much Rays of Sunshine and John Boyega for granting Daniel’s wish to meet Finn and take toys to the hospital. It was just amazing, I have no words! Daniel is still totally overwhelmed, I have never seen him so happy."

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 12 best modern Marvel superhero movies

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New photos from the set of "Star Wars: Episode VIII" have emerged, and they're pretty wild. 

The sequel to "The Force Awakens" is currently shooting in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and the outdoor shooting location offered a glimpse of new aliens and a ship that appears to hark back to the landspeeder we know so well.

Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Andy Serkis are all returning for the movie. Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern, and Kelly Marie Tran are joining the cast. 

Rian Johnson is directing the film, which is slated for a December 15, 2017 release.

SEE ALSO: Actor Ian McShane unleashes another 'Game of Thrones' spoiler and tells fans to 'get a life'

Johnson shared a behind-the-scenes photo on his Tumblr March 10.

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Show creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of "Hamilton" performed "My Shot" at the White House on March 14, 2016. 

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Lil Wayne has said that his debut role in Apartments.com's Super Bowl ad was "dope" and the "illest idea ever."

He loved it so much that he's now taken a new role in Samsung's Galaxy S7 ad campaign. The rapper said he plans to do more acting in commercials in the future.

Adweek asked Lil Wayne if he'd like to be in more ads and he responded: "Hell yeah, I do ... it was kind of different to have to actually follow the rules, and that was cool. Being on the set and knocking it out, it was fun."

Lil Wayne also told Adweek how he had changed his persona for the acting roles: "I tried to do my best. I tried to do what they wanted me to do and not do Lil Wayne. I took that away from the situation and approached the scene as if I was just the guy that they chose to play this role."

He added: "Oh, it was too fun. The finished product when you watch it back, it's not bad. I was like, 'whoa,' like when I watch it back and I can forget that I'm watching myself that means that I did something good." 

On the Super Bowl ad, Lil Wayne said: "That was dope. That was the illest idea ever. You know everybody watches the Super Bowl. I know people who don't even know what football is and they're going to watch the Super Bowl for the commercials and for me to be involved in that, if I can't perform at halftime, then I'm going to be in commercials."

Here's Lil Wayne in Apartments.com's Super Bowl ad:

Lil Wayne is his latest acting role for Samsung:

SEE ALSO: People are questioning whether Apartments.com's Super Bowl ad made Lil Wayne look like George Washington's 'slave'

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NOW WATCH: Take a tour of the $367 million jet that will soon be called Air Force One

Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of "Hamilton" visited the White House on Monday to test a new educational program linked to the musical sensation. The cast performed several numbers from the show and here Miranda freestyle raps with cues from President Obama.

Produced by Emma Fierberg

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Nearly every iPhone has Beats 1, a mostly-live internet radio station, built-in to the Apple Music app. The man who largely runs that station is Zane Lowe, a DJ that Apple poached from the BBC last year.

In an interview with Noisey, Lowe explains what it's like to interview big stars and his pitch to book them on his show. He also talks about his feelings about Apple products  – "they just work"  – and the only advice that Apple executive and Interscope Records founder Jimmy Iovine told him when he took the gig: "Don't be boring." 

The whole video is worth a watch over at Noisey, and as a bonus you get to listen to Lowe's gorgeous radio-ready voice.

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John Oliver "didn't give a damn about Donald Trump" until he had to.

Back in the early days of the election season, in 2015, the host of "Last Week Tonight" didn't think he had to pay much attention to Trump as a presidential candidate, he told Stephen Colbert on Monday night's "Late Show."

But when Trump began to secure a delegate lead in the Republican primaries, Oliver's show quickly caught up, dedicating an entire show to decimating the real-estate mogul and crafting a joke hat to sell to viewers.

Playing off Trump's campaign slogan "Make America Great Again," the hat says "Make Donald Drumpf Again"; Trump's family name used to be Drumpf.

"The German language is so sonorous, isn't it? Beautiful language," Oliver joked, saying he wanted his audience to see Trump with "fresh eyes."

It took off. Oliver's show sold 35,000 hats, though with no profit since they were priced at cost.

"What's funnier than not making any money on an unexpected, inexplicable hit?" Oliver asked.

The hat even had one celebrity fan.

"Jay Z's people called HBO asking for a hat," Oliver said. "I'll say this for starts: buy the hat, Jay Z."

Then discussion turned a little more serious when Colbert asked whether a candidate as outrageous as Trump could ever get any traction in England.

