Lizzo, Beyonce, Taylor Swift and More: 10 Artists Who Changed Offensive Lyrics (2023)

Have you ever listened to a song and thought, "Wow, hasn't that aged well?" So you have a bunch of your favorite artists... in their own songs.

FullHayley Williams, which has long talked about his dislike.Paramore'Misery Business', which even chose to remove the track from the band's live shows, despite it being one of their most successful songs to date, peaking at number 26 on the charts.hot billboard 100. FullTaylor Swift, which later came with the single from their debut album "Picture to Burn", which featured updated lyrics (now infamous among Swifties who likedig up old copiesfrom the album just to see if it has the original lyrics) making jokes about it, spreading rumors that her ex-boyfriend is gay to get revenge.

And more recently thereLizzo, who fixed the use of a controversial word in their song "Grrrls" in less than three days. The second single from their album.Especialhe was quickly criticized for using the crafty term "spaz", something the "Rumors" star didn't take lightly.

"I have been informed that my new song contains a harmful word",she said in a statement, which was supported by many, who praised his willingness to admit he made a mistake and take steps to correct it. “Let me make one thing clear: I never want to encourage derogatory language. As a fat Black woman in America, many offensive words have been used against me, so I ignore the power words can have (intentional or, in my case, unintentional).

"I am proud to announce that there is a new version of GRRRLS with a wording change," she continued. “This is the result of my listening and acting. As an influential artist, I want to be part of the change I've been waiting for."

Weeks later, Beyoncé faced the same criticism for using the same word in herRebirth"Warmed up" song. Days later, his spokesperson saidbillboardthat theThe term would be "replaced".

From sexism to homophobia, ableism to racial prejudice, there are songs whose phrasing just doesn't fit modern worldviews. See how nine artists, from the aforementioned to the Black Eyed Peas, Michael Jackson and more, took steps to move their music forward by changing offensive language.

  • Lizzo, "Grrrls"

    Original text:"Hold my purse / See this? I'm a sparrow"

    (Video) Artists Who Have Changed Offensive Song Lyrics: Lizzo, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift & More | Billboard News

    custom text:"Hold my purse / See that s-? hold me"

    Just three days after Lizzo released her single "Grrrls", the pop star reacted to criticism for using "spaz", a word that is considered an abandoned swear word, byto advertisewhich replaced the track with a new version that discards the term. "Let me make one thing clear: I never want to encourage derogatory language," he wrote in a statement shared on his social media accounts. "As a fat black woman in America, so many offensive words have been used against me that I overestimate the power words can have (whether intentional or, in my case, unintentional)."

    listen grrrlsHere.

  • Beyoncé, "Warmed Up"

    Original text: "Spazzin' on the a-/ Spaz on the a-/ Fast fan, girl, I need my glass."

    custom text:Open

    A month and a half after Lizzo used the same word in "Grrrls", Beyoncé was criticized for using "Spaz" in a song from her highly anticipated seventh studio album.Rebirth. Days after the record dropped on July 29, 2022, a rep for the star saidbillboardthat the word "was not intentionally used in a harmful way" and confirmedwill be replaced.

    Listen to "Heat".Here.

  • Taylor Swift, "Picture to Burn"

    Original text:"So go tell your friends I'm obsessive and crazy / Okay, by the way, I'll tell mine you're gay."

    custom text:"Okay, by the way, you don't mind if I say so"

    Though it's been decades since the lyrics to "Picture to Burn," one of Taylor Swift's most popular songs from her 2006 debut album, were updated with less incendiary language, there was a time when the single was criticized for not being homophobic in his recording. of the word "gay" in a negative context. In 2011, the pop star saidmtvon the song: "Well, the way I would say it and the way I feel that kind of pain is very different."

    (Video) 20 Songs That Sound EXACTLY The Same (MIND BLOWING)

    Anhören „Image to burn“Here.

  • Paramore, "The Business of Misery"

    Original text:"Once a bitch you are nothing"

    custom text:"Once - you're nothing more"

    For years, Paramore's Hayley Williams steadfastly refused to play the popular 2007 song during the band's live performances when she realized that the lyrics, which she wrote when she was 17, contained derogatory and anti-feminist language, such as the term "bitch". "We wrote a song that I wouldn't have known, now that I'm a 29-year-old woman, that would use the same language," she explained in a 2018 announcement that "Misery Business" would no longer be included. at Paramore concerts. . "Calling someone a whore is not very nice."

    However, that all changed in 2022 when Williams was invited.To lookduring Billie Eilish's Coachella concert. The duo performed the song together, with Eilish doing the second verse as a solo and omitting the offending word.

    Listen to Misery BusinessHere.

