Say What! A Whitney Houston And Mary J. Blige Collaboration Was Turned Downed By Clive Davis

Can you imagine what could’ve been if the world would’ve gotten that Whitney Houston and Mary J. Blige duet? 

It has been reported that a potential duet between the legendary singers would have happened if it wasn’t turned down by Clive Davis. As BET states, Mary’s song “Don’t Waste Your Time” featuring the late Aretha Franklin, was originally supposed to have Whitney Houston on the song. 

Kirk Burrowes, Blige’s former manager said in an unpublished 2019 interview, “I wanted Mary to do a duet with Whitney Houston.” While revealing the news, Burrowes wanted to build his relationship with Davis during his time at Bad Boy Entertainment. 

Burrowes continued, “He had Whitney and Aretha Franklin, but what Clive did was cut the baby in half. So he set it up for me and Mary to do the Whitney duet on Diva Live, so I could get the Whitney duet that I wanted.”

He added, “I was disappointed because Whitney and Mary at that time would have been, ‘Wow.’ But when he said, Ms. Aretha Franklin. I was like, ‘This is legendary. This is that moment to pass the baton.” 

Listen to the song below.