Shakira and other stars who wrote songs about their (ex-)lovers

Celebrities cry and love like any mortal, but a few of them have the opportunity to reflect these feelings in a song. Shakira has done it with several punches at her ex, the football player Gerard Piqué. The most-talked-about song of them all is 'BZRP Music Sessions #53', a leading track in the streaming platforms.

In 2022, the news about the breakup between singer Shakira and soccer player Gerard Piqué went viral. Apparently, he had cheated on her and then left her for a younger woman. The singer quickly released a song about it, titled sarcastically: 'Te Felicito' (in English, 'Congratulations').

'Congratulations' turned out to be the first of a series of songs that Shakira dedicated to her ex Gerard Piqué. She collaborated with the Spanish singer Rauw Alejandro.

Photo: Shakira / Youtube

The lyrics are quite specific: they qualify him as a very good actor because he was allegedly dishonest to her.

"Congratulations, you are such a great actor
I have no doubt of that

I don't buy that cheap philosophy
I'm sorry, I don't ride that bike anymore
I can't stand two-faced people"

For the second punch, Shakira brought us 'Monotony' ('Monotonía'). This song was released in October 2022 and featured Puerto Rican star Ozuna.

In the video of the song, Shakira walks around in a supermarket, looking bored. She blames monotony for her breakup with Piqué.

"It wasn't you, it wasn't me.
It was the result of the monotony.
I never said anything, but it was painful.
And I should know that this was gonna happen.

Suddenly you were not the same.
You left me because of your nаrсіѕіѕm.
You forgot what we once were."

Picture: Shakira / Youtube

In the third round of this soap-opera-worthy breakup, Shakira worked with the Argentine DJ Bizarrap. Their single, with an inconspicuous title ('BZRP Music Sessions #53') "broke a record by getting 50 million plays on YouTube in 24 hours," according to OKDiario. Meanwhile, Spotify says it had 15 million plays on the first day of its release, and within 24 hours it managed to lead the top 50 globally.

The song raised some controversy for smashing certain known brands. Shakira compared them to her ex's new girlfriend.

"You're acting so weird, I don't even recognize you
I'm worth two 22-year-olds
You traded in a Ferrari for a Twingo
You traded in a Rolex for a Casio
You're all worked up, slow down
Ah, so much time at the gym
But maybe work out your brain a bit too."

Shakira is certainly not the only one to have written songs about her (ex-)lovers. The lyrics of the following famous songs also have hidden messages.

Whether it's just marketing, love, or genuine pain, we'll let you decide...

Did you know this? Justin Timberlake dedicated his song 'Cry Me a River' to Britney Spears. They had ended their relationship in 2002.

Unequivocally, Timberlake sings:

"You told me you loved me. Why did you leave me all alone?
Now you tell me you need me, when you call me on the phone.
Girl, I refuse. You must have me confused with some other guy.
The bridges were burned, now it's your turn, to cry."

Justin Timberlake has faced criticism about this song several times in the years since its release. Fans accuse him of painting a negative picture of Spears - as an adulterer - and continuing his thriving career while she fell into ruin.

Adele's ex-husband has stipulated in their divorce settlement that she may never write and release a song about him. That's a shame because Adele writes such wonderful songs when she is heartbroken.

In 'Someone Like You,' she doesn't just say goodbye to the man who broke her heart, but she also suggests that she's never going to find anyone like him again. She wrote: “I hate to turn up out of the blue, uninvited. But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it. I had hoped you'd see my face, and that you'd be reminded that for me, it isn't over."

And then there's the romantic affairs of Taylor Swift. They tend to  generate a lot of good music. Not just by Swift herself, but also by her ex-lovers. They say, for example, that Calvin Harris dedicated the song 'Olé' to Taylor Swift when she left him for Tom Hiddleston.

We can hear him sneer in the song: "I see online that you've begun to be a good girl and take trips with your boyfriend. Being attentive, continue to pretend."

Whenever Taylor Swift releases a new album, fans wonder if she will include a couple of songs about her love life again. Swift is known to process her romantic debacles through her music. She sang 'Dear John' for John Mayer (in the photo), 'Better than Revenge' for Joe Jonas, 'Back to December' for Taylor Lautner, and 'Out of the Woods' to Harry Styles.

Media claim that Taylor Swift sang 'Look what You Made Me Do' for Calvin Harris. The song includes phrases like this: “Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time. I've got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined."

Another example is Selena Gomez, whose song 'Lose You to Love Me' appears to have been written for Justin Bieber. The singer says she wrote the song years ago when she felt depressed and alone. Now that she feels more liberated, she says it's he right time to release the song to the public.

Gomez reportedly sings about her relationship with Justin Bieber: "I needed to lose you to find me. This dance, it was killing me softly. I needed to hate you to love me."

Miley Cyrus revealed that her hit 'Wrecking Ball' was made for her ex-lover Liam Hemsworth after he had broken her heart.

In the song, she says: “Don't you ever say I just walked away. I will always love you. I can't live a lie, running for my life. I will always love you. I came in like a wrecking ball, I never hit so hard in love. All I wanted was to break your walls. All you ever did was wreak me.”

They say Beyoncé and Jay Z have lived their entire relationship through their songs. Love declarations, infidelities, and excuses. For example, in 'Lemonade,' Beyoncé talks about her husband's affairs. In another song, 'Sorry,' she says: "He better call Becky with the good hair."

And then, they say, the rapper begged his wife for forgiveness on the album ‘4:44’. The song with the same name contains, among others, these revelations: "Look, I apologize, often womanize... I don't deserve you.”

Even though they're not together anymore, Shania Twain left an iconic song for Robert John Lange: 'You're Still the One.' It even won her two Grammys.

In the song, the Canadian singer says that she is still together with the love of her life, even though many people said they wouldn't make it. The romance lasted for 17 years.

Many media reported about the abuse that Rihanna received from Chris Brown. She herself confirmed it in the song 'Cold Case Love.'

The song contains remarks such as "What you did to me was a crime" and "Your love was breaking the law."

Katy Perry expressed the pain she went through after her divorce from Russell Brand in the song 'By the Grace of God.' It reveals that she was on the verge of suicide.

“Laying on the bathroom floor.... I felt the fault was all mine. Couldn't take it any more," she sings. "By the grace of God, I picked myself back up. I put one foot in front of the other and I looked in the mirror and decided to stay. Wasn't gonna let love take me out that way."