Top 10 Musical Artists Who Collaborated & Fell in Love

Right at the turn of the 21st century, Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs became one of Hollywood’s most talked-about couples. The two first encountered each other when Lopez appeared in the music video for the rapper’s 1997 hit song “Been Around the World”. Their relationship reportedly kicked into gear after Combs collaborated with Lopez for her debut studio album “On the 6”. Not only did he co-produce the song “Feelin’ So Good”, he also worked closely with her on the music video for the chart-topper “If You Had My Love”. Their highly publicized romance suffered a couple of setbacks, including an infamous 1999 arrest and cheating allegations, culminating in their break-up in 2001.

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert were rising country music stars back in 2005 when they collaborated for the very first time. The two were paired to give a rendition of “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma” at the “CMT: 100 Greatest Duets Concert” special. Just watching it as a viewer, you can clearly see sparks fly between the singers. Shelton, who was married at the time, divorced his wife the following year and officially began dating Lambert. The couple eventually got married in 2011 and collaborated even further, producing such songs as Lambert’s “Over You” and Shelton’s cover of Michael Bublé’s “Home”. Four years after their wedding, however, the pair announced that they were going their separate ways.

After first connecting on Twitter in 2012, Ariana Grande and Mac Miller joined forces on a rendition of the holiday classic “Baby It’s Cold Outside”. Grande later featured Miller on “The Way”, the lead single off her debut album “Yours Truly”. Although a romantic relationship between the two would take years to blossom, they nonetheless sparked rumors by sharing a kiss in the song’s music video. In the years that followed, Grande dated rapper Big Sean, another artist she had collaborated with, before making things official with Miller in 2016. The lovebirds remained together for about two years, but called it quits mere months before Miller sadly passed away.

Music stars John Mayer and Taylor Swift reportedly shared a romantic relationship between December 2009 and February 2010. The roots of their short-lived courtship could be traced back to March 2009, when Mayer tweeted about wanting to collaborate with Swift on his song “Half of My Heart”. The track was released as the third single from his album “Battle Studies” and debuted within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Although she has never confirmed nor denied dating Mayer, many have speculated that Swift’s song “Dear John” was inspired by their relationship. In the same vein, Mayer’s “Paper Doll” was rumored to have been written in response to the “Shake It Off” singer.

At the time of their first encounter in 1993, Amy Grant and Vince Gill were both successful musicians married to other people. That year, Grant appeared on the TV special “Christmas with Vince Gill” where the two performed a duet together. They followed that up with another duet, “House of Love” which was recorded for Grant’s eleventh studio album. According to the couple, they shared an instant connection, but were unable to explore those feelings because of their respective marriages. That changed when both parties split from their spouses, with Gill getting a divorce in 1997 and Grant following up two years later. The two artists began dating in the subsequent months, and got hitched in March of 2000.

To create her self-titled fifth studio album, Canadian pop-punk queen Avril Lavigne employed the help of Chad Kroeger. The Nickelback frontman co-wrote more than half of the collection, and was one of only two vocalists featured on the album. This close collaboration between the artists quickly blossomed into a month-long relationship that culminated in their engagement in August of 2012. Less than a year later, the two exchanged vows at the Château de la Napoule, a medieval castle in France. They even penned their own wedding song together. The whirlwind romance between Lavigne and Kroeger came to an end in 2015 when the “Complicated” singer announced their split on Instagram. The two have, however, remained friends since then.

The first encounter between R&B singer Alicia Keys and music producer Swizz Beatz wasn’t quite as rosy as most of the other couples on this list. The pair initially met when they were both teenagers, but didn’t get along as Keys was put off by Beatz’ lavish appearance. Years later, they crossed paths again when they teamed up to produce “Waiting for Your Love”, a bonus track on Keys’ fourth album “As I Am”. They allegedly began dating soon after, which generated a lot of controversy, as Beatz was still married to his first wife, singer Mashonda Tifrere. After separating from Tifrere, Beatz and Keys went public with their relationship and tied the knot in a private ceremony in July 2010.

What began as a cordial friendship between two collaborators soon developed into a romantic and professional partnership. Music stars Big Sean and Jhené Aiko became acquainted in 2012, after meeting at a recording studio. This led to Aiko being featured on two of Sean’s tracks - “Beware” from his sophomore album “Hall of Fame” and “I’m Gonna Be” from his mixtape “Detroit”. In 2016, they took their collaboration to the next level by launching the hip-hop duo TWENTY88, under which they put out their self-titled debut album. By that time, the rumor mills were already churning about the extent of their relationship. After Aiko parted ways with her husband that year, the two officially began dating and welcomed a son in November 2022.

Pretty much the literal definition of a power couple, Beyoncé and Jay-Z have enjoyed wildly successful careers since they debuted on the music scene. The couple first got to know each other when Beyoncé was just 18, and still part of the girl group Destiny’s Child. They soon became friends, but it wasn’t until they collaborated on the top 5 hit song “'03 Bonnie & Clyde” that speculation of a romantic relationship arose. In 2003, after Destiny’s Child went on a hiatus, Beyoncé kicked off her solo career with “Crazy in Love”, yet another joint effort with Jay-Z. After making their relationship public at the 2004 VMAs, the two quietly got married in 2008, and are now parents to three children.

Country music superstars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw were still emerging artists when their paths first crossed in 1994. The two performed at the Nashville Country Radio Seminar, where they struck up a friendship. Two years later, Hill served as an opening act for McGraw on his Spontaneous Combustion tour, sharing an intense connection with the Louisiana singer during that period. At the time, she was engaged to someone else but broke it off and began dating McGraw. It would take the lovebirds only a few months to exchange vows. They continued collaborating, co-headlining the Soul2Soul II Tour, which became the highest-grossing country music tour ever. More than two decades later, these icons are still loving each other, through sunshine and summertime.