The Most Bizarre Music Collaborations. Ever.
We can't help but notice a FREAK SPATE of weird collaborations lately (Adam Lambert, Avicii and Nile Rodgers, anyone? Ne-Yo and Celine Dion? Don't go there with Tom Odell and Nicole Scherzinger. We're still not over it). Have these pop/rock/rap Gods gawn mad, we ask? Or simply run out of money? Not sure. What we do know is that this isn't a new thing. Strange team-ups have been going on for aeons. Very occasionally, they work. Quite often, they don't. Including the above, here are some of the most bizarre team-ups in musical history...
PA PhotosNe-Yo
Ne-Yo is almost on par with John Legend in the master collaborator stakes, but we didn’t see this collaboration coming…
PA PhotosCeline Dion
Yes, the RnB singer/songwriter has, rather bizarrely, teamed up with Canadian legend Celine Dion on a new track. Titled Incredible, the track is from the star’s album Loved Me Back To Life, released in November 2013.
Rex FeaturesAdam Lambert
Adam Lambert - American Idol runner-up and current Freddie Mercury impersonator - didn’t surprise us when he teamed up with Cyndi Lauper. BUT. He did when he took to the stage with…
Rex FeaturesAvicii
Swedish house DJ/producer extraordinaire Avicii for a special performance of the new track they’ve recorded with someone infinitely stranger and collaboratively more promiscuous…
Rex FeaturesNile Rodgers
… The granddaddy of disco himself, Nile Rodgers. As well as playing the aforementioned song (which is called Lay Me Down, by the way) at a charity event on Long Island, Rodgers and Lambert also performed Let’s Dance, which David Bowie originally put his vocals to.
WennTom Odell
BRITs Critic’s Choice winner Tom Odell is a relative infant in the music world, having only released his debut album Long Way Down in June 2013. But no sooner had he wiped the milk from his mouth than he was indulging in some bizarre collaborative action of his own…
Rex FeaturesNicole Scherzinger
… Hooking up with former Pussy Cat Doll and current X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger for some unseemly studio action. The pair wrote material together for the follow-up to Scherzy’s 2012 album, Killer Love. And the pop world still hasn’t recovered.
Rex FeaturesFall Out Boy
We thought for a moment that floppy-haired American pop-punksters Fall Out Boy (responsible for such hits as Dance, Dance and Sugar We’re Going Down. Deep.) had indeed fallen off the edge of the planet. Perhaps forever. They’d been on hiatus for a while. Until one fateful afternoon, they humbly announced their big return – the Save Rock & Roll album, out 7 May 2013. And on hand, rather bizarrely, to help them with their quest…
Getty ImagesCourtney Love
… Was none other than Courtney Love. Yup. She of Hole fame. Of Kurt Cobain’s wife fame. The indisputable Queen of Grunge, growling away with the boys on new track Rat A Tat. Shiz just doesn’t get weirder. OH WAIT. It does…
Rex FeaturesElton John
…. They’ve managed to rope in King of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Piano, Elton John, too. How? We’re not sure. But we’re predicting, after 100 bouquets of flowers and one too many insert made-up cocktail name that for legal reasons Elton definitely DID NOT drink, he finally agreed to appear on Fall Out Boy’s title-track, Save Rock & Roll. We still haven’t forgiven him for that Blue collaboration (a moment in pop history so horrible, we couldn’t bring ourselves to include it), but it appears Elton is somewhat of a repeat offender…
Rex FeaturesEminem
… Need we remind you of his team-up with Eminem on Stan at the Grammys in 2001. Who filled in for Dido for the live rendition. We’re not sure what’s stranger, really.
Rex FeaturesMiley Cyrus
Squeaky-clean (well…) star of Hannah Montana − and singer of bubble gum pop songs such as Party In The USA (also… Deep.) − gets herself a fresh buzz cut. And also a bold new musical direction…
Rex FeaturesSnoop Lion
… By guest-starring as a vocalist on Snoop Lion (formerly Dogg)’s RnB-meets-reggae banger, Ashtrays And Heartbreaks. We just don’t know what to say about this. The vast amount of ‘dodgy cigarette’ references would almost make it her most controversial move to date, had she not also teamed up with…
Getty ImagesTyler, The Creator
… Massively controversial Odd Future rapper, Tyler, The Creator. The pair collaborated on an as-of-yet secret track for the pop star’s forthcoming album. Even more oddly, it was penned by Mary J Blige. That Miley. She’s so G.
