Loved-up popstars who sang about their partner

Not all popstars are keen to get personal and confessional but if there's one thing you can count on to give them inspiration to spill, it's their own relationship.

Whether they're loved up to the max, or boxing up their partner's possessions in a box to the left, some singers don't shy away from getting gooey – or grumpy – about their lover in public. And if they're famous too, that's a bonus for the rest of us.

To celebrate Valentine's Day this week, here are a few songs by and about coupled-up stars. A song all of your own is better than some petrol-station flowers and box of Maltesers, right?

Taylor Swift

Taylor is renowned for penning a biting breakup song or two about her famous exes, with John Mayer, Jake Gyllenhaal and Harry Styles among those who've felt Swifty's radio wrath – but she does coupled-up bliss bops too. 

On latest album Reputation, her boyfriend, actor Joe Alwyn, gets a few nods, most notably in the good-natured yet borderline obsessive insistence of Ready For It? and, of course, the cutesy Gorgeous. In this lush, low-key number, Taylor and Joe flirt, then plot their escape from Taylor's then-squeeze (I've got a boyfriend; he's older than us" is a savage dig, btw) and feast their eyes upon one another. Gorgeous made the Top 10 in November 2017. See all Taylor's UK hit singles and albums

Ariana Grande

The trouble with writing a song about the one you love is when you break up, the song doesn't immediately cease to exist – it's still there, like having your diary read out to your workmates over a loudspeaker. Anyway, on 2018's Sweetener album, Ariana Grande devoted a song to then-fiancé Pete Davidson, entitled, uh, Pete Davidson. It wasn't released as a single, but Pete did get a mention again, in an Ariana Number 1, joining the roll call of past loves in Ari's palate cleansing Thank U, Next.

Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake

Yes, yes, everyone knows about Cry Me A River, but do you remember the song this pair recorded when they were still a couple? On Britney's third album, the then-happy couple collaborated on What It's Like to be Me, in which Britney stated what kind of man she needed and Justin obliged.

Ah, it's not true love unless you're stepping out in quadruple denim, is it?

Beyoncé and Jay-Z

Bey and Jay have spent quite a bit of time on their last couple of albums talking about each other – maybe releasing an album is just as cathartic as marriage counselling! Of the many songs, one that sticks out as the most loved-up is Drunk in Love, from Beyoncé's self-titled 2013 album. Featuring lyrics that may well cause Blue Ivy a few blushes in years to come, this UK Number 9 hit showed a husband and wife still very much into one another and, erm, not afraid to show it. By 2016, however, things weren't as rosy, and Beyoncé opened the Lemonade album with the haunting Pray You Catch Me, which didn't feature a Jay-Z rap, but his presence was all over it.

John Legend

John Legend's relationship with model, presenter and author Chrissy Teigen is the stuff of, uh, legend. The singer and his wife regularly trade affectionate barbs on social media, they've got each other's backs when the trolls descend and they've got two cute children together. And if that wasn't enough, Chrissy is the inspiration for John's million-selling ballad All of Me, which reached Number 2 in spring 2014. The pair even starred together in the video for the song and… well, let's just say you can tell they were newlyweds. 🔥

Coldplay

Chris Martin was no stranger to getting emotional but it was former wife Gwyneth Paltrow who really brought out the big guns – 2005 hit Fix You was about trying to comfort Gwyneth after the death of her father. Chris wrote quite a few songs about Gwyneth over the years, and the Oscar winning actress has admitted she can't listen to some of them without crying. Chris and Gwyneth separated – or "consciously uncoupled" in 2014, but the Coldplay songs still remain (and the pair are still good friends so it's still kind of a happy ending).

Madonna

Madge dedicated her third album True Blue to first husband Sean Penn, giving over the title track to a gooey '60s pastiche that declared her undying love for her spouse and taking it to Number 1 in 1986. The term "True Blue" was, apparently an in-joke and declaration of love between the couple, but by Madonna's next album Like A Prayer, the marriage was over and, of all the tracks, the most enlightening was Till Death Do Us Part, which gave a very detailed account of a relationship in crisis. Madonna married again in 2000, this time to director Guy Ritchie, and wrote a few songs about him too. They divorced in 2008.

Miley Cyrus

Miley was certainly feeling loved up when she posted a romantic message to husband Liam Hemsworth on his 29th birthday, mentioning they'd known one another for 10 years. While there was a slight hiatus in their relationship, once they were back together, Miley scored her first Top 40 hit in three years in 2017 with Malibu, a lovestruck tune that acts as a love letter to Liam and everything that's good about their relationship. Aaaah. See all Miley's UK hits in her archive