  • Black Eyed Peas, "Comencemos"

    Original text:"What are we behind"

    custom text:"let's begin"

    The line "Let's hold on" wasn't just the original lyrics used by the Black Eyed Peas in 2003doesn't punchtrack, was also the song's original title. This changed when the song was re-recorded in 2004 with new lyrics more appropriate for use in NBA playoff promotions, this time titled "Let's Get It Started". After the updated version, without derogatory slurs against people with intellectual disabilities, was more positively received by the public, it was released as a single.

    Listen to "Let's get started."Here.

    (Video) Lizzo Addresses Backlash for Lyric Choice in New Song ‘Grrrls’ | Billboard News

  • Orville Peck, "Born This Way (La version Country Road)"

    Original Text: "It doesn't matter Black, White or Beige, Chola or Oriente' made/ I'm on the right track, baby, I was born to be brave"

    Modified texts:"It doesn't matter black, white or beige, Asian or Latino / I'm on the right track, baby, I was born to be brave"

    On Lady Gaga's third studio recordingborn like thisCelebrating her 10th anniversary in 2021, the pop pioneer has enlisted a handful of artists who represent and advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community.record new versionssome of the most popular songs on the album. Among them was Orville Peck, who put his spin on the title track. But in her performance, she added a few updates to lyrics that haven't aged so gracefully in 10 years, namely where Gaga identifies racial groups with offensive titles.

    Ouça o cover de Orville Peck para Born This WayHere.

  • Dire Straits, "money for nothing"

    Original text:"See that little F—-t with the earring and the makeup?/ Yeah, man, that's his own hair/ This little F—-t has his own jet plane/ This little F—-t, he's a millionaire."

    custom text:"Look at that little queen with the earring and the makeup... This boy has his own jet plane / This boy, he's a millionaire."

    1985's "Money for Nothing" was the subject of much controversy for its use of a homophobic slur, so much so that it was consideredunacceptable for airplayon Canadian radio stations until the decision was reversed in 2011. The lyrics were recorded by Sting as a guest artist on the track, but when former Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler performed them in concert, he played themSubstitutethere the book

    hear "money for nothing".Here.

  • Michael Jackson, "They Don't Care About Us"

    Original text:"Jew sue me / Everybody make me / Kick me, kill me / Won't you make me black or white?"

    custom text:"Do me, sue me / Everybody do me / Kick me, [redacted] / Won't you make me black or white?"

    (Video) I just listened to the Top 10 on Spotify...WTF?

    Initially, the King of Pop did not seem to understand the backlash to his 1996 single "They Don't Care About Us", in which he uses anti-Semitic slurs to express his stance against discrimination and racial violence. At one point, he even responded to criticism by telling Diane Sawyer in an interview, "It's not anti-Semitic because I'm not a racist person."

    However, he later changed his mind and re-recorded the offending lyrics. Some versions of the song, including those used in both music videos, retained the original lyrics but feature loud sound effects superimposed over the slurs to make them inaudible.

    „They don't care about us“ anhörenHere.

  • Lana Del Rey, "Ultrage Walt"

    Original text:"It happened to me and it felt like a kiss"

    custom text:Omitted entirely during live performances.

    When asked a few years ago about his 2014 song "Ultraviolence," which contained lyrics from the Crystals' 1963 song "He Hit Me," he admitted that he no longer sings part of the song in concert. "I don't like it. No, I don't sing," he said.Heugabelin 2017. "I sing 'Ultraviolence,' but I don't sing that line anymore. Having someone aggressive in a relationship was the only relationship I knew. I won't say that [the lyrics] were 100% true, but I feel free to saying that she was used to having a difficult and turbulent relationship, and that it wasn't my fault. It didn't come from me."

    listen to ultraviolenceHere.

  • Futuro & Lil Wayne, "Karate Chop (Remezcla)"

    Original text:"'About to put tires on my skateboard wheels / Hit the p-y like Emmett Till / Two cell phones ring at the same time"

    custom text:"'About to put tires on the wheels of my skateboard / Crash like - / Two cell phones ring at the same time"

    Lil Wayne issued a public apology after contributing a particularly grotesque guest verse to Future's "Karate Chop," in which he downplayed it.Tod von Emmett Till- a black teenager who was brutally beaten and murdered in 1955. The rapper released a statement supporting Epic Records' decision to remove the original version of the song and vowed never to play the line about Till in live shows. “I have great respect for those who paved the way for the freedom and opportunities African Americans enjoy today,” he said at the time.

    (Video) Beyoncé - SUMMER RENAISSANCE (Official Lyric Video)

    Listen to Karate Chop (Remix).Here.

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