Rex FeaturesCher Lloyd
Look! It’s her off of The X Factor, who randomly got so famous in the US on the back of being born in Britain…
Getty ImagesBusta Rhymes
… That legendary rapper Busta Rhymes agreed to appear on her song, Grow Up. And thus, our former teenage selves cried themselves to sleep.
Rex FeaturesTaylor Swift
... As did our more recent pop-loving selves, when butter-wouldn’t-melt country-pop phenomenon Taylor Swift invited Cher on stage at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles during her Red tour (we see what she did with the colour scheme, there). The pair performed a duet of the former X Factor finalist’s single, Want U Back.
Rex FeaturesOzzy Osbourne
The Prince of Darkness, the Godfather of heavy metal, the Grandaddy of goth… Bat-munching (actually, that was a rumour. But for rock’s sake, we’ll pretend it’s true) Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne has got quite the reputation for being one of the baddest musicians in history…
Rex FeaturesMiss Piggy
… Well. He did have. Until he decided that performing a duet with Miss Piggy would be a great addition to his bulging back catalogue. What did they perform? Born To Be Wild. Obviously.
Rex FeaturesDappy
Lovely boy, that Dappy from N-Dubz. But when he’s not making tween grime on the side, he’s producing club-worthy thumpers with…
Rex FeaturesBrian May
… Legendary Queen guitarist and CBE Brian May. The poodle-haired axe God noodles away on Dappy’s single, Rock Star. Which, even more bizarrely, isn’t the worst thing May’s ever been involved in…
Rex Features5ive
… Remember Queen’s collaboration with 90s slam-dunk(da funk)ers 5ive? We’ve tried so hard to forget. But it DEFINITELY happened.
Rex FeaturesLady Gaga
She’s a strange one in herself, that Lady Gaga. There is little that would shock us about the meat-attired, cross-dressing pal of Julian Assange. Except, perhaps, her duet with…
Rex FeaturesTony Bennett
… Slow-tune jazz stalwart, Tony Bennett. In fact, the pair enjoyed performing together on Lady Is A Tramp so much, they’ve recorded a whole album together.
Rex FeaturesMetallica
Thrash forefathers Metallica reside quite comfortably at the heavier end of popular musical spectrum, and, aside from the odd fist-clenching guitar ballad, are known for their blistering speed and headbanging. Until, that is, the unspeakable happened…
Rex FeaturesLou Reed
… They teamed up with New York’s original art scene punk, Lou Reed. Not just for one bizarrely superfluous song. Oh no. But for a whole album. From Transformer to Lulu. Not a journey we would wish on anyone.
Rex FeaturesDave Grohl
WE LOVE YOU DAVE GROHL! CAN YOU TELL WE’RE FANS OF THE FORMER NIRVANA DRUMMER, CURRENT FOO FIGHTERS FRONTMAN AND POSSESSOR OF MORE SIDE-PROJECTS THAN ANY OTHER MUSICIAN IN LIVING HISTORY…? The latter of which, to be honest, means we weren’t overly shocked to discover that he’d performed a duet with…
Rex FeaturesNora Jones
… Queen of coffee table music, Nora Jones. The pair performed Wings/Paul McCartney’s Maybe I’m Amazed at the Kennedy Center together in 2010. Jones loves a good rock team-up: she’s worked with Faith No More’s God-like genius Mike Patton in the past, too.
Rex FeaturesKe$ha
Blue-lipped, unicorn lover Ke$ha loves a cameo. Our favourite, of course, being Dawson from Dawson’s Creek (or ‘James Van Der Douche’, as she charmingly refers to him in her Blow video). Even so, we were most confused when we heard the news that…
Rex FeaturesThe Flaming Lips
… She’d appeared on a Flaming Lips track. And downright gobsmacked upon further hearing that they’d had such fun in the studio, they’d decided to record a whole album together. The name of said work? Lip$ha. Sure.
Rex FeaturesColdplay
… But when she spots a musical cardigan to wear, she’s all over it. Ri-Ri and the ‘Play released smash hit Princess Of China together in 2012.
