In the mid 2000’s R&B singer Teairra Mari was on the fast track to becoming the next big superstar with two hits to her credit. It seemed like she was set to take off then out of nowhere, Rihanna came out on the same label and it seemed as though Teairra fell to the background.

There were many unconfirmed reports about what happened with Teairra and her record deal and rumors regarding her relationship with Jay Z, but now LA Reid is spilling some good tea on exactly what or who may have been the cause for the stop in Teairra’s career and the rise of Rihanna.

Is it possible that Beyoncé came in between Teairra Mari and super stardom?

A new excerpt from L.A. Reid’s forthcoming memoir, Sing to Me: My Story of Making Music, Finding Magic, and Searching for Who’s Next, the record exec reveals that he and the label thought between the Love & Hip Hop Hollywood starlet and Rihanna that Teairra was the bigger star but Queen Bey had him rethink things.

Reid recalls,

After signing Rihanna, Jay Z and his team did the A&R for her first album, and I had nothing to do with it. The funny thing about Rihanna’s success was that we signed two girls at that time — Rihanna and a lovely young lady named Teairra Mari. We had an in-house company showcase and Beyoncé happened to be there with Jay Z. Teairra Mari, Rihanna, a four-girl group called Black Butterfly and Ne-Yo performed. At the label, we thought Teairra Mari would be the big star. We spent more time on her, did more work on her, paid more attention to her. Rihanna already had a hit with “Pon De Replay,” but we still thought it was the other girl. A bell went off for me, however, when, after the showcase, Beyoncé came up to me.

“That Rihanna girl,” she said, “she’s a beast.”

Interesting, very interesting. I guess we will never know if in fact that is what set the wheels in motion, but we all know that ever since then that Rihanna reign just hasn’t let up.

LA has been in the business a long time and been tied to some good drama over the years, so I am sure the book will have many other good morsels of tea.