Gaga originally wrote "Telephone", with Rodney Jerkins, for Britney Spears. However, Spears' label rejected it and Gaga recorded the song as a collaboration with Beyoncé Knowles for The Fame Monster. Gaga said, "I wrote it for her a long time ago and she just didn't use it for her album. It's fine because I love the song and I get to perform it now." Additionally, the guest vocalist was originally going to be Spears, but for an unknown reason, Gaga made Knowles the featured vocalist instead. The main inspiration behind the song was Gaga's fear of suffocation as she felt that she seldom found time to just let loose and have fun. "Telephone" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga from her second studio album The Fame Monster, featuring American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles. The song was written by Gaga and Rodney Jerkins. The main inspiration of the song was Gaga's fear of not being able to enjoy herself because of her dedication to her career. The lyrics portray the singer as preferring the dance floor, rather than answering her lover's phone calls. Gaga explained that the telephone addressed in the lyrics of the song, is in reality a.