7 Artists Who Threw Vicious, Vicious Shade At Their Duet Partners
The world is still recovering from Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea's epic Twitter shade-off last week over their "flopped" song "Pretty Girls." (Check out a full recap here.) Even though Iggy insists there is no feud, we're not buying it.
Iggy shouldn't feel bad, though, because she's not the first artist to throw shade at a duet partner. In fact, there are several instances where singers made sweet tunes with a peer, but also made biting comments about them either before or after the collaboration. (In some cases, a full-on feud happened.) It's all so very, very awkward, if you ask us. Check out these seven icy AF examples, and let us know what you think in the comments below.
Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston
When Mariah splashed onto the music scene in the early '90s, Whitney didn't exactly welcome her with the most open arms. In 1990, Whitney said, "I don't think of her" when asked her thoughts on the then-blossoming diva. However, things seemed to thaw in 1998 when the two collaborated on "When You Believe" for The Prince of Egypt soundtrack. The track won Best Song at the Academy Awards during the 1999 ceremony. However, even more interesting was Whitney and Mariah's dismissal of their feud on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1998; they called it just "dramatics."
Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
These music icons collaborated together on two songs: "Say Say Say" (1983) and "The Girl is Mine" (1982), the latter appearing on MJ's Thriller album. But things got weird between the two when Michael bought the company that owned the majority of The Beatles' catalog. The kicker is that MJ did this only after Paul told him the financial benefits of buying the publishing rights to popular hits. Eeek! "... [We] don't have that great a relationship," Paul said about Michael prior to the King of Pop's passing in 2009.
Nas and Jay-Z
From 1996 to 2006, these veteran rappers had a ton of beef. From snide jabs hidden in their songs to taking shots at one another during press interviews, it was extremely evident that these dudes just did not like each other. But things changed in '06 when Nas signed with Def Jam Records...where Jay-Z was still president at the time. After this, the rappers toured together, made public appearances, and even recorded some fantastic tracks, including "Black Republican" from Nas' eighth album Hip Hop Is Dead (2006). No more hatchet here, y'all.
Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj
If you were alive during the 12th season of American Idol, then you knew MC and Nicki were not exactly gal pals. Mimi frequently shaded Ms. Minaj on the show, and Nicki retaliated by penning the lyric, "I'm quick to the check a bitch if she outta line" on her track "Hell Yeah." However, these two collaborated on the 2010 track "Up Out My Face." Oh, and they did a video.
Drake and Chris Brown
These hip-hop artists have famously tussled over Rihanna's affections, with Drizzy saying in 2013, "[Chris'] insecurities are the fact that I make better music than him, that I’m more popping than him and that at one point in life the woman that he loves fell into my lap." Their mutual disdain for one another has even continued in 2015, with Drake switching up lyrics in concert to take a jab at Chris. But can music cure this bitter rivalry? The duo collaborated on both the 2012 tune "Yamaha Mama" (above) and Nicki Minaj's "Only," which also features Lil' Wayne. Or maybe they're just playing nice for the tunes?
John Mayer and Taylor Swift
TayTay appeared on John's song "Half of My Heart" when these two were a romantic item, but things got sour after their break-up. Taylor penned the track "Dear John," where she sings, "Don't you think 19 is too young to be played by your dark twisted games, when I loved you so?" John fired back and called the tune "cheap songwriting." In 2015, John dissed the 1989 singer again when he appeared on The Late Late Show and said, "You can see me at the Grammys doing what I do best, being avoided by Taylor Swift." THE SHAAAAAAADE.
P!nk and Christina Aguilera
OK, so this wasn't a duet per se, but the jabs definitely exist. These divas both lent their voices to the 2001 song "Lady Marmalade" alongside Maya, Lil' Kim, and Missy Elliott. More than a decade later, however, it seems like P!nk isn't too keen on X-Tina. While doing a concert in 2013, P!nk made a weird gurgling noise with her voice and said, "I sounded like Christina Aguilera for a second." Was that a read? Absolutely.