Beyonce may have broken the entire Internet and solar system with the release of “Lemonade,” but let’s be honest:
This wasn’t the first song about revenge to ever strike it big.
Yes, it seems very likely that Beyonce was directing a lot of wrath at Jay Z for cheating on her (with Rachel Roy?)… but plenty of other artists have also used their music to enact a bit of revenge against an ex-lover or current significant other.
Here are a bunch of memorable examples:
Beyoce, “Lemonade”
This one was covered in the introduction. We’re just including the entire album here.
Alanis Morissette, “You Oughta Know”
Well… will she go down on you in a theater, Dave Coulier? Yes, Alanis supposedly sang this angry song about her Full House star of an ex-boyfriend.
Justin Timberlake, “Cry Me a River”
Did Britney Spears cheat on Justin Timberlake? The latter makes his thoughts on that clear with this ballad.
Eamon, “F–k It (I Don’t Want You Back”
Pretty sure the title speaks for itself here. Eamon never named the ex-girlfriend about whom it was written.
Taylor Swift, “Bad Blood”
Swift made it very clear this song was NOT about an ex-boyfriend. It’s clearly about Katy Perry instead and their lost friendship.
Ciara, “I Bet”
Ciara has admitted that the entire album “Jackie” was inspired by her relationship with Future, the father of her child, their very messy public split.
Carly Simon, “You’re So Vain”
Probably the first-ever revenge song. Folks still debate who it was written about, although the leading candidate is Warren Beatty.
Jonas Brothers, “Much Better”
They’ll never admit it, but this was clearly about Taylor Swift. Just consider the lyric that actually mentions “teardrops on my guitar.”
No Doubt, “Don’t Speak”
Gwen Stefani admits she wrote this about fellow band member Tony Kanai after he put an end to their seven-year relationship. Yes, the two then sang it together as part of the group.
Ray J, “I Hit It First”
This song wasn’t so vengeful, considering Ray J is STILL making a lot of money off the Kim Kardashian sex tape. But it’s close enough, considering it was written to spite Kanye West.
Rihanna, “Cold Case Love”
Rihanna confessed in an interview with CNN that this collaboration with Justin Timberlake was penned about the eight months following Chris Brown’s conviction for assaulting her in 2009.
Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”
Adele says she wrote the entire album “21” about an ex-boyfriend. She never revealed his name. But what was the guy thinking?!?
Katy Perry, “Wide Awake”
Perry has admitted that this track was inspired by her real life experiences; most specifically her divorce from Russell Brand. She’s now wide awake to his no-good ways, apparently.
Pink, “So What”
Pink was very clear that this song was about estranged husband Carey Hart. But he actually starred in the video and the two then got back together and joked about it all.
Selena Gomez, “Love Will Remember”
Selena actually played a voicemail from ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber on this song. She wanted to make herself VERY clear here.
Ed Sheeran, “Don’t”
The artist has never confirmed this, but rumors say the track was based on Ellie Goulding cheating on him with One Direction’s Niall Horan.