Whitney Houston’s “If I Told You That” Was Originally Supposed To Be A Duet With Michael Jackson

Following the success of “Angel Of Mine” and “The Boy Is Mine,” Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins found himself in business with Clive Davis in the late ’90s. By the time Whitney Houston began creating her fourth studio album, My Love Is Your Love, Davis asked Jerkins if he had a record for Houston.

During his appearance on the We Sound Crazy podcast, he revealed that not only did he have something, but it was actually a duet with Michael Jackson. After making the demo for “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay,” he also created one for “If I Told You That.” The pop remix was supposed to feature Jackson, but the final version included George Michael.

“It was like this dude who tried to sound like Michael on the demo, so when I played it for Clive and everybody, they were blown away,” Jerkins reflected.

Later in the episode, Darkchild admitted that he feels a lot of artists don’t make music like their predecessors because they don’t go to church. “I would love it if like Gabi, H.E.R., would go to church. I took her to church when she was 12, but like let’s go to church every Sunday,” he continued.

When speaking on Houston’s success, he reflected on her spirit being heavily influenced by the church. The famed producer remembered a time when the late actress called him to attend his father’s church and shared that she wanted to sing.

“She gets up there and sings and it’s like it’s Whitney Houston singing in front of 50 people,” Jerkins exclaimed, still shocked about the intimate moment.

Watch the full episode below.

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