Celebrities have long inspired name-dropping musicians, with famous people often referenced in music.
asserted
people → inspire → music
But it's a special honour indeed to have a whole song named after you.
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song → have → you
Sometimes, however, the song in question doesn't have anything to do with the muse.
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song → have → muse
Here are 10 songs named after prominent people.
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songs → name → people
Slovak artist Adéla's track about Oscar winner Nicole Kidman has caught the attention of the Australian Hollywood star herself, with Kidman using the song to soundtrack an Instagram reel.
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Kidman → catch → reel
She's not the only star to do this, with everyone from Madonna to Lizzo sharing the song on TikTok, where it has gone viral.
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it → do → TikTok
The track is featured on Adéla's debut album Prima, and has risen to number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
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track → feature → charts
In case you're wondering who Adéla is, the now solo star and ex-ballerina was cut in the first round of a YouTube reality show aimed at forming the next big girl group.
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star → wonder → group
Those who made it became Katseye.
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who → make → it
The singer told W Magazine that she was inspired to write Nicole Kidman after scoring an invitation to the Golden Globes.
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she → tell → Globes
"I've never been in a movie," Adéla said.
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Adéla → say → movie
"But I got all glammed up, and my corset was so tight that I thought, 'I feel like Nicole Kidman right now.'
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I → glamme → Kidman
Bernie Taupin (The One Who Writes The Words For Elton John) is famous for his fascination for America's Wild West — and for old movies and TV.
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Who → write → movies
Those obsessions came together on this minor classic that turned up on side four of the classic double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road(1973).
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that → come → album
The song is not really about the great sequined cowboy singer and actor — it's really about the comfort that someone gets from watching a familiar and much-loved character on late night TV — yet another warm, cozy, nostalgic song from one of the great albums of the 1970s.
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someone → get → 1970s
Just like Bernie Taupin, the Eagles also had an obsession with the Wild West — but also with the dark side of the California Dream.
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Eagles → have → Dream
Mostly written by Jackson Browne, the song mentions Dean's most famous film role, Rebel Without A Cause, then cryptically alludes to his tragic death: "along came a Spyder and picked up a rider, and took him down the road to eternity".
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Spyder → write → eternity
On September 30, 1955, Dean was driving to a race in California when he was hit by a car that turned onto the highway in front of his Porsche 550 Spyder.
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that → drive → Spyder
He was killed instantly … but his name, his look, his legend lives on more than 70 years later.
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name → kill → ?
Swift describes Taylor in the official notes for the album as "one of the most ultimate, quintessential showgirls" she could ever imagine.
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she → describe → showgirls
"This is a love song kind of through the lens of the motif of what she had to go through in her life and sort of the parallels that I feel in my own life,"Swift said.
"You know, role models are pretty hard to come by, but I would absolutely say that she's one of mine."
Weezer
Buddy Holly
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she → go → Holly
Sometimes songs that name check celebrities in the title tell the story of that star's life — but sometimes they don't.
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they → tell → life
The song has nothing to do with the doomed early rocker who died in music's most famous plane crash (Weezer also mentions the TV star Mary Tyler Moore in the song).
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Weezer → have → song
Buddy Holly is best known for its clever music video — seamlessly blending their modern performance with old episodes of the 70s TV comedy Happy Days.
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Holly → know → comedy
The single was released in 2015 and features singer Meghan Trainor.
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single → release → Trainor
Gaye's name is used as a verb in the song, which draws inspiration from Motown.
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which → use → Motown
The song reached number four in Australia and went two times Platinum, but it was savaged by critics around the world.
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it → reach → world
Time Magazine even wondered why Gaye's estate didn't sue for tarnishing the star's legacy.
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estate → wonder → legacy
Puth said the song was a musical icebreaker for "any guy who wants to go up to a girl at a bar", saying it would be hard to not have a conversation about the track if it was playing.
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it → say → track
Canadian American DJ duo Duck Sauce's catchy 2010 hit has nothing to do with the most successful female singer in history — but naming the song after her got people's attention and helped it to the top of the charts all over the world — including the top 10 in Australia and number 15 on triple j's Hottest 100 for 2010.
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naming → have → 2010
The lyrics of the song mention all sorts of random things with regular interruptions from people saying Barbra Streisand.
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lyrics → mention → Streisand
So far Babs hasn't returned the favour by recording a song named Duck Sauce … but never say never …
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Babs → return → song
David Bowie became a huge fan of Andy Warhol after seeing the pop artist's play Pork in London in 1971 — but apparently had already written this song before seeing it.
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artist → become → it
It first appeared on his classic LP Hunky Dory.
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It → appear → LP
Bowie flew to New York to meet Warhol and play him the song — which the notoriously self-conscious artist apparently didn't like because of the line "Andy Warhol looks a scream".
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Warhol → fly → line
Many years later — after Warhol's death in 1987 — Bowie played him in the 1996 film Basquiat — wearing one of Warhol's infamous wigs.
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Bowie → play → wigs
Apparently, the likeness was so convincing that even Warhol's brother thought that it was Andy.
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it → think → ?
Princess Diana was released in 2023 by drill rapper Ice Spice, who hails from the birthplace of rap music — The Bronx.
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who → release → music
That version peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
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version → peak → Billboard
The song is a nod to memes comparing portraits of Ice Spice to the late princess.
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song → compare → princess
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia