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The music business isn't always smooth sailing. For some artists, a nemesis or two comes with success. From rock 'n' roll rivalries and hip hop beef to pop stars bickering, the history of music has seen some serious rivalries. Be it creative differences, financial disputes, love triangles, or drug abuse, the opportunities for feuding are limitless, especially if the stars have big egos. Curious? Keep clicking to learn more about the biggest rivalries in music history.
After 60 years of feuding over music, the greatest rivalry in rock has come to a halt. In 2023, multiple sources told Variety that Paul McCartney, and possibly Ringo Starr, has joined the Rolling Stones in their upcoming project.
The two rap icons weren’t always enemies. However, things took a turn in 1994 after Shakur was robbed and shot by unknown men when he arrived to Quad Recording Studios in New York City. Biggie and P. Diddy were upstairs, and Tupac believed the two were involved in the shooting. This started their never-ending beef until they both were shot to death. Both murders remain unsolved.
After meeting as cast members of the 'All New Mickey Mouse Club' in the early '90s, the pop stars were constantly pitted against one another. Throughout the years, all of those comparisons created tension between the two, and both took shots at each other in the press.
The Guns N' Roses bandmates started quarreling over creative differences, especially when Slash gave a solo on Michael Jackson’s 'Black or White.' Rose then retaliated by getting the band to cover the Rolling Stones’ 'Sympathy for the Devil' with another guitarist. Slash then left the group in 1996, and didn’t speak to Rose for decades. However, in 2016, 20 years later, they all shared the stage again for a Guns N’ Roses reunion tour.
The press constantly pitted Houston against Carey. Especially when Houston, during a 1990 interview, said: "What do I think of her? I don’t think of her." But they officially shut the rumors down when producers of the 1998 film 'The Prince of Egypt' booked them to duet on 'When You Believe' for the soundtrack. The song was awarded the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1999.
Axl Rose was initially a big fan of the Seattle band, even wearing a Nirvana hat in the video for 'Don’t Cry.' But Cobain repeatedly bad-mouthed them in the press. The feud dissipated after Cobain’s suicide in April 1994.
The two former Beatles wrote some of the most beloved songs of all time, but in their personal lives things didn't run so smoothly. Once Lennon's new love, Yoko Ono, entered the scene, things really started to sour. However, the two were starting to reconcile before Lennon's death.
During an interview with a German television network in 2000, when asked about J.Lo, Mimi said: "I don’t know her." The iconic line sparked whispers of a flourished feud. When asked about J.Lo again in 2016, she said: "I still don't know her!"
While the feud is now lighthearted between the pair, it has been one of the longest-running in hip hop history. It all started in 1999 when Ja Rule was robbed at gunpoint in Queens, New York, by one of 50 Cent's supposed affiliates. Apart from dissing each other on tracks, in 2018 50 Cent famously bought up the first 200 tickets for Ja Rule’s show in Las Vegas. He then left the seats empty. The prank cost him US$3,000.
It all started in 2002 when Elton John threw shade at Madonna’s James Bond theme song, 'Die Another Day' and called it "the worst Bond tune ever." He then, in 2004, called her out for allegedly lip-syncing. During his appearance on The Graham Norton Show in 2016, John noted that he made up with her after spotting her at a restaurant and sending an apology note.
The two rappers have been pitted against each other ever since Cardi appeared on the scene. However, the two repeatedly denied any tension and even appeared on the Migos song 'MotorSport' together. But a few months later, things boiled over with alleged drama between the two. It all culminated with Cardi reportedly throwing a shoe at one of Minaj's friends at a New York Fashion Week party in 2018. Cardi was escorted out with a giant lump on her forehead.
Reports over the years have suggested that the Gallaghers began clashing on the Oasis US tour in 1994. Oasis first broke up during the mid-90s and ultimately ended their time together in 2009. They spent over two decades publicly fighting.
Nas was one of the hottest rappers in the game when Jay-Z invited him to contribute a verse to 'Reasonable Doubt' in 1996. But when he didn't show up, one of the longest beefs in hip hop started.
In 1992, O'Connor made headlines around the world when she tore a photo of the Pope during her performance on 'Saturday Night Live.' Widely condemned by the church, Sinatra also took offense. On stage in New Jersey soon after, he said "I'd kick her a** if she were a guy."
In 2013, Carey and Minaj had a feud on 'American Idol' following a disagreement between Minaj and the entire judging panel. Although they both tried to claim there was no tension between the two, footage showed otherwise.
