Adele once tried to claim One Direction’s “Fool’s Gold” after hearing the ballad before its release. Songwriters Jamie Scott and Mozella have revealed that the superstar loved the track and wanted it for herself, but they had already promised it to the boy band. The song ultimately stayed on One Direction’s 2014 album “Four,” where it became a longtime fan favorite.
Adele once tried to claim “Fool’s Gold,” a song that ultimately became one of One Direction’s most loved album tracks. Songwriters Jamie Scott and Mozella have revealed that the singer heard the ballad before its release and immediately wanted it, but the track had already been promised to the group and could not be taken back.
The story appears in Jason Lipshutz’s book “A Whole Lotta History,” where Scott and Mozella look back at writing material for One Direction’s 2014 album “Four.” The pair had worked closely with the band during that period and remembered “Fool’s Gold” as one of the songs that stood out from the moment it was written.
Mozella said the track came together during an unusually productive studio session in which she and Scott completed more than one song. As soon as “Fool’s Gold” was finished, they felt they had something special, describing it as an honest and emotionally direct song.
Scott then played the track for Harry Styles, who quickly responded to it. That reaction helped secure its place with One Direction, but another major singer soon heard it too.
According to Scott, Adele contacted him after hearing “Fool’s Gold” and told him she loved the song. It is not clear exactly how she first came across the recording, although the writers suggested she may have heard it while working around Scott or producer Ryan Tedder.
By that point, however, the decision had already been made. Scott and Mozella had promised the song to One Direction, and they did not want to break that commitment even after Adele showed interest.
Mozella recalled that Adele’s reaction was enthusiastic, but the writers felt they could not simply remove the song from the band’s album plans. The situation therefore ended without a competing version ever being developed.
“Fool’s Gold” remained with One Direction and appeared on “Four,” the group’s fourth studio album, released in 2014. The record featured Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik and became another major commercial success.
“Four” reached No. 1 in both the United Kingdom and the United States, extending the group’s run of chart-topping releases. Although “Fool’s Gold” was not one of the album’s biggest singles, it gradually became a fan favorite and remains closely associated with the more emotional side of One Direction’s catalog.
The new story adds an unusual “what if” to the song’s history. Adele’s interest shows how easily a composition can move between different artists before a final version is released, especially when songwriters are working across several major pop projects at the same time.
In this case, timing mattered more than star power. Adele was already one of the biggest voices in the world, but the writers considered their promise to One Direction more important than reopening the song’s destination.
There is also no indication that Adele recorded her own complete version of “Fool’s Gold.” The account describes her hearing the song and wanting it, not a finished session that was later abandoned.
That distinction keeps the story focused on the songwriting process rather than turning it into a lost Adele recording. What survives is the knowledge that she connected strongly enough with the song to ask about taking it for herself.
The revelation arrives alongside another unexpected story about Adele’s studio history. Tinie Tempah recently said she once recorded a playful rap during the sessions for his 2011 Labrinth collaboration “Earthquake.”
According to Tinie, Adele was in the studio while the song was being made and began experimenting on the microphone. He remembered her being especially interested in Nicki Minaj at the time and said the improvised verse reflected that influence.
That version of “Earthquake” was never released. Tinie has suggested that any future release would depend on Adele approving it, making the recording another example of material that exists outside her official catalog.
Both stories show a more playful side of Adele’s relationship with pop and hip-hop than the ballads most closely associated with her public image. One involves her trying to secure a song written for One Direction, while the other involves an unreleased rap recorded for fun in the studio.
The story also shows how close major pop songs can come to taking a completely different path before release. In this case, one early promise was enough to decide the song’s final home.
“Fool’s Gold,” however, stayed exactly where Scott and Mozella had first intended it to go. More than a decade after “Four” was released, its history now includes the detail that one of the world’s biggest singers once heard the track and wanted it — but the promise to One Direction came first.
