Over the weekend, singing sensations Miley Cyrus and Shakira brought the “diss track” — a song whose primary purpose is to disparage someone else — back into the mainstream. Both artists chose to target their ex-husbands.
Shakira’s new song, which was released last week, racked up 63 million views in the first twenty-four hours following its release. It has since been viewed more than 142 million times, making it the most watched new Latin song in YouTube’s history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CocEMWdc7Ck
Last year the Colombian singer split from former soccer player Gerard Piqué, her husband of more than a decade. Shakira supposedly deduced that Piqué had been cheating on her after discovering that the strawberry jelly in her fridge had been used: a food that he doesn’t eat. Consistent with his last few seasons at Barcelona, Piqué mounted a weak defense — and in true sports star fashion, he has since started dating twenty-three-year-old Clara Chía.
Some of Shakira’s lyrics include, “You swapped a Ferrari for a Twingo / You swapped a Rolex for a Casio.” She also takes aim at her mother-in-law, the media and her tax problems, singing, “You left me with my mother-in-law as a neighbor, with the press at my door and a debt to the taxman.” Shakira is reportedly playing the song on a loop, with a witch on her balcony pointing at her mother-in-law’s house.
Miley Cyrus’s latest song is a bit less in-your-face. Her new single, “Flowers” was released on her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth’s birthday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7KNmW9a75Y&ab_channel=MileyCyrusVEVO
In the diss track, Cyrus sings, “We were good / We were gold / Kind of dream that can’t be sold. We were right / ’Til we weren’t / Built a home and watched it burn.” Miley and Liam’s home was destroyed in a 2018 wildfire.
Maybe it’s just Cockburn, but he struggles to empathize with the personal struggles of multimillionaires — especially when their scathing songs are making them a load more cash. What’s more, there’s a place for the airing of such personal grievances: the therapist’s couch, for instance, or mediation. But in public? On YouTube? What on earth happened to quiet dignity?
