32 Times Celebrities Shaded Their Exes in Songs
"Cry Me a River" - Justin Timberlake
After Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears broke up, he outed her as a cheater in this scathing song.
"Love Yourself" - Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber has written more than one song with shade for his ex, Selena Gomez, but this song, with the lyric, "My mama don't like you - and she likes everyone," cuts deep.
"Getaway Car" - Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston enjoyed the definition of a whirlwind romance after she ended her relationship with Calvin Harris. On Reputation, Taylor addressed the fling in this song that implies she knew things would never work out with Tom and used him anyway. Ouch.
"I Don't F*ck With You" - Big Sean
Big Sean wrote this song about Glee's Naya Rivera after they ended their relationship.
"Where Are ü Now" - Skrillex, Diplo, and Justin Bieber
The "Where Are ü Now" video contains some visual shade for Selena in the form of graffiti on the wall behind Justin.
"Same Old Love" - Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez can dish out shade of her own. Her song "Same Old Love" calls out an ex who pulls the same tricks over and over. Sound familiar?
"Shout Out to My Ex" - Little Mix
When Zayn Malik and Perrie Edwards ended their engagement, her band, Little Mix, released a scathing track widely believed to be about Zayn (and Gigi Hadid, who he started dating after the split) thanks to lyrics like "Hope she's gettin' better sex, hope she ain't fakin' it like I used to."
"I Hit It First" - Ray J
Ray J threw shade at ex Kim Kardashian and her husband, Kayne West, with this track reminding the world that he, well, hit it first.
"My Way" - Calvin Harris
After breaking up with Taylor Swift, Calvin Harris released "My Way" and the song's video was full of visual shade at Taylor.
"Forever and Always" - Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift famously called out Joe Jonas for breaking up with her in a very brief phone call during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She also revealed that this song is about him.
"Paranoid" - Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers shot back at Taylor's shady songs. On "Paranoid," they sing, "That's why my ex is still my ex / I never trust a word she says / I'm runnin' all the background checks / And she's freaking out."
"Much Better" - Jonas Brothers
The JoBros also took aim at Taylor in this track, which references one of her first singles, "Teardrops on My Guitar." The lyric: "I get a rep for breakin' hearts / Now I'm done with superstars / And all the tears on her guitar / I'm not bitter."
"7 Things" - Miley Cyrus
Joe wasn't the only Jonas Brother to get some shade via song from a famous ex. Miley Cyrus ranted about Nick Jonas in her single "7 Things," calling him vain and accusing him of liking another girl (widely believed to be fellow Disney star Selena Gomez, who also dated Nick briefly) while they were dating.
"Dear John" - Taylor Swift
Joe Jonas was the first celebrity ex Taylor called out in song, but he was far from the last. She shaded John Mayer in the appropriately-titled "Dear John," singing, "You paint me a blue sky / And go back and turn it to rain / And I lived in your chess game / But you changed the rules everyday."
"Paper Doll" - John Mayer
John shot back at Taylor with "Paper Doll," which included a direct lyrical response to "Dear John."
"Cut the cord and pull some strings / And make yourself some angel wings / And if those angel wings don’t fly / Someone’s gonna paint you another sky," he sang.
"You Oughta Know" - Alanis Morissette
One of the most iconic angry breakup songs of all time was about none other than Full House star Dave Coulier.
"So What" - Pink
Pink vented her anger at husband Carey Hart in this song when they temporarily split.
46) "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift
Oooooooooo-oooo-oo-ooh.
"Why Should I Be Sad?" - Britney Spears
The title of this song, about her ex Kevin Federline, kind of says it all.
"You Suck" - Abigail Breslin
Abigail Breslin is more known as an actress than as a singer, but she held nothing back in her single "You Suck," about her ex, 5 Seconds of Summer singer Michael Clifford.
"Circle the Drain" - Katy Perry
Katy Perry called out her ex Travis McCoy in this song with lyrics like, "You fall asleep during foreplay cause the pills you take are more your forte / I'm not sticking around to watch you go down."
"My Favorite Mistake" - Sheryl Crow
This well-known Sheryl Crow single is reportedly about her ex Eric Clapton.
"I Don't Give A" - Madonna
Madonna penned this very honest breakup song about her ex-husband, Guy Ritchie.
"I Did Something Bad" - Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift addressed her breakup with Calvin Harris on the track "I Did Something Bad" on Reputation and made it clear that she has no regrets about moving on quickly after ending things with him.
"Olé" - Calvin Harris
Harris allegedly responded to the Swift breakup with this track, which included lyrics that might be a sly reference to Hiddleston's famous Avengers character.
"Low key, you won't tell none of your friends about me / You won't tell them I occupy your dreams and your thoughts."
"Don't" - Ed Sheeran
In "Don't," Ed Sheeran savagely shades a fellow singer whom he was casually hooking up with and who devastated him when she also slept with one of his friends. The singer in question is believed to be Ellie Goulding (and One Direction's Niall Horan is supposedly the friend).
"On My Mind" - Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding responded to "Don't" with "On My Mind," which included lyrics like "You don't mess with love, you mess with the truth," and "You wanted my heart but I just liked your tattoos."
"Infinity" - Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey reportedly shaded her ex-husband, Nick Cannon, in this song with lyrics like, "Why you mad? Talkin' 'bout you're mad, could it be that you just lost the best you've ever had?"
"Blame Game" - Kanye West
Kanye West's "Blame Game" takes aim at his ex, Amber Rose. "I'll call you bitch for sure... you call me motherfucker for long. At the end of it you know we both were wrong," he raps.
"Perfect" - One Direction
Taylor Swift has (allegedly) written several songs about her short-lived romance with One Direction's Harry Styles. The band's song, "Perfect," seems to accuse Taylor of knowing what she was getting into with Harry.
"Part of Me" - Katy Perry
After her divorce from Russell Brand, Katy Perry released "Part of Me," which was as much an anthem as a shade track.
"So you can keep the diamond ring / It don't mean nothing anyway / In fact you can keep everything yeah, yeah except for me," she sang.
"You're So Vain" - Carly Simon
The ultimate shady breakup song, Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" threw major shade at Warren Beatty before the term "throwing shade" even existed.
Obviously, Taylor is a repeat offender.