Top 10 Singers Who Didn't Always Write Their Own Songs

Singers whose songs are/were not written by them, and are/were instead written by professionals and/or some other famous artist. Please don't add boy bands and stuff like that, this list is just focusing on solo artists.
The Top Ten
1 Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears, born on December 2, 1981, is an American former singer and actress. She was born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana. As a child, she performed acting roles in stage productions and television shows, such as "The Mickey Mouse Club," before signing with Jive Records in 1997... read more
2 Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian-American pop singer. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, she first entered the music industry by recording demo tapes under the direction of record producer Evan Rogers in 2003. She ultimately signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings after auditioning ...read more.
3 Beyonce Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, is an American singer and actress, who started out in the popular pop/r&b girl group Destiny's Child. They had multiple top 5 hits such as "No, No, No", "Say My Name", "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Survivor", "Independent Women", "Bootylicious", and "Jumpin', Jumpin" from 1999 to 2004. After they broke up in 2006, Beyonce pursued her solo career, creating smash hits such as "Crazy In Love", "Single Ladies", "Halo", "Partition", "Irreplaceable", "Drunk In Love", "Baby Boy", "Beautiful Liar", "7/11", and "Run The World (Girls)", and has since become one of the most influential performers and biggest celebrities of the 21st century.

I hate hearing this about artists because to me for them to be skilled at songwriting and writing their own music is such an important part of being a musician. Many artists have the ability/voice to be good but not nearly as many are smart songwriters and lyricists.

4 Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez is an American actress and singer. She is best known for songs like "Come & Get It", "Good For You", "Same Old Love", and "It Ain't Me". Selena Gomez's voice is mezzo-soprano but she usually sings in alto. She is best known for her role as Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place.
5 Mariah Carey Mariah Carey, born March 27, 1970, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is one of the biggest best-selling women in the music industry, with 18 number 1 records to her name. She is regarded as a sex symbol through her songs and music videos, and she is "well known" for her over-the-top ...read more.
6 K.S. Chithra Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra, often credited as K. S. Chithra or simply Chithra, is an Indian playback singer from Kerala. Chithra also sings Indian classical, devotional, and popular music.
7 Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, Guinness World Records cited her as the most awarded female act of all time. Houston is one of pop music's best-selling music artists of all-time, with an estimated 170–200 ...read more.
8 Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera (born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including two Grammy ...read more.
9 Ciara Ciara Princess Harris, known mononymously as Ciara, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, model and actress. She is married to Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
10 Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger, born Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente on June 29, 1978, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and television personality. She first rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop/r&b group The Pussycat Dolls.
The Contenders
11 Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Hemsworth (born Destiny Hope Cyrus), known as Miley Cyrus, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was born on November 23, 1992, in Franklin, Tennessee, to Tish Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus. Her voice type is Mezzo-Soprano and has 4 octaves. She became a teen idol starring as the character Miley Stewart in the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana in 2006. After that Miley had numerous worldwide hits, such as ''Party in the USA'', '' We Can’t Stop'', and ''Wrecking Ball''. On December 23, 2018 she got married to Australian actor Liam Hemsworth, but they divorced shortly after.
12 Drake Aubrey Drake Graham, known professionally as Drake, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor, born on October 24, 1986 in Toronto, Canada. He started his career on Canadian reality show "Degrassi: The Next Generation".
13 Johnny Gill Johnny Gill started out as a solo artist in the 1980s, releasing two albums that didn't garner much attention. It was not until later, when Gill became a member of the r&b/pop group New Edition, that people started to take notice of his music and his talent. He went on to release his most successful ...read more.
14 Pleasure P Marcus Ramone Cooper, better known by his stage name Pleasure P, is an American R&B singer-songwriter, who experienced success as a member of the group Pretty Ricky before embarking on a solo career in 2007. His debut album The Introduction of Marcus Cooper was released on June 2009. On October, 2014, ...read more.
15 Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (formerly known as Ke$ha) was born on March 1st, 1987 in Los Angeles, United States. She is best known for her hits like Timber, Tik Tok, and We R Who We R. Kesha is an animal rights activist and she works for H.S.I. (Humane Society International). Kesha also stands up for L.G.B.T. rights in America
16 Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, professionally known by her stage name Katy Perry, was born on October 25, 1984 in Santa Barbara, California. She is a singer, songwriter, actress and an ambassador on one of the most popular companies of now, UNICEF.

She is also is one of the best-selling artists of all time. She won 4 Guinness World Records, 5 MTV Awards, 5 American Music Awards, 16'ASCAP Pop Music Awards, 5 Billboard Music Awards, 14 People's Choice, 1 Juno Award, 2 Myx Music Awards, 3 NRJ Awards, 6 Teen Choice and a Brit Award. ...read more.
17 Chris Brown Christopher Maurice "Chris" Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actor. Born in Tappahannock, Virginia, he was involved in his church choir and several local talent shows from a young age. He is most well known for his physical assault towards the singer Rihanna in 2009. He is also known for many hit singles, such as "Kiss Kiss", "Run It!", "Forever", "Deuces", "Look At Me Now", "Loyal", "Ayo", and "Back to Sleep".

His songs that other people wrote are much better than his songs he writes himself.

18 Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez, also known as J. Lo, is an American singer, actress, dancer, fashion designer, author and producer.
19 Usher Usher Terry Raymond IV is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. Born in Dallas, but raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee was where he lived until moving to Atlanta, Georgia at the age of 12 where his mother put him in local singing competitions all over the city.
20 Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and initial controversy. ...read more.

Mix of covers and professional songwriters.

21 Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber (born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He currently resides in Ontario, Canada and is Christian. He is the son of author Pattie Mallette. ...read more.
22 Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene "Kelly" Rowland is a Grammy Award winning American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality.
23 J. Holiday Nahum Thorton Grymes, better known by his stage name J. Holiday, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and actor.
24 Marques Houston
25 Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (formerly Cheryl Cole, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini) known as Cheryl is an English singer, dancer, and television personality. She rose to fame in late 2002 as a member of girl group Girls Aloud on ITV's Popstars: The Rivals, and stayed with the group until they split up in 2013.
8Load More
PSearch List