From diss tracks to love ballads: 29 famous songs inspired by celebrities

The subjects of these tunes should ring a bell.

Singers, rappers, and other musical acts have long used their fellow artists as fodder for lyrics — for better and for worse. Taylor Swift has practically made her music an interactive experience for sleuthing fans eager to spot real-life references to her love life. Then there's the age-old art of the diss track, in which artists like Kendrick Lamar and Drake have publicly feuded via thinly veiled attacks in their lyrics.

We've assembled some of our favorite (and/or most notorious) songs featuring references to other celebrities, many of which have only deepened our relationship with the artists themselves.

Kendrick Lamar's "Like That" (and more) — Drake

The long-gestating feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake reached a crescendo with the release of "Like That," Lamar's collaboration with Future and Metro Boomin. In reference to J. Cole's song "First Person Shooter," in which the rapper proclaims him, Lamar, and Drake to be the "big three" in the rap game, Lamar claims in his "Like That" verse to be on a whole other level. Following the release of Drake's response, "Push-Ups," Lamar dropped multiple tracks including "Euphoria," "6:16 in LA," "Meet the Grahams," and "Not Like Us," accusing him of sex trafficking and pedophilia.

Drake's "Push Ups" (and more) — Kendrick Lamar

Drake responded to "Like That" with "Push Ups," which disses Lamar's height ("How the f--- you big steppin' with a size-7 men's on?") and claims him to be jealous of his success ("I'm at the top of the mountain, so you tight now"). With Lamar's increasingly direct accusations, Drake fired back with claims that Lamar is a domestic abuser.

Kanye West's "Famous" — Taylor Swift

Kanye West hardly veiled his reference to Taylor Swift with the 2016 release of "Famous," a cut off of the rapper's The Life of Pablo album. Rather than making insinuations or dropping hints, West name-dropped his former enemy-turned-friend, rapping, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/Why? I made that bitch famous."

After the song made its way to listeners, Swift released a statement, telling EW through a rep, "Kanye did not call for approval, but to ask Taylor to release his single 'Famous' on her Twitter account. She declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message. Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric, 'I made that bitch famous.'"

For his part, West maintains that Swift was in the know and even thought of the lyric herself, tweeting, "I did not diss Taylor Swift and I've never dissed her... I asked my wife for her blessings and she was cool with it... I called Taylor and had a hour long convo with her about the line and she thought it was funny and gave her blessings... I'm not even gone take credit for the idea… it's actually something Taylor came up with... She was having dinner with one of our friends who's name I will keep out of this and she told him 'I can't be mad at Kanye because he made me famous!'"

Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" — Warren Beatty

Well, Warren Beatty, as it turns out, this song is about you — at least somewhat. Carly Simon admitted in 2015 that the second verse in her famous hit is indeed in reference to the famous actor/director. Simon said the other verses were directed toward two other men, but she's not saying who until those individuals figure it out for themselves. Meanwhile, "Warren thinks the whole thing is about him!" she told PEOPLE.

Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" — Britney Spears

Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears ended their three-year relationship in 2002, and, that same year, Timberlake released "Cry Me a River," a song many assume is about Spears. "You don't have to say what you did," he sings. "I already know, I found out from him." While he never explicitly confirmed the song was about his ex, Timberlake did enlist a Spears lookalike for the accompanying music video.

Britney Spears' "Everytime" — Justin Timberlake

In 2004, Spears released "Everytime," her own take on the failed relationship with Timberlake. “My weakness caused you pain, and this song's my sorry,” she sings. Following a revelation from her 2023 memoir, The Woman in Me, some fans speculated that the song and video may have referenced that she was pregnant with his child and subsequently had an abortion.

Miley Cyrus' "Flowers" — Liam Hemsworth

Miley Cyrus won her first Grammy for this ubiquitous anthem of independence — which just so happened to be released on her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth's birthday. "Flowers" samples the chorus of Bruno Mars' song "When I Was Your Man" but from a very different perspective, with Cyrus proclaiming she can buy her own flowers and hold her own hand. While the singer hasn't officially confirmed that her song is about Hemsworth, the lyric about a home burning seems like a pretty direct reference to their Malibu house burning down in 2018.

Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" — Andy Warhol

Many believe that Bob Dylan's biggest hit actually includes some barbs at famed artist Andy Warhol. Around the time of the song, Warhol's relationship with his muse Edie Sedgwick had deteriorated, and she began spending more time with Dylan. As the story goes, Dylan blamed Warhol for allegedly mistreating Sedgwick, and listeners have theorized that some lines from "Like a Rolling Stone" — like "He took from you everything he could steal" — were directed at Warhol.

Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" — Katy Perry

Back in 2014, Taylor Swift told Rolling Stone for a September cover story that "Bad Blood" was about "another female artist" who tried to "sabotage an entire arena tour" by hiring people away from her. Speculation ran rampant that "Bad Blood" was about Katy Perry, but Swift has never confirmed the rumor.

"You're in a Rolling Stone interview, and the writer says, 'Who is that song about? That sounds like a really intense moment from your life.' And you sit there, and you know you're on good terms with your ex-boyfriend, and you don't want him — or his family — to think you're firing shots at him. So you say, 'That was about losing a friend,'" Swift told GQ in 2015. "And that's basically all you say. But then people cryptically tweet about what you meant. I never said anything that would point a finger in the specific direction of one specific person, and I can sleep at night knowing that. I knew the song would be assigned to a person, and the easiest mark was someone who I didn't want to be labeled with this song. It was not a song about heartbreak. It was about the loss of friendship."

Taylor Swift's "Style" — Harry Styles

Swift didn't even pretend Harry Styles had no part in inspiring "Style." "We should've just called it 'I'm Not Even Sorry,'" she told Rolling Stone in 2014. Come to think of it, Styles does have that "long hair, slicked back, white T-shirt" vibe.

Taylor Swift's "Dear John" — John Mayer

Another Swift song, "Dear John," from her 2010 album Speak Now, is rumored to be dedicated to John Mayer. "Don't you think I was too young to be messed with?" she croons on the track.

John Mayer's "Paper Dolls" — Taylor Swift

Mayer has never fully admitted that he fired back with "Paper Dolls" after Swift's "Dear John," and yet, speculation continues. He has said, however, that he was not a fan of "Dear John."

"I will say as a songwriter that I think it's kind of cheap songwriting," he told Rolling Stone in 2012. "I know she's the biggest thing in the world, and I'm not trying to sink anybody's ship, but I think it's abusing your talent to rub your hands together and go, 'Wait till he gets a load of this!' That's bulls---."

John Legend's "All of Me" — Chrissy Teigen

"All of Me" is a piano ballad by John Legend dedicated to his wife, Chrissy Teigen. Released one month before their wedding in September 2013, the love song features Legend crooning "All of me loves all of you/Love your curves and all your edges/All your perfect imperfections," and thus, a wedding first dance staple was born.

John Mayer's "Your Body is a Wonderland" — Jennifer Love Hewitt

It's widely rumored that "Your Body Is a Wonderland" is an ode to Jennifer Love Hewitt, but the actress wouldn't bite in an interview EW did with her in 2007. "My body is far from a wonderland," she said. "My body is more like a pawnshop. There’s a lot of interesting things put together, and if you look closely you'd probably be excited, but at first glance, not so much."

John Lennon's "How Do You Sleep?" — Paul McCartney

Urban legend associates John Lennon's "How Do You Sleep?" with Paul McCartney, although Lennon insisted it was really about himself, in his film Imagine. The song was released in 1971, after the historic breakup of the Beatles and after McCartney released Ram, which Lennon believed included several slights toward himself.

Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" — Courtney Love

Courtney Love once likened Gwen Stefani to a "cheerleader" in an August 2004 interview with Seventeen, which — to the public eye — sparked Stefani's hit response, "Hollaback Girl." It may also have something to do with the fact that Love claimed to have slept with Gavin Rossdale, Stefani's then-husband, before their relationship took off. "I kind of envisioned that me and Gavin Rossdale would end up on the French Riviera, like, taking tennis lessons and f---ing our respective polo teachers," Love told ABC back in 2013, according to The Cut. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box" — Courtney Love

Love has been the muse for a few songs, but the most famous one may be Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" from husband Kurt Cobain. When Lana Del Rey covered the Nirvana hit in 2012, Love took to Twitter (now X) to inform the singer of what the song was really about, Rolling Stone reported. "You do know that song is about my vagina right?" she wrote. "On top of which some of the lyrics about my vagina I contributed. So umm next time you sing it, think about my vagina will you?"

Ariana Grande's "pete davidson" — Pete Davidson

No ambiguity here. Ariana Grande penned this tune from her 2018 album Sweetener as a loving tribute to her then-fiancé, Pete Davidson. Grande sings of the Saturday Night Live alum being her soulmate and how her whole life got her ready for him. Two months later, Grande and Davidson called off their engagement, which she directly referenced in "thank u, next," one of her biggest hits.

