Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
I still remember the Gym Class Heroes, “Cupid's Chokehold” in particular, turned up to the max volume on my mp3 back in the day. Some songs get stuck with us, but it’s incredible how little we truly know about them.
You see, it turns out the “Ba ba da da, ba ba da da, ba ba da da, Take a look at my girlfriend” song is not about just any girl. I mean, the woman whom it’s about is now a celebrity worth US$125 million with 13 Grammys and 5 MTV music video awards, among a sea of others.
You’re not the only one who had no clue that some of our all-time fave pop songs were really written for or about other celebrities. Let’s take a look at the illuminating list down below which reveals that some music pieces have whole stories behind them.
(h/t Buzzfeed)
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Phil Collins's Song "You’ll Be In My Heart," Which He Wrote For The Movie Tarzan, Was Actually Meant For His Daughter Lily Collins And He Referred To Her Throughout The Track
RELATED:
#2
Singer John Legend Wrote And Dedicated The Track "All Of Me" To Wife Chrissy Teigen
#3
It Turns Out, Lily Allen's "F**k You" Was Written About The Former Us President George W. Bush
It’s no secret that the music industry is full of the most legendary power couples ever. I mean, how wouldn’t it be, when love has been an endless source of inspiration since the dawn of art?
But it turns out, some of the singing lovebirds started their romance in the studio while recording. For example, the world-famous “Crazy In Love” Jay Z and Beyoncé fell for each other while collaborating on the 2002 track “Bonnie and Clyde.”
Meanwhile, J.Lo and Diddy met in the studio while working for Lopez' album “On the 6.” They proceeded to date for two years until calling it quits due to Diddy’s arrest in connection with a shooting.
#4
Coldplay's Lead Singer Chris Martin Wrote "Fix You" For His Wife At The Time, Gwyneth Paltrow, After Her Father Died
#5
Christina Aguilera Wrote "Can't Hold Us Down" As A Response To Eminem's Negative Comments About Her
#6
Pink And The Indigo Girls Wrote A Song Called "Dear Mr. President" Which Was A Message To George W. Bush While He Was In Office. The Song Criticised His Position On Homelessness, Lgbtq Rights, And The Iraq War
While Ariana Grande was working on her debut album “Victorious,” Mac Miller offered to sing a duet with her. Their piece “The Way” ended up debuting at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Another teen favorite singer Selena Gomez is also said to have had a romance with her former producer Zedd while collaborating on the 2015 song "I Want You to Know." This line “I want you to know that I'm all yours" in particular sparked romance rumors that the singer later confirmed were, in fact, true.
#7
Katy Perry Said That Her Single "I Kissed A Girl" Was Inspired By Scarlett Johansson
#8
Bon Iver's Song "Perth" Was A Tribute To Heath Ledger After He Died In 2008. Heath, Who Was Born In Perth, Australia, Was The Best Friend Of Lead Singer Justin Vernon
#9
Justin Timberlake Wrote "Cry Me A River" After Breaking Up With Britney Spears
miten sasmita 4 years ago
Ahh if only she ended up with him... She'd be much happier. They looked genuinely in love together that time.
#10
"Something" By The Beatles, "Layla" By Derek And The Dominoes, And "Wonderful Tonight" By Eric Clapton Were Written About Model Pattie Boyd
#11
Not Many Know That Nirvana's Legendary Song "Heart-Shaped Box" Is About Courtney Love And... Her Vagina
#12
While Katy Perry Was Dating The Lead Singer From Gym Class Heroes Named Travie Mccoy, He Wrote Her The Famous "Cupid’s Chokehold"
#13
"Ms. Jackson" By Outkast Was An Apology To Erykah Badu And Her Mother After Badu And Andre 3000 Broke Up
#14
A Verse In Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" Is About Warren Beatty
#15
After Jay-Z And Alicia Keys Released "Empire State Of Mind," Katy Perry Wrote "California Gurls" Because She Wanted There To Be A Song To Represent California
BringOnTheDownvotes 4 years ago
You mean besides the literal HUNDEREDS of songs about California?
#16
"Colors" By Halsey Was About Her Ex-Boyfriend Matty Healy, The Lead Singer Of The 1975
#17
Fans Believe That Taylor Swift Wrote "I Knew You Were Trouble" With Her Ex-Boyfriend Harry Styles In Mind
#18
Ed Sheeran Wrote "Don't" After Ellie Goulding Cheated On Him With Niall From One Direction
#19
After Miley Cyrus Got Engaged To Liam Hemsworth, Her Ex Nick Jonas Wrote Her A Song Called "Wedding Bells"
#20
"Madness" By Muse Is About Matt Bellamy's (The Lead Singer) Relationship With Kate Hudson. It Was Inspired By A Fight They Had
#21
The Weeknd Was Going Through A Painful Breakup With Selena Gomez When He Wrote "Call Out My Name"
#22
"Killing Me Softly" By Norman Gimbel Was Inspired By A Young Singer Named Lori Lieberman Who Had Seen Don Mclean Perform And Told Gimbel That It Was An Intensely Moving Experience. So In Essence, It's About Don Mclean
#23
Justin Bieber Wrote "What Do You Mean" About His On-Again Off-Again Relationship With Selena Gomez
#24
While We Can All Agree That Hollaback Girl Is A Total Tune, It's Safe To Say That Its Origins Are Well And Truly Rooted In Famous Feuding. Dissing Gwen In An Interview With Seventeen Magazine, Courtney Said: "Being Famous Is Just Like Being In High School. But I'm Not Interested In Being The Cheerleader. I'm Not Interested In Being Gwen Stefani. She's The Cheerleader, And I'm Out In The Smoker Shed."
