Love, relationships and breakups have long been the fuel of most pop music.
And no artist has leveraged her relationships, mostly with famous men, to generate buzz for her work like Taylor Swift. Last week, the 31-year-old dropped a short film and a new, extended version of “All Too Well,” which all but confirmed that it was about her ex Jake Gyllenhaal, whom she briefly dated in 2010. She even alluded to their 9-year age gap in lyrics such as, “You said if we had been closer in age, maybe it would have been fine.” The private Gyllenhaal has not responded, but he didn’t seem fazed. He stepped out over the weekend to support sister Maggie Gyllenhaal at the Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards.
Then there’s Adele — fresh off a 100-pound weight loss and a divorce from ex Simon Konecki, who inspired her new album “30.” It includes the powerful ballads “Easy On Me” and “Hold On” and delves into the breakdown of the 33-year-old’s marriage. During her hyped interview with Oprah Winfrey, she was asked what Konecki thinks of her highly personal songs.
“He knows what kind of artist I am, that I have to dig deep and tell my stories,” Adele told Winfrey.
Here are other high-profile love songs and how their muses felt about becoming immortalized in a jukebox hit.
‘Oh Sherrie‘
When Journey frontman Steve Perry, 72, went solo in 1984, his biggest hit was named after his then-girlfriend Sherrie Swafford. She even appeared in the video with Perry. They broke up in the late ’80s, and Swafford faded into obscurity. When contacted by Noblemania blog in 2013, she admitted to dodging interview requests from MTV and VH1. “I did nothing and hoped they thought it was the wrong number,” Swafford, 67, told the blog, adding that she’s an aesthetician and yoga teacher who never married nor had children.
“Love my animals, planting flowers and life,” she continued. “Cherish my friends (including Steve) and my privacy. It was so different for us! It was just Love, nothing else!”
‘You Oughta Know‘
In 1995, Canadian musician Alanis Morissette exploded onto the scene with her rage-filled breakup song “You Oughta Know” off “Jagged Little Pill.” It became an anthem for the heartbroken — and shattered the image of wholesome “Full House” actor Dave Coulier, when rumors flew that the edgy tune was about their relationship in the early ’90s. In 2013, Coulier confirmed he was the dubious muse, telling Huffpost Live that the line, “I hate to bug you in the middle of dinner” was a telltale lyric.
Coulier, 62, explained that Morissette, 47, called him after they broke up, and he told her “Hey, you know, I’m right in the middle of dinner. Can I just call you right back?”
When he heard the lyric, “it was like, uh-oh,” he said.
“I called her and said, ‘Look, what do you want me to say to the media when these folks call me?’ And she said, ‘You can say whatever you want.’ ”
The song gave many fans a different view of Coulier whom they knew as a corny dad-joke-making machine. But the intimate portrayal of their relationship hasn’t affected his feelings towards his ex.
“I think nothing but the world of her,” he said.
‘Cry Me a River‘
Boyband heartthrob Justin Timberlake, 40, went solo in 2002 with his album “Justified.” The song and video for the single “Cry Me a River,” which featured a Britney Spears look-alike, fueled rumors that his ex had been unfaithful to him.
“He called me up and wanted to supposedly get back together or whatever, but behind it was, ‘And by the way, you’re in a video that’s coming out,’ ” Spears told Rolling Stone in 2011. “That kind of got slipped in. ‘Don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal.’ ”
Spears, 39, who last week was freed from her 13-year conservatorship, said the record company even gave her the option to nix the video.
“I didn’t because I thought, ‘Hey, it’s your video.’ ”
But that sentiment was short-lived.
“I said, ‘I should’ve freakin’ said no to this s – – t!’ ” She confronted Timberlake, who told her, ” ‘Well, I got a controversial video.’ And I was like, ‘You did. Yay for you.’ So he got what he wanted. I think it looks like such a desperate attempt, personally. But that was a great way to sell the record. He’s smart. Smart guy.”
