Celine Dion & Peabo Bryson - "Beauty and the Beast"

Before Ariana Grande and John Legend, there was Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson.  The duo performed the theme to the original version of the movie Beauty and the Beast in 1991.  At the time, Disney executives were worried that Celine Dion wasn't big enough -- so they paired her with a more household name: Peabo Bryson.  That's right, a dude named Peabo got the gig because he was a household name.  Too bad things didn't turn out for that Celine Dion character.  Who?

John Legend - "P.D.A (We Just Don't Care)"

John Legend performed during a morning show broadcast for the Hot Adult Contemporary radio station where I worked in 2007.  At that time, Legend was a relatively unknown outside the R&B format and was promoting "P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)"--his third single from his Once Again album.  A year earlier, I heard the album in its entirety and declared myself a big fan of Legend's.  It was quite an honor during that rainy April morning in 2007 when I had to to stand in the rain with an umbrella in hand while walking Legend from his limo to his dressing room for the morning show broadcast.  Later, I awkwardly asked for a photo.  Fortunately for me, I got the photo of me and John.  Unfortunately for him, "P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)" never charted in the US.

Brian McKnight - "Back At One"

When John Legend burst onto the scene in the mid-2000s, a woman I worked with named Phyllis told me that she thought he had the worst voice she'd ever heard.  Never shy of sharing her opinion, Phyllis also accused him of moaning and not actually singing.  I immediately took to John Legend and his voice despite his sometimes moaning-slash-singing.  I'll compare Phyllis' take on John Legend with Brian McKnight's "Back At One".  This song dominated all radio charts at the end of 1999, yet I cringed every time I heard it.