Source link : https://las-vegas-news.com/the-bitter-rivalries-behind-the-6-greatest-duets-ever-recorded/
Music has always had a strange relationship with tension. Two artists who can barely stand each other, or who are locked in some form of competition, will step into the same studio and produce something that neither could have made alone. The friction, it turns out, can be the fuel.
Some of these collaborations were born from manufactured beef, others from genuine personal wounds. A few were pulled off through outright deception. What they all share is this: the resulting recordings became timeless. Here are six of the greatest duets ever made, and the turbulent backstories that the polished final mixes couldn’t quite bury.
“The Girl Is Mine” – Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney (1982): A Friendship Already on Borrowed Time
McCartney and Jackson became friendly in the mid-1970s when they met to discuss possible songwriting collaborations. The two would eventually go on to have hits with “The Girl Is Mine,” the lead single from Jackson’s Thriller in 1982, and “Say, Say, Say,” featured on McCartney’s album Pipes of Peace in 1983. On the surface, it was one of pop’s most cheerful partnerships. Beneath it, a clock was already ticking.
It was during this period of mutually advantageous collaboration that McCartney reportedly explained to Jackson just how lucrative music publishing rights could be, especially given that…
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Author : Matthias Binder
Publish date : 2026-06-30 11:16:00
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