"It could happen," Oliver said. "It has happened. We had many kings in the past."

Watch the "Late Show" interview below:

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NOW WATCH: The dudes feeding each other chips behind Trump at a rally explain why they did it

The first trailer for Seth Rogen's new movie "Sausage Party" is here. 

Described by Rogen, who cowrote it, as an "R-rated Pixar-style movie," the film follows a group of food items dreaming about being purchased and discovering that life isn't so great once they arrive in someone's home ready to be eaten.

Rogan and cowriter Evan Goldberg — who worked together on "Superbad" and "Pineapple Express" — unveiled a rough screening of the film at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival Monday night, and Sony Pictures released the first red-band trailer Tuesday morning.

Rogen voices the lead sausage, aptly named Frank. Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Paul Rudd, David Krumholtz, Nick Kroll, Edward Norton, and Salma Hayek all contributed their voices to the film.

"Sausage Party" is scheduled to hit theaters August 12. 

Watch the (warning: expletive-filled) trailer below:

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 12 best modern Marvel superhero movies

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NOW WATCH: The level of detail that went into Disney's new movie 'Zootopia' is unreal

In the hopes of better understanding why someone would vote for Donald Trump, Samantha Bee on her TBS show "Full Frontal" collected a diverse group of Trump supporters and tried to pinpoint what draws them to the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination.

Then she rewarded them with an intimate cocktail party. As you can probably guess, it was not all smiles.

But first, she asked for their thoughts on Trump's public activities, from saying he wants to ban all Muslims from the country (they correct her, saying it's a "temporary ban") to the violence that has erupted at his rallies.

This leads one member of the group to say to Bee, "I think if you get enough people together, eventually someone is going to punch someone else in the face."

The conversation then moved to the cocktail party, where Bee tried to get the gay African-American Trump supporter to admit that Trump does say racist things. The man countered by saying Trump "speaks in an old way."

You can watch the hilariously troubling video in full below.

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 12 best modern Marvel superhero movies

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NOW WATCH: This popular 'Game of Thrones' fan theory could come true in the next season

From more than a million dollars in donations to a relatively meager few thousand, Hollywood A-listers are putting money forward to support their favorite presidential hopefuls in the 2016 election.

Hillary Clinton has raised the most money during the campaign, and this is especially true when it comes to power players in the entertainment world. Steven Spielberg and studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg have donated more than a million to support her run. But, as The New York Times points out, the upper echelon of donors in elections tends to include more people from finance and energy.

Business Insider has compiled reporting on contributions and searched the Federal Election Commission database to highlight the biggest donors from Hollywood in the current race. While not a comprehensive list — there are many smaller amounts coming from individuals in entertainment — it includes the largest known sums and focuses only on donations of $2,500 or more. The maximum an individual can contribute to a campaign in an election cycle is $2,700, but Business Insider also looked at larger contributions to super PACs.

Here are the top Hollywood backers in the election, the campaigns they're supporting, and how much they've given:

SEE ALSO: The 10 best Leonardo DiCaprio movies, ranked

Steven Spielberg — $1,002,700 to Hillary Clinton

The director and cofounder of DreamWorks donated 1 million to Priorities USA Action, a super PAC that supports Clinton, and $2,700 to Clinton herself.

Jeffrey Katzenberg — $1,002,700 to Hillary Clinton

The CEO of DreamWorks Animation donated 1 million to Priorities USA Action and $2,700 to Clinton herself.

JJ Abrams — $502,700 to Hillary Clinton

The director donated $500,000 to Priorities USA Action and $2,700 to Clinton herself.

Luckily for "Star Wars" fans, the impending Blu-ray release of "The Force Awakens" will include special features to help fill the gap between films.

Among those features is "Secrets of The Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey," a feature-length documentary about the making of the "The Force Awakens." 

The documentary was shown for the first time at South by Southwest (SXSW) Monday. Director J.J. Abrams surprised those in attendence by introducing it and revealed his early worries going into the film.   

“We worked so hard and were so terrified when it came out that it might not work," he said, Mashable reports. 

Broken into chapters, the doc goes into every aspect of the film's creation.  

“What’s so cool about this is that it shows and highlights people who put their heart and soul into making 'The Force Awakens,'" Abrams said, according to Entertainment Weekly. "They were the greatest group of filmmakers, artists, and storytellers. To get to see the people behind the scenes was fun, frankly, even for me, and I was there."  