Selena Gomez's "The Heart Wants What It Wants" — Justin Bieber

Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber's on-again, off-again relationship was given the break-up song treatment by Gomez with 2014's "The Heart Wants What It Wants."

"Everybody wants to form their own opinions anyway. I think the biggest problem I had this year — even with [Justin] and on his side — is identity," Gomez told Ryan Seacrest after the song was released, per Billboard. "I was trying to figure out what I'm doing, and that was the first time I was constantly being kicked down for doing that. When I didn't know, 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.' And people just thought, 'All right, this is what we think.' And yeah, 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. And he has heard [the song] and he has seen the video, and it's something that I feel like girls need to hear, and it's something I'm willing to share with people.”

Amy Winehouse's "Me and Mr. Jones" — Nas

Nas and Amy Winehouse's relationship is well-documented, and the two frequently collaborated on music. Nas' last name is Jones, and the lyrics suggest that Winehouse wasn't letting anyone come between their relationship. In 2012, the Amy Winehouse Foundation honored Nas at the Amy Winehouse Inspiration and Award Gala. "She was like a little sister to me," said Nas in a press release, reported SPIN.

Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" — Marilyn Monroe

The subject of one of Elton John's most well-known songs is obvious from the get-go, with the opening lines of "Goodbye Norma Jean." John was inspired by the short yet illustrious life of starlet Marilyn Monroe when writing "Candle in the Wind," but later rewrote the song for Princess Diana after her death in 1997.

Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" — Elle Macpherson/Christie Brinkley

Billy Joel's pop song about a "backstreet guy" yearning to date a high-class woman is semi-autobiographical. At the time, Joel was dating supermodel Elle Macpherson, and the singer said that the song was about her at first — but it also became about his future wife, and the star of the track's music video, Christie Brinkley. In April 2024, Brinkley (now divorced from Joel for more than 30 years) could be seen on the jumbotron dancing along to the song among the crowd at one of Joel's Madison Square Garden concerts.

Kanye West's "Blame Game" — Amber Rose

"Blame Game" was one of the most notable songs from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy for featuring comedian Chris Rock, but it also stood out for being an apparently not-so-veiled attack on West's ex-girlfriend, Amber Rose. The song disparages an ex who's now dating a new man, supposedly also taking jabs at Rose's then-boyfriend Wiz Khalifa.

Aerosmith's "Dude Looks Like a Lady" — Vince Neil

Fun with '80s hair: Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler saw a person at the bar with long blonde hair and assumed it was a woman. It wasn't: Tyler actually apparently saw Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil. Thus, a song was born.

Miley Cyrus' "7 Things" — Nick Jonas

Still in her Disney days, Miley Cyrus predicted listicle culture by unleashing a countdown of things she hated about a certain ex-boyfriend. Cyrus wasn't going to reveal which ex the song was about, but inadvertently made it clear by sporting a diabetes necklace in the video. The director said the necklace was given to her by the song's subject, which seemed to point to Nick Jonas, who has Type 1 diabetes and became a spokesperson for the illness.

N.W.A.'s "Message to B.A." — Ice Cube

Ice Cube got his start as a part of the rap collective N.W.A., but when he left the group in the late-'80s, the remaining members weren't happy. Their first full-length release after Ice Cube's departure features numerous digs at their former member. Most scathing was the interlude "A Message to B.A.," which refers to Cube as Benedict Arnold and lists various threats to him. Cube blasted back with his own diss track, "No Vaseline."

Coldplay's "Fix You" — Gwyneth Paltrow

Before the "conscious uncoupling," Chris Martin was inspired by then-wife Gwyneth Paltrow to write one of Coldplay's most famous songs. After the death of Paltrow's father, Martin wrote "Fix You" as a testament to his devotion to the Oscar-winning actress.

Mariah Carey's "Obsessed" — Eminem

The feud between pop star Mariah Carey and rapper Eminem has been going on for years. Eminem continually claims that the two once dated, which Carey continually denies. Her song and video for "Obsessed" was rumored to be a dig at Eminem's constant assertions. Carey even dressed up like Eminem to stalk herself in the music video.

Gwen Stefani's "Make Me Like You" — Blake Shelton

One year after joining The Voice in 2014, Gwen Stefani announced she was dating fellow coach Blake Shelton. The musicians have written multiple songs together in the years since as their relationship has deepened, and this track from Stefani's 2016 album This Is What the Truth Feels Like is a breezy expression of her love for Shelton. The song finds Stefani expressing her surprise over finding romance so soon after splitting from Gavin Rossdale and playfully asking Shelton, "Why'd you have to go and make me like you?"

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Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.