It all started at the 2009 Video Music Awards when Swift won Best Female Video, and West went up on stage with his "Imma let you finish" mic-grabbing moment. He later apologized and even presented her with the Video Vanguard award during the 2015 ceremony. But in 2016, the feud was reignited when West released the song, "Famous," mentioning Swift.
Childhood friends Simon and Garfunkel had a troubled relationship, leading to artistic disagreements and their breakup in 1970. Their final album, 'Bridge over Troubled Water,' became one of the world's best-selling albums.
The rivalry between these two iconic musicians can be traced back to 1985 when Prince refused to work with Jackson. They then started to challenge each other. In recordings for his 1988 autobiography 'Moonwalk,' Jackson slammed Prince saying: "He was so rude, one of the rudest people I've ever met. He has been very mean and nasty to my family."
The controversial topic of ghostwriting in music was the basis of this 2015 feud between Meek Mill and Drake. Shortly after Drake was featured on Meek’s track 'R.I.C.O.,' he went on Twitter claiming Drake doesn't write his own raps. What followed were a lot of back and forth in diss tracks.
After Cobain’s passing, tensions arose between his widow and the other members of Nirvana. It first started with bad-mouthing in interviews by Dave Grohl. But after years of back and forth, plus legal squabbles, the two reconciled.
The pair shared the stage in 2010 to duet on Perry’s 'Hot n Cold,' but four years later Swift was singing 'Bad Blood.' Even if she didn't mention it was about Perry, she said it was about another woman in the music industry who did something horrible, which ended the friendship. Over the years they went on to diss on each other, but the stars reconciled in 2019.
By the fall of 2013, Miley Cyrus had turned heads with her controversial VMA performance with Robin Thicke. Cyrus later said she was inspired by O’Connor. Upon hearing the news, the Irish singer responded with a lengthy open letter, offering motherly advice and warning about being over-sexualized in the industry. However, Cyrus responded with a shady tweet, and O’Connor ended up writing three more letters criticizing her.
The disdain Beach Boys' Brian Wilson has for Mike Love is longstanding. It started back in '66 when they were recording 'Pet Sounds,' and Love resented that Wilson took the majority of the lead vocals himself. The relationship between the cousins was further strained by a series of courtroom battles. To this day it's said they don't get along.
In 2011, Ciara made headlines when she said she and Rihanna didn’t seem to get along when they met on a night out. The stars then started to go at it on Twitter, but it didn’t take long for them to exchange apologies. Ciara, however, revisited the feud two years later in an interview.
Since reaching pop star status, Mother Monster has constantly been compared to Madonna—especially after she released 'Born This Way' in 2011. Apparently Madonna found it similar to her 1989 hit 'Express Yourself.' Sisterhood ultimately brought the two closer together, ending the feud.
Malik’s split from One Direction seemed amicable when he first announced his departure in 2015. But that soon changed with a Twitter beef between Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Malik's new collaborator Naughty Boy. With a lot of bickering, the friendship between the former band members truly soured.
It all began in 2011 when Drake joined Lil Wayne's record label, Young Money, stepping into an existing beef between Pusha T and Lil Wayne. After years of back and forth, Pusha T dropped "The Story of Adidon," a song that revealed Drake had a secret son. Drake eventually confirmed the existence of his son, Adonis.
Tommy Lee and Kid Rock have more in common than being famous rock stars, as both were married to Pamela Anderson. While Anderson and Lee were reasonably friendly exes, Rock later claimed that Lee was openly hostile to him when he was married to Anderson. The animosity bubbled over when they got into a fight at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.
In 1999, things escalated between the two hip hop queens when Lil' Kim dissed Brown in 'Play Around.' In 2001, actual gunshots were fired outside the Hot 97 station between Kim’s crew and Capone-N-Noreaga’s, regarding Foxy’s verse in 'XXL.' Brown tried to make amends after the incident, but it never worked out. In 2005, Kim ended up being convicted of perjury for lying to protect her friends involved in the shooting.
It all started when the former White Stripes frontman accused the fellow two-piece guitar and drum act of ripping him off. White was also mad that his kids attended the same school as Dan Auerbach's children.
Sources: (Rolling Stone) (Harper's Bazaar) (Variety) (Insider)
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What were the biggest rivalries in music history?
From classic rock to hip hop, these stars had bad blood
MUSIC Feuds
The music business isn't always smooth sailing. For some artists, a nemesis or two comes with success. From rock 'n' roll rivalries and hip hop beef to pop stars bickering, the history of music has seen some serious rivalries. Be it creative differences, financial disputes, love triangles, or drug abuse, the opportunities for feuding are limitless, especially if the stars have big egos.
Curious? Keep clicking to learn more about the biggest rivalries in music history.