‘Hey There Delilah’
While many tunes are born out of relationships, this 2006 hit by the Plain White T’s was an attempt to spark one. Lead singer Tom Higgenson, 42, wrote the song about a fictional long-distance relationship with Delilah DiCrescenzo, a Columbia student and cross-country runner whom he met through a mutual friend. They never dated and DiCrescenzo, 38, was actually going out with someone else.
“When I’m at the gym, [‘Hey There Delilah’ is] playing; when I’m at the pool, it’s playing. Part of me wants to scream at the top of my lungs that it’s about me,” she told USA Today. “Another part of me wants to cower and say it’s not.”
She attended the 2008 Grammys with the band and told ESPN that she didn’t want to disappoint fans that she and Higgenson weren’t an item, but believes she was the right muse for the moment.
“If it wasn’t for me, I’m sure Tom would’ve been inspired by a different girl and written an amazing song about her. As far as I’m concerned, I was in the right place at the right time and met the right person — just the luck of the draw.”
‘My Sharona‘
The Knack’s infectious earworm “My Sharona” is actually based on lead singer Doug Fieger’s infatuation with Sharona Alperin. Fieger, who passed away from cancer in 2010 at age 57, met Alperin, now a Los Angeles real estate agent, when she was about 17 and he was nine years her senior.
“A month or two later, he told me that, ‘I’m in love with you, you’re my soulmate, you’re my other half, we’re going to be together one day,’ ” she told NPR in 2010. “And I was madly in love with my boyfriend at the time, and so it took a year for me to leave my boyfriend.”
Fieger wrote the song for her before they were even an item — they starting dating when she was 19 — and she recalled being shocked to hear a song featuring her name.
“I guess I didn’t look at myself as a celebrity, but people were very excited when they met me. And I remember going on tour, and seeing sometimes people dress up. And I’d say, ‘What are you dressed up as?’ And they would say, ‘Sharonas.’ ”
The pair split but remained close, and Alperin, 61, had fond words for her ex. Even if he helped her name become synonymous in Asia with something less savory.
“Not everybody knew that Sharona was a person, or they thought maybe it was a thing. I think in Japan, they might have thought it was the male organ — that’s what I heard.”
‘Rosanna‘
Before Rosanna Arquette, 62, had a breakthrough role in 1985’s “Desperately Seeking Susan,” her first name became a chart topper when Toto released “Rosanna” in 1982.
While the band was recording “Toto IV,” she was dating keyboardist Steve Porcaro, 64. Her name was floating in the ether and fit with the ballad.
“‘Rosanna’ is about three girls I knew, all rolled into one,” Toto band member David Paich told Louder in 2008. “After I met Rosanna Arquette, I just stole her name and stuck it on there.” Frontman Bobby Kimball said she ran with it.
“She was just starting her career, and the song was so big that she went on several talk shows and said it was about her. But I can tell you that it wasn’t. David’s line was always that he just used the name because it fitted into the song. Then she came into the picture and claimed it.”
Arquette later said she didn’t like the song, prompting Kimball to quip: “That’s because it’s no longer useful to her.”
‘Star-Crossed‘
Country crossover darling Kacey Musgraves’ fifth album, “Star-Crossed,” is filled with musings about her split from ex-husband Ruston Kelly, whom she divorced in 2020.
“You can easily say it is a post-divorce album, which yes, it is factually on paper,” the 33-year-old told NPR. “But this album is full of a lot of love and gratitude for that person, for Ruston, for my life and my ability to explore all the emotions as a songwriter.”
While “Star-Crossed” is about the cycle of ending a relationship, her album “Golden Hour” is about falling in love with Kelly. The album won a Grammy in 2019, and while she thanked him, she told Elle: “I felt like I was dying inside. I was crumbling. I was sad. I felt lonely. I felt broken.”
Kelly hasn’t spoken out about his ex’s songs, but he has moved on to another brunette, model Tori Barnes.
