Breakup Songs that Scream Girl Power

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Going through a breakup it’s not the most wonderful experience to have, to be honest. And less so in summer. In these difficult moments, you need to focus in what makes you feel better. And we know that it may seem easier to listen to terribly miserable songs and cry yourself to sleep, BUT we are here to bring you that Shakira’s «women-don’t-cry, women-bill» energy, to make you feel the most BICHOTA, as Karol G would say. Because, even it is hard to accept it, the best thing is to let it go. As Daddy Yankee said, «Lo que pasó, pasó». So try not to dissappoint the founding father of reggaeton, please.

Here we bring you some of the most uplifting and unapologetic breakup hits of the year that spread girl power. Because, exactly, getting revenge making big numbers and chart-topping songs is the new fashion.

‘TQG’ Energy

‘The Quedé Grande‘ (TQG), (‘I’m out of your league’) is one of the biggest releases this years in a series of singles by great divas who prefer to end their love relationships by making clear all the anger they feel after a stormy relationship. This drop is part of Karol G’s history-making album, ‘Mañana será bonito‘ (‘Tomorrow Will Be Pretty’)’, which debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200 chart in March.

“Tell your new babe I don’t compete for men”, “I don’t repeat mistakes’, “Seeing you with ‘the new one’ hurted me, but I’m already focusing on myself”, “Making money as sport”, “Getting back with you? Never”, are some of the catchy verses present here. In case anyone still has any doubts, the Colombian artists hit the memories of their previous relationships stating they are not willing to go back to them. Their life now is “much better”, they chant, dressed in powerful shiny outfits. The new diss collab got almost 2 million plays only two hours after its drop on YouTube. Both divas showed one more time that they are girl power icons.

It’s pretty clear that getting revenge is the new fashion. As heartbreak songs could have their own genre, here we show you some of the most popular diss anthems in recent years that shout “We run the world, girls!”.

Shakira is currently leading the game when it comes to turning her strong emotions into legendary lyrics. That was already clear in her previous single with Argentinian producer Bizarrap, ‘BZRP Music Session No. 53’, which made history by reaching Number #1 Top Global in Spotify within 24 hours with 14 million plays and 52 million views in YouTube, becoming the most listened Spanish-written song in a single day.

The artist gave us one of the best diss-tracks of her career to the rhythm of futuristic electropop, setting social media on fire with all the raw references to her ex-husband, the Spanish former soccer player Gerard Piqué, who reportedly cheated on her with new girlfriend Clara Chía. “Sal-Piqué” and “Clara-mente” -a play on words with both names meaning “splash” and ”clearly” in Spanish- were satirically trending for days after the release. With her latest music releases, ‘Monotonía‘ and ‘Te Felicito‘ featuring Latin artists Ozuna and Rauw Alejandro, Shakira started a new brand artistic era raised by female empowerment. Women don’t cry anymore, women bill!

But Shakira and Karol G aren’t the only female artists currently breaking records these days turning their heartbroken feelings into musical hits. As the ‘Tusa’ singer announced at the latest edition of Viña de Mar Festival in Chile, “I feel that we women have a lot to tell, a lot to do, a lot to represent”, stated while celebrating the presence of other female artists such as Latin stars Nicki Nicole, Emilia Mernes and Paloma Mami at the event.

The Argentine singer Tini Stoessel (a.k.a. TINI) was also there. She has recently made  headlines too with her single ‘Las Jordan’. A song that, according to her fans, would be dedicated to her ex, Colombian artist Sebastián Yatra, but also to his new girlfriend, Spanish singer Aitana, to whom TINI refers to in the lyric “If you get bored with the one from Spain”. 

No Flowers, No Liars, No. 1

We are sure that you have already heard ‘Flowers’, the most expected musical comeback of the great Miley Cyrus, either on the radio, on digital platforms or in any kind of trend on TikTok and Instagram. The artist released this first single of her new album ‘Endless Summer Vacation’ (out on March 10) on her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth’s birthday, January 13. If we consider all past issues that happened between the couple, this relationship could surely have its own vindictive soundtrack.

Sampling ‘When I Was Your Man’ by Bruno Mars, Cyrus gives us an ode to self-love with a very clear message: she can buy her own flowers and love herself much better than he could. The hit remains in the #1 position in the Global Excl. US chart for 12 weeks in a row. 

However, the no. 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart is for SZA’s, ‘Kill Bill‘, whose lyrics are a clear declaration of intent: «I might kill my ex / Not the best idea / His new girlfriend is next / How I’d get here?«‘. Well, that was savage. It certainly gave Shakira the best opportunity to chant these verses on Valentine’s Day through a mysterious TikTok. If you didn’t find the song explicit enough, the music video depicts romantic betrayal through a mass shooting. A shadowy scene that could perfectly belong to a Quentin Tarantino movie.

