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)
#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
Image source: lilyjcollins
#2 Singer John Legend Wrote And Dedicated The Track “All Of Me” To Wife Chrissy Teigen
Image source: chrissyteigen
#3 It Turns Out, Lily Allen’s “F**k You” Was Written About The Former Us President George W. Bush
Image source: georgewbush, lilyallen
#4 Coldplay’s Lead Singer Chris Martin Wrote “Fix You” For His Wife At The Time, Gwyneth Paltrow, After Her Father Died
Image source: Evan Agostini
#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
Image source: pink, georgewbush
#7 Katy Perry Said That Her Single “I Kissed A Girl” Was Inspired By Scarlett Johansson
Image source: scarlett.johensson, JCS
#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
Image source: Howie Berlin
#9 Justin Timberlake Wrote “Cry Me A River” After Breaking Up With Britney Spears
Image source: Denise Truscello
#10 “Something” By The Beatles, “Layla” By Derek And The Dominoes, And “Wonderful Tonight” By Eric Clapton Were Written About Model Pattie Boyd
Image source: Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Rijksfotoarchief: Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Fotopersbureau , bbc
#11 Not Many Know That Nirvana’s Legendary Song “Heart-Shaped Box” Is About Courtney Love And… Her Vagina
Image source: courtneylove
#12 While Katy Perry Was Dating The Lead Singer From Gym Class Heroes Named Travie Mccoy, He Wrote Her The Famous “Cupid’s Chokehold”
Image source: Fueled By Ramen
#13 “Ms. Jackson” By Outkast Was An Apology To Erykah Badu And Her Mother After Badu And Andre 3000 Broke Up
Image source: erykahbadu
#14 A Verse In Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” Is About Warren Beatty
Image source: warrenbeatty
#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
Image source: aliciakeys
#16 “Colors” By Halsey Was About Her Ex-Boyfriend Matty Healy, The Lead Singer Of The 1975
Image source: the1975, iamhalsey
#17 Fans Believe That Taylor Swift Wrote “I Knew You Were Trouble” With Her Ex-Boyfriend Harry Styles In Mind
Image source: taylorswift, harrystyles
#18 Ed Sheeran Wrote “Don’t” After Ellie Goulding Cheated On Him With Niall From One Direction
Image source: elliegoulding
#19 After Miley Cyrus Got Engaged To Liam Hemsworth, Her Ex Nick Jonas Wrote Her A Song Called “Wedding Bells”
Image source: mileycyrus
#20 “Madness” By Muse Is About Matt Bellamy’s (The Lead Singer) Relationship With Kate Hudson. It Was Inspired By A Fight They Had
Image source: Kevin Mazur
#21 The Weeknd Was Going Through A Painful Breakup With Selena Gomez When He Wrote “Call Out My Name”
Image source: theweeknd, selenagomez
#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
Image source: Egghead06
#23 Justin Bieber Wrote “What Do You Mean” About His On-Again Off-Again Relationship With Selena Gomez
Image source: justinbieber, selenagomez
#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.”
Image source: gwenstefani, courtneylove
#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
Image source: Raph_PH, lilyaldridge
#26 “Dear John” By Taylor Swift Is About Her Ex, John Mayer. Mayer’s Song “Paper Doll” Was Allegedly His Rebuttal
Image source: johnmayer, taylorswift
#27 Florence Welch From Florence + The Machine Wrote A Song “Patricia” For The Singer Patti Smith
Image source: Beni Köhler
#28 “Cinderella” By Mac Miller, A Song That Has Lyrics About Very Intimate Bedroom Moments, Is About Ariana Grande
Image source: Mac Miller
#29 And “You’re Never Over” By Eminem Was A Tribute To His Friend, The Rapper Proof. Proof Was Shot And Killed In 2006
Image source: eminem
#30 “Circle The Drain” By Katy Perry Was About Travie Mccoy’s Drug Addiction
Image source: Francois Durand
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