In a clip for "Good Morning America," fans could catch some of those behind-the-scenes moments, including clips of John Boyega's auditions — he auditioned nine times — and how Harrison Ford and Adam Driver prepared for one of the film's most climactic scenes. 

The documentary also dives into the making of the film's creatures, how certain characters got their names, and the first table read with the cast.

 Watch the documentary teaser below:

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will be available for digital download April 1 and on DVD and Blu-ray April 5.

SEE ALSO: How a gorgeous old movie set in Malta became a tourist destination where couples get married

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NOW WATCH: The level of detail that went into Disney's new movie 'Zootopia' is unreal

"Sausage Party" promises to be one of Seth Rogen's raunchiest movies yet — and it's animated! Similar to "Toy Story," it makes inanimate objects — in this case food — sentient, and gives them inner lives.

The movie comes out in US theaters on August 12th.

Story by Jacob Shamsian and editing by Stephen Parkhurst

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Charlie Kaufman is known for the unique movies he’s both written (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) and directed (“Synecdoche, New York”) that invite audiences into strange worlds often focused on unrequited love.

Kaufman’s latest film is his most imaginative one yet. Titled “Anomalisa” (now available for digital release, on Blu-ray in May), the stop-motion animation follows the business trip of a self-help author named Michael (voiced by David Thewlis). Stranded in a hotel, he finally finds a connection with Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who's a fan of his work, and the two have a one-night stand.

To represent the lack of interest Michael has with almost everyone in the world, Kaufman brought on a single actor to voice the rest of the characters in the movie. Character actor Tom Noonan takes on everything from supporting roles to the background bits (he even sings the song in the closing credits).

“It was trippy,” Noonan told Business Insider about the job. “The voices are part of me, but they are also their own separate entity.”

Noonan was first given the script in the early 2000s. Kaufman gave him little explanation, and the actor quickly caught on. In 2005, he was acting out the characters for the stage play of the story.

Kaufman, along with the film's co-director Duke Johnson, then used a Kickstarter campaign and other funding to make a feature-length version of the play.

Noonan was called back to do the voices of “everyone else.” According to the actor, he did around 40 to 50 voices in the stage version, and approximates he did triple that by the time the stop-motion version of “Anomalisa” was complete.

“Each character had their own persona and are in different situations,” Noonan said. “But I did the scenes like I would any other movie. I didn’t worry about sounding like a girl here or a kid there.”

Having starred in all three films Kaufman has directed so far, Noonan is well aware how different the experience is.

The most time-consuming part of Noonan’s work was doing the background characters. He six different voicing sessions over a number of years. And to create the voices for everyone from the airplane passengers to the patrons in the hotel lounge, Kaufman and Noonan developed backstories and came up with material on the spot.

“Charlie would talk to me in my headset, and I would have a microphone, and we would just do an improv,” Noonan said. “He would say, 'We’re two businessmen from Wisconsin on the plane and we are on a trip selling cheese,' and we would improv for five minutes. They would tape that, play it back to me, and I would have to respond to my own voice. So first, one end of the conversation would be Charlie, and then he would drop out and I would take his place, and the end product would be me doing both voices.”

It would go on like that for hours. Noonan notes that only a fraction of the dialogue was used in the movie, and it would just be in the background of the scenes.

But Noonan’s voice is also front-and-center for many characters: the person sitting next to Michael on the plane who is scared of flying, Lisa’s best friend, even Michael’s son.

Noonan said he’s “thankful and proud” to be involved in Kaufman’s films, but he does admit that watching “Anomalisa,” which was nominated for a Best Animated Feature Oscar this year, was a disarming experience.

“It was just generally odd to sit and watch a movie and have your voice coming out all of these different people,” he said. "At one point I thought, 'I'm ruining the movie.'"

Trust us, Tom. You didn't ruin anything.

SEE ALSO: How a gorgeous old movie set in Malta became a tourist destination where couples get married

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NOW WATCH: 'Mythbuster’s' Adam Savage recalls the time a little girl proved him wrong

Comedian Kevin Hart challenged All-American sprinter Jada Martin to a 50 yard dash on her home turf at Louisiana State University. He pulled off a surprising victory.

Story by Ian Phillips and editing by Kristen Griffin

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It's now official. There will be a fifth Indiana Jones movie, which is slated to come out July 19, 2019.

Disney has announced that Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford are attached to the yet-untitled project.