Rex FeaturesGwyneth Paltrow
Speaking of Coldplay, Chris Martin’s missus might be better known for getting on/off the train at EXACTLY the right/wrong time, but after that sterling performance as a supply teacher in Glee, she just. Couldn’t. Stop. Singing. So crazy was she about her new hobby…
Rex FeaturesCee Lo Green
… That one fateful Grammys evening, she teamed up with Cee Lo Green to perform his hit, Fck You*. He was dressed as a sort of chicken man at the time. Gwynny, on the other hand, was not. But that’s not the only strange duet she’s been involved in…
Rex FeaturesHuey Lewis
… Anyone remember her team-up with Huey Lewis? Yes, he of And The News fame. Of Power Of Love fame. The pair performed Smokey Robinson’s Cruisin’ together in this 2000 movie duet.
Rex FeaturesAlicia Keys
Alicia Keys was ace when she wore leather Trilbys and sang at prisoners. Take the piano away from her, however…
Rex FeaturesJack White
… And she’s likely to do something BIZARRE. Like team up with former The White Stripes frontman Jack White. Kinda worked though, didn’t it?
Rex FeaturesKylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue is camp, candy-coated, dance-infused pop incarnate. Which is why we were so utterly bemused to recall…
Rex FeaturesNick Cave
… The time she collaborated with super-browed muso Nick Cave to record a cover of Where The Wild Roses Grow. IT TOTALLY HAPPENED. Still can’t get over it. It’s not actually that bad, either. Seriously. Hear for yourselves.
Rex FeaturesMarilyn Manson
Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson tends to err on the heavier side of things musically. So pencilled eyebrows were raised when…
Rex FeaturesDMX
… He was invited by perennially barking rapper DMX to join him on a track. And thus, The Omen was born. And we can confirm it is every bit as terrifying as the film of the same name.
Rex FeaturesThe Jonas Brothers
Wholesome, chastity-wielding bro-band The Jonas Brothers must have given their pastor (and Disney) quite the fright when they…
Rex FeaturesCommon
… Invited potty-mouthed rapper Common to appear on the track Don’t Charge Me For The Crime. We’ll let you draw your own conclusions over the title of that pop gem.
Rex FeaturesPaul McCartney
You can always rely on Macca to come up with a few collaborative corkers. The man is a Beatle, after all, so we’ll let him off. Among our very favourites has to be…
Rex FeaturesStevie Wonder
… His Ebony And Ivory duet with Stevie Wonder, which shot to the top of the charts when it was released in 1982. Our personal numero uno Macca team-up?
Rex FeaturesMichael Jackson
This little beauty with <a href="https://beautysale.store/celebrity/biographies/michael-jackson%22 target="_new">Michael Jackson. What a video, what a tune.[/i] Speaking of MJ, anyone remember when he collaborated with…
Rex FeaturesEddie Murphy
… Beverly Hills Cop himself, Eddie Murphy? The resulting work? A PaintShop Pro masterpiece. Could have been made on an iPhone app. Really, it could. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9cQOcAC_K8" target="_new"> Check it out here.[/i]
Rex FeaturesMick Jagger
But there is one rock legend that outdoes Macca and Elton John combined in the bizarre collaboration stakes. Enviably-lipped Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, who has agreed to duets so strange, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G4jnaznUoQ" target="_new"> it makes this look like an average Wednesday afternoon…[/i]
Rex FeaturesWill.I.Am
… Living, breathing Lego-man Will.I.Am along for the ride, too. In what has to be one of the strangest moments in collaborative history, the trio recorded the track Hard for the Black Eyed Peas star. Must have been. But wait… There’s more! We were floored by the news that Jagger had teamed up on a song with…
Rex FeaturesJoss Stone
… Joss Stone. What the flippin’ hey was SuperHeavy all about? Jagger set up the short-lived super-group a few years back. David Stewart was in on it too. #ShouldHaveCalledGrohl
Rex FeaturesLed Zeppelin
Speaking of when legendary rockers get it oh-so-very wrong, let us remind ourselves that even the mighty Led Zep have stumbled on occasion. We are, of course, referring to their collaboration with…
Rex FeaturesRolf Harris
… Rolf Harris on Stairway To Heaven. Complete with wobble board. Minus injured pet. Sadly, this one didn’t make it.
