We want our great artists to be discerning, and David Bowie showed the kind of restraint that elevated his legend. This week, for instance, we're learning (though a similar story was published to much less fanfare over a year prior to his death) that the late icon not only turned down an opportunity to collaborate with Coldplay but offered the following brutal assessment of the material being proposed: “It's not a very good song, is it?” Harsh, but honest! It's just that kind of artistic integrity that we appreciate from our idols, and in light of the newsmaking tidbit (courtesy NME) we've come up with a “complete” list (or as complete as we could muster) of every notable film, TV show and musical collaboration Bowie turned down during his brilliant, multi-faceted career: from James Bond to American Idol.
(Note: Though there are other rumored rejections from Bowie not listed here — including the title character in Steven Spielberg's 1991 film Hook — we only included items for which we could track down the original and/or a reliable source.)