TLC have revealed why they turned down the chance to record ‘…Baby One More Time’.

The R&B group were offered the song before Britney Spears, who would release it as her debut single in 1999 and score a massive Number One hit on both sides of the Atlantic. According to the Official Charts Company, Spears’ ‘…Baby One More Time’ is currently the 28th biggest-selling single of all time in the UK with sales of 1.52 million.

Recalling her thought process when the group got offered the song, TLC’s T-Boz told MTV News: “I was like, I like the song but do I think it’s a hit? Do I think it’s TLC? I’m not saying ‘hit me baby’. No disrespect to Britney. It’s good for her. But was I going to say ‘hit me baby one more time’? Hell no!”


Explaining that the song’s famous hook felt wrong for the group, T-Boz continued: “That’s not even my subject of conversation, so you know, it worked for her, I’m happy for her, I like Britney. Every song isn’t good for each artist, and when you’re a real artist you know what you believe in and what you really want to sing. So, I’m clear that it was a hit, but I’m also clear that it wasn’t for TLC.”

Back in July TLC played live for the first time in four years at the Mixtape Festival in Hershey, Pennsylvania and brought out rapper Lil Mama to perform the late Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes’ verse and choreography during ‘No Scrubs’.

Lil Mama plays Left Eye in CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story, a TV biopic of the group set to premiere on US network VH1 this Monday (October 21). Click here to watch the trailer. Meanwhile, TLC have recently unveiled a brand new song called ‘Meant To Be’ which features on the group’s latest greatest hits compilation ’20’.