Random Breakup Songs You Probably Didn't Realize Were About Other Celebrities (14 items)

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  (#1) OutKast's 'Ms. Jackson' Is About Erykah Badu And Her Mother

  André 3000 of OutKast dated Erykah Badu in the late '90s. The couple had a child together, but split up in 1999. André 3000 wrote "Ms. Jackson" as a way to express his feelings about how it ended, and Badu appreciated the sentiment. "When I heard André’s verse, I felt very good because his verse was really, really inspiring," she said.

  The pair have developed a strong friendship as co-parents, with André 3000 saying, "She’s like a cool sister more than anything." As for her mother, Badu said she got really into the song. "She bought herself a Ms. Jackson license plate. She had the mug, she had the ink pen, she had the headband, everything. That’s who loved it."
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  (#2) Katy Perry's 'Wide Awake' Is About Russell Brand

  When Katy Perry first released "Wide Awake" in 2012, the media immediately took it as a response to the end of her marriage to Russell Brand. The song includes plenty of telling lyrics, such as: 

  I wish I knew then

  What I know now

  Wouldn't dive in

  Wouldn't bow down 

  However, the song eventually turns to an affirming message about the peace you feel after realizing things are over, with Perry singing:

  I am born again

  Out of the lion's den

  I don't have to pretend 

  For his part, Brand has no problem with Perry writing about their relationship. "She's a good person, I've got nothing but love for her," he said. "It's a nice song."
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  (#11) Selena Gomez's 'The Heart Wants What It Wants' Is About Justin Bieber

  In 2014, Selena Gomez released "The Heart Wants What It Wants," and the lyrics had people thinking about her breakup with Justin Bieber. Those lyrics include: 

  The bed's getting cold and you're not here

  The future that we hold is so unclear 

  In a 2014 interview with Ryan Seacrest, Gomez said about the song, "I just wanted to say, 'This is what I want, this is where I am in my professional life, things changed in my personal life, things changed in my heart - everything." She added, "I made some decisions that weren't great as well, and so did he, and that's why we went through all that to only make us better."
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  (#5) Miley Cyrus Had Liam Hemsworth In Mind When Making 'Wrecking Ball'

  While Miley Cyrus did not write "Wrecking Ball" herself, it's very likely that she had ex-fiancé Liam Hemsworth in mind when recording the hit. At least that was heavily implied by an intro to the song she gave at a 2014 concert in London. Before the performance, she told the audience, "I'm gonna tell those motherf*ckers that broke my heart, particularly one, to suck my fat d*ck and to enjoy hearing this song for the rest of your life."

  She also told Ellen DeGeneres that the entire Bangerz album is about Hemsworth, saying, "I think... with starting with 'Adore You' and ending with 'Someone Else'... I think I knew more intuitively where my life was going then I actually thought I did at the time."
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  (#12) Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You' Is About Porter Wagoner

  Before she was a star, Dolly Parton appeared regularly on The Porter Wagoner Show as the country crooner's duet partner. In 1973, Parton decided it was time to move on from their partnership and told Wagoner she was leaving. Wagoner was upset about the news, so to soften the blow, Parton wrote a song for him explaining why it was time for her to go. Although their relationship was strictly professional, "I Will Always Love You" remains a song that can ease the sting of any of breakup.
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  (#8) Cold Case Love

  • Rihanna

  "Cold Case Love," from Rihanna's 2009 album Rated R, wasn't written by the singer, herself. Instead, it was written by Justin Timberlake, Robin Tadross, and James Fauntleroy II. However, the songwriters took inspiration for the lyrics from Rihanna's well-documented relationship with Chris Brown. Rihanna confirmed this fact when asked point blank about the song in an interview with CNN. "It's a song that everybody wanted to hear," she said. "That's exactly what everybody wanted to hear. Everything I didn't say for the past eight months. Exactly how I felt about that relationship and how I feel about it now, that says it all."

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