Plenty of singers allude to their past relationships in their music. Sometimes, when they're performing those songs live on stage, they decide to add a little extra...✨spice✨.
Here are 15 times artists called out or shaded their exes mid-performance:
1. While performing "Flowers" at the 2024 Grammys, Miley Cyrus changed the words, seemingly alluding to her divorce from Liam Hemsworth.
Watch the full clip below:
2. When Taylor Swift performed "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" at the 2013 Grammys, she seemingly alluded to her recent breakup with Harry Styles by putting on a British accent in the bridge and changing the lyrics.
Here's the full performance:
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3. In a since-deleted 2024 Instagram post, Britney Spears apologized "for some of the things" she wrote in her memoir, The Woman In Me, which included details of her tumultuous relationship with Justin Timberlake. She also praised his new song, "Selfish." However, during a NYC concert a few days later, Justin declared, "I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to absolutely fucking nobody." Fans speculated it was shade at Britney.
Here's the clip from Justin's show:
4. During a 2023 concert in Portland, SZA reportedly told her audience that most of her songs were about an ex who lived in that very city. She said, "He's not here 'cause I'm blocked on everything."
Then, before "Nobody Gets Me," she reportedly said, "This one is extra sad because I did write this song about the person that lives here… Fuck. Being blocked on everything is so fucking hard."
Describing the aftermath, she told Elle, "My ex's father just texted me and was like, 'My son is really hurt about what you said about him to the crowd.' You don't get to block me on everything. Tell our mutual friends terrible things about me like I'm a monster, or whatever the case may be. And then I don't get to speak my piece in my way. You go do your healing and I'll do mine."
5. Then, right before she performed "Nobody Gets Me" in London a few months later, SZA told her audience, "I never told anybody, but like, my boyfriend cheated on me in this city before. It was terrible. That’s why I was really sad to come here, but you guys made it so much better. Thank you! This song is about my other trash ex-boyfriend."
Here's the clip from her concert:
6. When Kelsea Ballerini performed "Blinded" on Saturday Night Live in 2023, she seemingly referenced her ex-husband Morgan Evans's song "Over For You" in the new lyrics she added at the end.
She later released "Blindsided (Yeah, Sure, Okay Version)."
Watch Kelsea's full performance below:
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7. In 2018, two weeks after they announced their split from G-Eazy, Halsey was performing in their home state of New Jersey when they decided to share some of their recent life lessons with the audience. After telling them it's okay to be alone, Halsey added, "The second lesson I learned is, don't fucking sleep with your ex."
Here's the full clip:
View this video on YouTube
8. Then, when Halsey performed "Without Me" — which she previously confirmed is about G-Eazy — on Saturday Night Live in 2019, her background appeared to be an apology note from a cheating ex. It read, "I'm sorry Ashley I cheated in New Orleans, in Minneapolis, in Austin, at home in Los Angeles, more places I can’t even remember."
Afterward, they tweeted, "As an artist, I have a privilege to remain honest and write about what’s true to me. as a woman, I have a responsibility to not allow myself to be silenced by someone who has done me wrong. my truth will always come through in my art. death over silence, yo."
Here's Halsey's full performance:
View this video on YouTube
9. During a 2023 concert in London, Lana Del Rey changed the lyrics to "Chemtrails Over The Country Club" to seemingly imply that her relationship with Sean Larkin, whom she reportedly dated from 2019–2020, wasn't quite over when he got married in early 2022.
For reference, here are Lana's original lyrics:
And here are the new lyrics she added:
Here's a clip from the concert:
10. At the end of Ariana Grande's 2020 Grammys performance, as the final strains of "Thank U Next" faded, she took off the ring on her left hand and put it in a ring box. Fans speculated it was a reference to her ex-fiancé, Pete Davidson.
Watch the full performance below:
View this video on YouTube
11. During a "Kellyoke" segment on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Kelly Clarkson covered Gayle's "ABCDEFU," but she changed the lyrics, seemingly referencing her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock.
Here are the original lyrics, for reference:
And here's Kelly's version:
Watch her full performance below:
View this video on YouTube
12. Then, during a show as part of her residency, Kelly Clarkson again changed the lyrics to Gayle's "ABCDEFU," though this time, they were more explicit.
Here's a clip from the concert:
13. During a 2016 concert in Syracuse, Future tried to get each side of the audience to cheer. Unimpressed with the left side's level of enthusiasm, he called them out by shading both his ex-fiancé, Ciara, and the rapper he was being compared to at the time, Desiigner. He said, "Y'all must be Ciara or Desiigner fans or something."
Here's a clip of the moment:
14. During a Little Mix concert in 2017, the band was performing "Shout Out To My Ex" when member Perrie Edwards seemingly made a slight lyric change to reference her ex-fiancé Zayn Malik's new partner, Gigi Hadid.
Instead of "Hope she ain't faking it like I did," Perrie seemingly sang, "Hope she ain't faking it like Hadid," which caused her bandmate Jade Thirlwall to laugh hysterically.
Then, Perrie capped off the line, "Took four long years to call it quits," with "Jade, don't."
Here's the full clip:
View this video on YouTube
15. And finally, at the 2019 ACM Awards, Miranda Lambert changed the lyrics while singing "Little Red Wagon." The original lyric was, "I live in Oklahoma," because Miranda and her ex-husband, Blake Shelton, lived in his home state when they were together.
Her ex-husband, Blake Shelton, and his new partner, Gwen Stefani, were in the audience.