Eraldo Ferreira 4 years ago
Why Do You Have To Write All Of Your Titles With Every Damn First Letter Of Every F*****g Word On Capslock?
#25
Lily Aldridge, The Victoria's Secret Angel Who Is Married To Kings Of Leon Lead Singer, Caleb Followill, Is Said To Have Inspired The Band's Track Sex On Fire
#26
"Dear John" By Taylor Swift Is About Her Ex, John Mayer. Mayer's Song "Paper Doll" Was Allegedly His Rebuttal
#27
Florence Welch From Florence + The Machine Wrote A Song "Patricia" For The Singer Patti Smith
Saico Hipe 4 years ago
I love Florence so much! She actually got to randomly meet Smith on day in a restaurant, and says she was super nice and down to earth.
#28
"Cinderella" By Mac Miller, A Song That Has Lyrics About Very Intimate Bedroom Moments, Is About Ariana Grande
#29
And "You're Never Over" By Eminem Was A Tribute To His Friend, The Rapper Proof. Proof Was Shot And Killed In 2006
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Troux 4 years ago
Celebrity gossip. Neat...... In other news, a national park in Thailand has been shipping rubbish back to the visitors who left it behind. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54200833
N000dle 4 years ago
I'm missing the most mind blowing one! "You oughtta know" from Alanis Morissette is about David Coulier (uncle Joey from Full House)
glowworm2 4 years ago
What I learned here was don't date Taylor Swift because she'll probably write a song about you when it doesn't work out anymore.
True Blue 4 years ago
I did not know most of these and also Taylor Swift has had a lot of relationships
John Laurens/Gay Turtle 4 years ago
This might be something everyone knows, but "Candle In The Wind" by Elton John was about Marilyn Monroe
Monica Pryts 3 years ago
Go beyond mainstream to find the really good stuff. Some of these pop stars wouldn't be able to write a song on their own if their lives depended on it.
Chewie Baron 4 years ago
Sheryl Crow's song "My Favourite Mistake" is about the breakdown of her relationship with Eric Clapton, I forget at the last count at how many of Madonna's songs are about Sean Penn. She did also do a couple about Guy Richie. Kate Bush's songs are always about someone else, Breathing is about a child in the womb who doesn't want to be born because of the threat of nuclear war at the time, Babooshka was about a woman who was convinced her husband was having an affair, Cloudbursting is based on the life of a famous German scientist, ABBA's song "The Visitors" is about Russian spies after a Soviet submarine was discovered in the Stockholm archipelago during the height of the Cold War!!
SirPatTheCat 4 years ago
Some of these are cool like the tributes but most of them are like dude who cares lmao
CatWoman312 4 years ago
White rabbit is about doing drugs and getting high. You probably should have already knew that lol
Troux 4 years ago
Celebrity gossip. Neat...... In other news, a national park in Thailand has been shipping rubbish back to the visitors who left it behind. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54200833
N000dle 4 years ago
I'm missing the most mind blowing one! "You oughtta know" from Alanis Morissette is about David Coulier (uncle Joey from Full House)
glowworm2 4 years ago
What I learned here was don't date Taylor Swift because she'll probably write a song about you when it doesn't work out anymore.
True Blue 4 years ago
I did not know most of these and also Taylor Swift has had a lot of relationships
John Laurens/Gay Turtle 4 years ago
This might be something everyone knows, but "Candle In The Wind" by Elton John was about Marilyn Monroe
Monica Pryts 3 years ago
Go beyond mainstream to find the really good stuff. Some of these pop stars wouldn't be able to write a song on their own if their lives depended on it.
Chewie Baron 4 years ago
Sheryl Crow's song "My Favourite Mistake" is about the breakdown of her relationship with Eric Clapton, I forget at the last count at how many of Madonna's songs are about Sean Penn. She did also do a couple about Guy Richie. Kate Bush's songs are always about someone else, Breathing is about a child in the womb who doesn't want to be born because of the threat of nuclear war at the time, Babooshka was about a woman who was convinced her husband was having an affair, Cloudbursting is based on the life of a famous German scientist, ABBA's song "The Visitors" is about Russian spies after a Soviet submarine was discovered in the Stockholm archipelago during the height of the Cold War!!
SirPatTheCat 4 years ago
Some of these are cool like the tributes but most of them are like dude who cares lmao
CatWoman312 4 years ago
White rabbit is about doing drugs and getting high. You probably should have already knew that lol
You May Like “Who Talks To A Child Like That?”: 30 Of The Rudest Celebrities People Have Ever Met 36 Netizens Spill The Tea About Famous People They’ve Met And What They Were Like
Mindaugas Balčiauskas
Rūta Zumbrickaitė
Related on Bored Panda
