Top 10 Songs With Shady, Subliminal Lyrics

Fifth Harmony

The beloved band has revealed in several interviews that this song is dedicated to peace, love, and unity in the world. However, for eagle-eyed fans, it carries glaring references to ex-member Camila Cabello, who left Fifth Harmony in 2016. The “Señorita” singer didn’t have the best relationship with the rest of her group toward the end of their time together. Interviews revealed tension, and Camila’s departure all but confirmed the end of their friendship. So, many believed that “Bridges” referenced that discord but with the intention of resolution. However, the feud continued when Camila dropped “Real Friends”, seemingly dissing her former bandmates. The songstress was quick to put those rumors to rest and later revealed she was on good terms with the girls.

Ed Sheeran

When Ed Sheeran got his heart broken, he processed the pain by writing a scathing bop about it. This was “Don’t” and everyone found out it was about Ellie Goulding and Niall Horan after an English newspaper mistakenly confirmed it. That article was removed, and Ed never explicitly named Ellie or Niall as the inspiration for the song. However, the rumor spread far and wide, and fans connected the dots. Later, the “Love Me Like You Do” crooner admitted to dating Niall briefly but claimed she and Ed were never together, so there was no question of cheating. Considering that Ed very obviously sings about a situationship and not technically a relationship in “Don’t”, this clarification didn’t exactly help Ellie’s case.

Beyoncé

One of the greatest albums of all time, Queen Bey’s “Lemonade” delivers sweet revenge like no other. The track “Sorry”, an empowering tale of overcoming betrayal, seems to hint at her husband, rap mogul Jay-Z’s infidelity. And a reference to the other woman in the situation sent the BeyHive into investigation mode. Fans concluded that the unwanted third party in the power couple’s marriage was either pop star Rita Ora or designer Rachel Roy, both of whom denied a connection. However, Jay-Z owned up to messing around when he name-dropped ‘Becky’ in his song “Family Feud” as an apology to the mother of his children.

Selena Gomez

The legend of Jelena has a chokehold on pop culture. Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber were first linked in 2009. Over the next decade, their relationship went through major ups and downs, which ultimately led to an inevitable separation. Justin is now married to Hailey Bieber, and Selena is engaged to Benny Blanco, who, funnily enough, co-wrote “Same Old Love”. At the time of the song’s release, Gomez had broken up with the Biebs for the second time. So, the pointed lyrics, where she refuses to fall back into a toxic cycle in the name of love, fit their situation all too well. While Selena never let it slip that the song was about JB, fans have always interpreted it that way.

Miley Cyrus

There was nothing subtle about this song being a dig at Liam Hemsworth. The track, which was released on Liam’s birthday, obviously parallels Bruno Mars’s “When I Was Your Man”. Now, word on the street is that the Bruno song had personal significance for the ex-couple as the “Lonely Planet” actor had apparently dedicated it to Miley. The pop queen turned it into a self-love anthem and took home a Grammy for it. To solidify the Hemsworth connection, the lyrics also allegedly reference the Malibu home the two shared, which, unfortunately, was lost to the Woolsey Fire in 2018. Although Miley’s not one to spell everything out for us, we see what she did there.

Olivia Rodrigo

Before we get into the tea, let us remind you that this was a debut song. Olivia Rodrigo’s first-ever single, “Drivers License”, achieved such unprecedented success that it launched her into the pop stratosphere. The lyrics were so raw, authentic, and relatable that they opened up a can of worms as internet sleuths rushed to decode who the song was about. Fans quickly theorized that Joshua Bassett, Olivia’s ex and her “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” co-star, was the vicious heartbreaker in question. The evidence was Rodrigo allegedly admitting to learning how to drive with Joshua in an old video. Putting two and two together, ‘that blonde girl’ was thought to be Sabrina Carpenter. Ultimately, the drama birthed hits from all three artists.

Rihanna

RiRi making the sassiest banger about a manipulative partner the same year she got together with Chris Brown raised some eyebrows. It was after Chris was arrested for violently attacking Rihanna in 2009 that fans became somewhat sure of the link. Suspicions turned to conviction when Rihanna was seen tearing up during a performance of “Take a Bow” that year, which was quite telling of the emotional pain she was going through. Chris later revealed in his documentary, “Welcome to my Life”, that the physical altercation had happened during an argument about another woman. He even admitted to lying to Rihanna about her. So, even if the track wasn’t originally meant for him, it definitely applied to him.

Fleetwood Mac

When two iconic rockers split, there’s bound to be signs in their music. In the case of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, their respective breakup anthems, “Go Your Own Way” and “Dreams”, ended up on the same legendary album, “Rumours”. Both tracks would go on to achieve immense success. However, for the parties involved, they evoked bitter resentment. Nicks even admitted that they aimed the songs at each other. Their fellow bandmate Christine McVie once revealed in an interview that Lindsey had a hard time performing the song, even though he wrote it. Similarly, Stevie told The New Yorker that she despised hearing it because the allegations he made about her in the lyrics were grossly untrue. Unfortunately, their relationship hasn’t greatly improved since.

Taylor Swift

If there’s anyone who knows how to hide biting shade behind the most breathtaking poetry, it’s Tay Tay. Her chef-d'œuvre, “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)”, is one of her most revealing pieces, said to be about her relationship with her much older ex, Jake Gyllenhaal. Swift wields her pen like a sword, seemingly exposing the darkest aspects of their romance in her lyrics. This includes contentions regarding their age difference and a savage jab at his penchant for younger lovers. Interestingly, Jake’s current girlfriend, Jeanne Cadieu, is in her twenties while he’s in his forties. Taylor fires equally witty shots in “Bad Blood (Taylor's Version)”. Over the years, fans have connected the song to her former rival-turned-friend Katy Perry and Scooter Braun.

Carly Simon


This song set the precedent for cheeky diss tracks in pop music. To this day, the identities of the men who inspired the song – yes, there are multiple of them – are tightly guarded secrets. Carly addresses her former lovers in her lyrics, taunting them for thinking she’d write a song about them. This quip has only fueled fans’ obsession over the mystery men even more. Given her history of high-profile relationships with stars like Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty, and Jack Nicholson, there are several contenders for the eponymous vain man. It is only Beatty whom Simon mentioned explicitly as her subject, but only for the song’s second verse. About the other two, ask Taylor Swift, because that’s who Carly divulged the ultra-private information to.

Which of these artists do you think is the best at making breakup songs? Tell us in the comments down below!