“Indiana Jones is one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history, and we can’t wait to bring him back to the screen in 2019,” Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn said in a statement. “It’s rare to have such a perfect combination of director, producers, actor and role, and we couldn’t be more excited to embark on this adventure with Harrison and Steven.”

The previous four films, all starring Ford in the iconic lead role, have grossed nearly $2 billion globally. 

Veteran producers of the franchise, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, are also returning. Disney now owns the franchise after buying Lucasfilm for $4 billion.

Last year Kennedy told Vanity Fair that there would "one day" be a new addition to the franchise. And though there were rumors of Chris Pratt taking over the fedora and whip, it looks like Ford was able to convince the powers that be he can still lead the franchise.

Disney has found huge success from the other franchise it took from Lucasfilm, "Star Wars," as "The Force Awakens" broke box office records and is the start of a slew of movies from the franchise to come. It's hard to see the studio churning out Indy movies as frequently as "Star Wars," but the anticipation for the fifth Indiana Jones will certainly be close to the level of "The Force Awakens."

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 12 best modern Marvel superhero movies

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NOW WATCH: Why you shouldn't wash your hair every day

With five primaries on Tuesday, including major contests in Florida and Ohio, Donald Trump could solidify his lead in the fight for the Republican nomination.

If he sweeps the states, he'll be in a good position to grab the majority of delegates he'll need to clinch the nomination. If he doesn't, some predict a contested convention down the road.

In addition to the politicians and pundits — like Sarah Palin and Ann Coulter — who have endorsed Trump, many celebrities are throwing their support behind the divisive businessman.

Here are 22 celebrities and entertainment figures who are showing their support for him, from Kid Rock to Mike Tyson:

SEE ALSO: John Oliver's anti-Donald Trump hat campaign became an unexpected hit

Jon Voight

In a statement to Breitbart, the actor said that he is supporting Donald Trump because "he's an answer to our problems." He also called Trump "funny, playful, and colorful, but most of all, he is honest."

He added:

There are many Republicans fighting to keep him from winning the Republican nomination. You know why? Because he has no bull to sell, and everyone will discover the bull most politicians spew out is for their own causes and benefits. I pray all Americans who have seen and felt the meltdown of America with the Obama years, to please fight for Donald Trump.

Robert Davi

The actor has written multiple posts for Breitbart praising Trump. In one, he said, "We should thank God that Trump is in this race. The media and the establishment are terrified."

Aaron Carter

The former child star voiced his support for Trump after responding to a tweet from the presidential hopeful. He wrote: "Does America want to have a president who FOLLOWS or someone who leads? I vote for @realdonaldtrump."

In an interview with GQ, he later clarified that he doesn't "support every little thing," but that "Trump goes his own way. He's a leader, not a follower, and he's proven that by humbling the other campaigns."

Can you imagine the three-woman American R&B group TLC singing Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time?"

Neither can we, but it almost happened.

Spears' debut single was originally written for TLC, but the trio passed on what would turn out to be an enormous cultural phenomenon.

Here are 13 hits that almost went to other artists:

SEE ALSO: We finally know the meaning of 'Hit Me Baby One More Time,' but it's not what you think

Rihanna's "Umbrella" ... by Britney Spears

Rihanna's "Umbrella" was originally written with pop star Britney Spears in mind, according to author John Seabrook of "The Song Machine." But Spears' label rejected the song because she already had a full load of material to record.

Released in late March 2007, Rihanna's "Umbrella" topped the Billboard charts, staying there for seven straight weeks and changing her career and innocent island-girl image.

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Pharrell's "Happy" ... by CeeLo Green

Singer, rapper, and producer Pharrell Williams told Howard Stern that the infectiously popular "Happy" was intended for CeeLo Green.

Pharrell turned "Happy" into a worldwide hit and sold more than 5 million digital singles. To date, "Happy" remains his most successful song, with 47 weeks on Billboard's Hot 100.

During a 2014 interview with Oprah, Pharrell began crying after watching a supercut of people around the world dancing to his song "Happy."

"It's overwhelming because I love what I do," he told Oprah.

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Rihanna's "S.O.S." ... by Christina Milian

One of Rihanna's first hits, "S.O.S." spent three weeks at the top of Billboard's Hot 100 in 2006.

But the catchy tune was originally written for singer-actress Christina Milian, who rejected the song.

Meanwhile, Milian hasn't had a hit since "Dip It Low," which was released in 2004.

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