Posted by Emily Exton on 10/15/2012 at 10:55 AM News

The Popdust Files: calvin harris, leona lewis, rihanna, We Found Love

Yet another British songstress wants the world to know that she was once the first choice of DJ du jour Calvin Harris. After Rita Ora claimed the Scottish producer originally offered her Cheryl Cole’s track, ”Call My Name,” earlier this year, Leona Lewis is chiming in by saying her pal Cal did the same to her with Rihanna’s eventual megahit, “We Found Love.” Says the former X Factor champ to the U.K.’s Daily Star:

I worked with Calvin [Harris] and we recorded “We Found Love.” But he went touring with Rihanna and she ended up releasing it. I didn’t commit to it because I wanted “Trouble” to be my [next] single so I think that was another reason they went with Rihanna. It was the same version and production but mine’s better.

This is not the first time that she’s publicly claimed to be “better” than one of her (arguably more successful) peers. Lewis has no plans to anonymously leak her superior version of the song (t00 unprofessional) but will settle for dropping hints that she, a winner of a British reality show and current subject of the latest One Direction relationship rumors, has a leg up on one of the century’s biggest pop acts—even if very few can confirm this. But she still has moments of self-doubt. “It was a bit annoying to see how big a hit it was around the world but if I’d released it maybe it wouldn’t have done as well,” Lewis added. She might be right: is the worldwide success of “We Found Love” dependent on faint Bajan patois and lovely falsetto? Its dramatic and controversial music video? Or would Calvin’s beats be just as great when paired with any other female singer’s voice? You decide.