When it comes to musicians who aren't afraid to use their music to throw some shade at an ex who did them wrong, we all worship at the altar of Taylor Swift. Taylor sometimes gets slammed by critics who think there is something inappropriate about using the stories of her life — including her breakups — to fuel her songwriting.
But here's the thing: If we could write a song that not only gave us the last word over a bad ex and also let us make millions of dollars and win a couple of Grammys along the way? We would do it every single time.
But while Taylor does it best, she's far from the only singer who has taken their ex to task lyrically. Given that love (and love lost) are major themes in pop music, there is a long tradition of musicians using songs to work out their feelings about a split and to subtly diss their exes. Not only are these songs great for listening to when we are in our own feelings about a breakup, but figuring out who the singer is talking about and what their ex did wrong can be awfully fun.
Scroll on for 15 times when things got awfully musically shady!
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Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morisette's classic breakup banger "You Oughta Know" (who hasn't shouted along to this in the car at some point?) isn't subtle about the fact that it calls out an ex for his ability to move on so quickly. But the song is subtle about its target. It took years before people realized it's about Full House star Dave Coulier.
Justin Timberlake
We can't help but wonder if Justin Timberlake was worried that "Cry Me a River" was too subtle in throwing shade on ex Britney Spears. That would help explain why he felt compelled to cast a look-alike actress for the music video, just to make sure fans really got the message that she did him wrong.
Little Mix
Although it hasn't been officially confirmed that "Shout Out to My Ex" (which is a total bop) is about former One Direction singer Zayn Malik, the timing does line up. He and Little Mix member Perrie Edwards dated from roughly 2011 to 2014, and this song dropped in 2016.
Taylor Swift
Honestly, we could probably have filled this list exclusively with Taylor Swift songs and still have some to spare. But we have to give special attention to her most epic ex-shading track, the 10-minute version of "All Too Well," which many people consider to be her best song and no doubt still makes Jake Gyllenhaal cringe.
John Mayer
While Taylor Swift is famous for shading her former boyfriends, at least one of her exes decided to shade her back. Fans think John Mayer's song "Paper Doll," which includes the lyric "you're like 22 girls in one" is a reference to the "22" singer herself. Why John went with such an unusual music video star is still unknown, however.
Selena Gomez
With all the drama and the years-long break-up/get-back-together/break-up cycle, it's no surprise that Selena Gomez had at least one song that throws shade on ex Justin Bieber. "Lose You To Love Me" was a big hit for her and hopefully helped her process her feelings about Justin moving on so quickly with now-wife Hailey Bieber.
Justin Bieber
Selena Gomez isn't the only one to make some music about the Justin/Selena/Hailey saga. Justin's "Love Yourself" is said to be about Selena and features the ultimate diss line, "My mama don't like you and she likes everyone." That is brutal!
Ariana Grande
We've got to hand it to Ariana Grande for being able to throw shade on multiple exes in one song! "Thank U, Next" references her relationships with Pete Davidson, Big Sean, Ricky Alvarez, and the late Mac Miller. Her "next" turned out to be husband Dalton Gomez, who she married in 2021.
Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato has been through a lot in the last few years, including a breakup with her ex-fiancé, Max Ehrich. Fans think the song "Still Have Me" — which includes lyrics like "I'm a mess and I'm still broken / But I'm finding my way back / And it feels like someone's stolen / All the light I ever had" — is about Max.
Ed Sheeran
Is it bad that we sometimes forget that Ed Sheeran used to have a dating life? He was never a big staple in the tabloids and has been married to his childhood sweetheart, Cherry, since 2019, so his brief relationship with singer Ellie Goulding kind of flew under the radar. His song "Don't," however, suggests that the relationship had some cheating drama and that Ellie was the cheater.
The Weeknd
Selena Gomez makes her second appearance on this list because she got shaded by more than one ex. She dated The Weeknd for about 10 months in 2017 but made a big enough mark on him that she is said to have inspired his song "Call Out My Name," which includes the lyric "I almost cut a piece of myself for your life," a seeming reference to her kidney transplant.
Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus' relationship with ex-husband Liam Hemsworth inspired both happy music (we still love the song "Malibu") and some songs that hit at her feelings about his alleged cheating. Her 2023 hit "Flowers" is all about taking joy in moving on after a bad ending.
Halsey
One of our favorite Halsey songs, "Without Me," is where she processed her feelings about her tumultuous relationship with rapper G-Eazy. The lyrics "And then I got you off your knees / Put you right back on your feet / Just so you can take advantage of me" seemed to reference him using her for her fame and his cheating.
G-Eazy
The downside of dating another musician and writing a song that shades him? Well, if for Halsey, it's that he can write one right back! G-Eazy's song "Had Enough" opens with the line "Uh, talkin' 'bout my crazy-a– ex" so there's really no doubt who he was throwing shade on.
Beyoncé
OK, so Jay-Z isn't Beyoncé's ex, but we're pretty sure he was in some danger of earning that title when she was in the headspace where she wrote "Hold Up." When the Lemonade visual album dropped, we all got a major glimpse into the couple's marriage troubles and some major bangers to add to our "songs to listen to when men suck" list.