One of the strengths of singles that evoke post-breakup anger is their ability to be direct and effective. This is clearly represented by the diss collab ‘Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2’ of British singer PinkPanthereness featuring American rapper Ice Spice, that reached the podium of international music charts (ranks the No. 4 position on Billboard at the moment). With a catchy  beat, the song is about  being in a relationship in which you don’t feel appreciated and loved, to the point of wondering if you’re enough. Spoiler, you are!

In this remix, Spice adds that cheeky and sassy style to it from the self-love that comes with saying ‘enough is enough‘ to an empty relationship. A feeling that anyone can easily relate to and that made the song go around the world, trending on TikTok with several celebrities dancing to it, like Kim Kardashian, who recently divorced rapper Kayne West and broke up with comedian Pete Davidson.

Iconic Revengeful Hits by Iconic Divas

Other of the most iconic female artists have also the main talent of turning love scandals into timeless works of art that become that song you want to listen to at the club while you are feeling yourself with your friends.

In recent years, love life breaking news involving most famous divas were later followed by vengeful singles that shook the foundations of the music industry. Who doesn’t remember that image of an incredible Beyoncé roaring out the lyrics of ‘Hold Up’ while smashing a row of cars with a baseball bat? The artist explains here how she discovers an infidelity after seeing her partner’s call list. «They don’t love you like I love you / What’s worse? Looking jealous or crazy?«, she asks in the song. 

This was the first drop of the legendary ‘Lemonade’ album, released in 2016 (precisely, this week is it’s 7th anniversary), a clear representation of her introspective pain after it was publicly announced the alleged disloyalty of Jay-Z, her husband, with singer Rita Ora.

The loss of trust and resentment towards the couple burst into a thousand pieces through different explosive hits, such as ‘Don’t Hurt Yourself’, ‘Sorry‘ or ‘Pray You Catch Me‘. Recently, Beyoncé has made another contribution to this contemporary trend that celebrates self-love and female empowerment in ‘Break My Soul‘, part of her latest album ‘Renaissance’.

In this sense, it is true that there is something worse than being cheated on with someone else. And that is that both you and your partner are world-renowned rap stars. Unfortunately, Cardi B knows well what this is about and she reflects it in ‘Be Careful’, a song whose release comes after rumors about the infidelity of Offset, her husband and father of her children.

“She doesn’t even know your middle name / Watch her ‘cause she might steal your chain / You don’t want someone who loves you instead? / I guess not though”, Cardi states on the single, in which she shows herself both vulnerable and spiteful about the shattering of her romantic expectations -in her words, that ‘Currys, Steph and Ayesha’ kind of thing. She describes a relationship wounded by disloyalty, wishing nothing but the worst for the person she’s referring to. 

You also probably saw Rihanna’s stellar performance last week at the Super Bowl. The spot announcing her comeback to the rhythm of ‘Needed Me’ reminded us of another of the most explicit contemporary diss tracks. In its music video -part of ANTI, the last album released in 2016 before her music break-, she tells how she felt used by a former partner who was also «on the hit list» and «pretended to fix his issues” with her.

At the end of the video, we can see Rihanna repeatedly shooting at her alleged ex-partner, as if it were a settling of scores after a stormy relationship. We don’t know exactly who this poetic revenge is aimed at, but we do know that the Caribbean artist makes reference to her former partner Chris Brown in other parts of the Album such as ‘Higher’.

“Kill Em With Kindness” 

This original lyric by Selena Gomez perfectly represents another very different style in revenge songs, which are those that, instead of a string of resentment, dedicate an ironic -and even cheerful- goodbye to ex-boyfriends.

Taylor Swift here is a true expert. The country-pop icon has given us legendary anthems that must be present in any vengeful playlist, such as ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together‘, ‘I Know You Were Trouble‘, or ‘Blank Space‘, where she gives us a master class of identifiable red flags in toxic relationships. Her discography is truthly a chronology of love and heartbreak and what we should learn from it. We are taking notes, Taylor!

In ‘Midnights‘, her most recent album, Swift talks about breakups from a more reflective perspective, but no less direct. «Put on your records and regret me / I bent the truth too far tonight / I was dancing around, dancing around it / Your picket fence is sharp as knives«, are some of the lyrics she sings in ‘High Infidelity’.

This style that combines sharp lyrics with soft rhythms is the perfect way to end a relationship without stopping smiling at the haters. A vibe we can also find in other iconic singles like ‘Thank you, Next’ by Ariana Grande after her split with comedian Pete Davidson (maybe Kim still has time to do this trend too), or ‘New Rules’ by British singer Dua Lipa, where she gives basic tips to avoid falling into the vicious circle of getting back to someone who is not good for you.

Despite all of this, we have to end by saying that Rosalia is still the queen of getting even with the best vibes, after the release of ‘Despechá‘ last summer 2022. Coping with a bad love affair by getting dressed up and going out with your friends while telling that not-anymore-special-person «baby, don’t call me / I’m busy forgetting about your woes / I’ve decided that today I’m going out / With all my motomamies / With all my gyals» while eating ice cream under the sun is still superior. Who’s in the mood for a vindictive Summer?