Musicians Who Lost Their Backup Singers To Mega-Successful Solo Careers

Every singer or rock star who eventually found fame, fortune, and their name on a marquee had to start somewhere. And for many, it was working as a backup singer for another musical artist who would eventually lose their services. Maybe they provided additional vocals or harmonies to studio tracks or toured with a big-name act they'd later surpass or join in terms of stardom. Regardless, those future stars paid their dues and honed their skills while just out of the spotlight, working in a fame-adjacent capacity to a major name who elevated them to household-name status.

Working as a backup singer, helping other musicians realize their dreams and artistic visions, provided just the boost these artists needed to move into a new level of fame as a solo act. But they all had to leave somebody behind: Their bosses who took a chance on them and integrated them into their scenes, bands, or touring contingents. Here are the big stars who cultivated the careers of backup singers, only for those singers to go on to their own superstar runs.

Around the same time that aspiring musician John Stephens contributed piano to Lauryn Hill's 1999 hit "Everything is Everything," he met the cousin of his college roommate, entertainment deal-maker Devo Springsteen: Kanye West. After adopting the performance name of John Legend, the musician contributed heavily to West's first full-length studio album, 2003's "The College Dropout." "I played piano and sang a lot of stuff on that album," Legend told The Independent. "From the 'Graduation' song at the beginning of the album, to 'Never Let Me Down,' I sang on everything! I even did a little rap on 'Kanye's Workout Plan.'" 

Also in 2003, Legend helped out rapper Jay-Z on "Encore" before focusing on his own work. In 2004, the musician completed his first LP, "Get Lifted." It included hits like "Ordinary People" and was a factor in his best new artist win at the Grammy Awards.

Katy Perry became a huge star after switching genres. Before she became one of the most consistently chart-topping pop acts of the 2000s and 2010s, Katy Perry recorded under her real name, Katy Hudson. In 2001, she released a poor-selling, Christian pop LP before giving secular music a try. One of her biggest breakthroughs was singing backup for sometimes spiritual metal band P.O.D. 

For the 2006 album "Testify," the group embraced a poppier sound, bringing in producer Glen Ballard. The song "Goodbye for Now" necessitated the addition of a female singer, and Ballard brought in who he thought was the ideal candidate: Perry. "That was his protégé at the time," P.O.D. frontman Sonny Sandoval told Songfacts. About two years after the release of "Goodbye for Now," Katy Perry emerged with the album "One of the Boys." The breakout single, "I Kissed a Girl," spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

An '80s musician we completely forgot about, Brenda K. Starr mixed dance, pop, and Latin freestyle to make some catchy music that was quintessentially of its time. She charted a succession of singles on the charts in that era, most notably "Pickin' Up the Pieces" and "I Still Believe." Starr operated out of New York City, and in the late 1980s she hired a teenage singer to back her up on stage named Mariah Carey. They got along well, and Carey made no secret about her own aspirations for fame. She recorded a demo cassette showcasing her tremendous voice and gave it to Starr, who at a music industry party passed it along to Sony Music head Tommy Mottola. He later married Carey, but not before signing her to one of his labels.

Starr never had a pop hit past 1991, while Carey went on to become one of the most successful musicians ever. To date, she has scored 19 No. 1 hits and sold more than 190 million records. In 1999, Carey paid tribute to her former boss and champion by covering "I Still Believe" for her greatest hits compilation "#1's."

Sheryl Crow is now worth millions, and she's been working in music in some capacity since the late 1980s. After working as an elementary school music teacher and singing for TV commercials, she landed just about the biggest backup singer gig possible at the time: Performing behind and alongside Michael Jackson each night of his "Bad" tour, which played around the world from late 1987 until early 1989. When the show required Jackson to recreate his hit duet "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," Crow performed the parts originated by Siedah Garrett and featured heavily in "The Way You Make Me Feel."

Getting repeatedly featured by Jackson sent more support work Crow's way. In 1989, she added backing vocals to Don Henley's album "The End of the Innocence" and became the less famous of two duet partners on the 1991 Kenny Loggins track "I Would Do Anything." And then, Crow was off to her own projects. Following a canceled 1992 album that Crow felt didn't come out right, she recorded "Tuesday Night Music Club," which sold seven million copies and led to a Grammy Award for best new artist.