All songs have a different meaning behind them, but with many songs, there are lyrics and verses that we can all relate to, at least on some level. Most musicians write songs about relatively unknown people, but there are some who’ve put their business with another Hollywood celebrity all out on front street. Here are 15 songs that have been written about or for another celebrity.

“The Light” by Common

At the time that Common wrote his song “The Light,” which was the second released single on his album Like Water for Chocolate, he was dating Erykah Badu. The song is written in love-letter form and the lyrics are a clear portrayal of his love for Erykah. She was even in the music video, which makes it that much more evident that the song was meant for her. Common and Erykah broke up in 2002.

AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

We all know why companies like to advertise during the Super Bowl? The mega exposure means a boost in product sales.

The same holds true for the performers. Beyonce and Destiny’s Child saw a surge in record sales after the memorable halftime show.

According to Billboard, Beyonce’s digital album sales increased 230 percent; Destiny’s Child’s  jumped a whopping 600 percent in the week ending February 3.

Destiny’s Child saw a big boost also due in part to sales of the group’s brand new “Love Songs” compilation, released last Tuesday. The compilation features one new recording, “Nuclear.” And, says Billboard the sales gains are also helped by discount pricing in both the iTunes and Amazon MP3 stores, which discounted key earlier titles from Beyonce and Destiny’s Child to $7.99. On iTunes, the products were marked down to between $5 and $7.99.

But “in terms of digital song sales, Beyonce’s grew by an estimated 85% while Destiny Child’s rose by over 300%,” says the article.

And it stands to reason that Beyonce’s biggest selling song of the week was “Halo,” which closed her eight-song halftime set. Surprisingly however the biggest Destiny’s Child song of the week so far is “Say My Name,” which was not one of the songs from their halftime medley.

This is all preliminary data; the week’s official Nielsen SoundScan sales figures for Beyonce and Destiny’s Child will be released on February 6. Admit it. You bought it didn’t you?

WENN.com

Well, there’s something to be said for innovation, right?

Russian President Vladimir Putin is hoping that a few love songs will boost the country’s population starting Valentine’s Day. He’s called on legendary group Boz II Men to put on a show for all the lovers (or perhaps, soon-to-be lovers) out there.

According to The Daily News, a concert will be held on February 6th featuring the trio and President Putin is apparently confident that the love songs will lead people to go forth and prosper, if you will.

While no one is sure how he got in touch with the group, he clearly piqued their interest. The group are putting their rehearsals for their Las Vegas residency and tour with New Kids On The Block and 98 Degrees on hold while they practice and head to Europe for the show.

This isn’t the first time President Putin has taken drastic measures to boost the fertility rate. In 2007, he announced a program that gave women $9,000 for having another child. According to The Daily News, it worked out pretty good.

Honestly, this whole thing sound a bit silly but he’s doing what he feels is necessary for his country.

What love song(s) gets you in the mood?

Though love songs these days don’t quite sound like they used to, it doesn’t mean the genre has died altogether. In fact, 2012 was a good year for love songs; check out some of our favorites and let us know if you agree.

You & I

Avant & KeKe Wyatt

The Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell duo for the millennium reunited for their first collaboration since “Nothing In This World,” which was released and “Six Questions,” a song from 2006 which appeared on one of KeKe’s shelved albums. And though both KeKe and Avant have gotten older, it’s clear that they’ve still got it. This duet, despite the lackluster video, is exactly what the game has been missing, since they stopped singing together.

It was Toni Braxton, who once sang:

Just another sad love song,

Racking my brain like crazy

Yes I’m all torn up

Be it fast or slow,

It doesn’t let go or shake me

And it’s all because of you…

Music is probably as old as language itself. It invades every facet of life, managing to evoke all sorts of emotional reactions and in many instances, causing physical expression (i.e. dancing).  And if the melody is vibrating on the right frequencies, particularly at the right time, music can send reward signals to our brains, which can make us feel stronger, play on our fears or totally jack with our perception of time.

Music also has an uncanny ability to bring memories we thought were long forgotten to the forefront. We all have them; songs that remind us of the good times and the not so good times. In some instances, it is the whole song; most times it is just a verse. Even if you are not a fan of that particular artist, when that song comes on, you are instantly transformed into that intimate moment when you and a former love shared a pleasurable experience. Or if you happened to have been jaded by a particular experience, the song becomes just another painful reminder. In that case, you opted to change the station.

I begin to take the long way home
Just so I can be alone
To think of how to say
My heart’s here to stay
Hey, I’m in love with you
I think the world of you
So won’t you please, please be mine?
Oh, please be mine…

Troop’s “All I Do is Think of You” reminds me of my first crush. For the sake of this vignette, let’s call him Tony. I was a freshman in high school; Tony was a senior. We would see each other daily at our adjacent cafeteria tables in the lunchroom – or should I say I would see him as he didn’t really notice me. He had a high-top fade, big bulgy eyes and rocked the latest in stonewash jean sets. I knew little about this dude other than his first name but I was convinced I was in love. I spent my lunch period staring at the perfect way the fade of his haircut merged into the big mass of hair and gushing about how beautiful he was to my girlfriends, none of whom understood what I found attractive about him. “He looks like he has down syndrome,” said one of my more brutally honest girlfriends. I didn’t care though, I thought he was fly. When I was at home, suppose to be engaged homework, I instead found myself immersed in day dreaming about what it would be like to be his girlfriend. Although the Troop song came out years before I was in high school, it became our unofficial-official song.  My walkman became a shrine to him, as I was frequently rewinding the song, which I felt described our situation perfectly.  Just like Troop, I too couldn’t wait to get to school each day and wait for him to pass my way. And yes, I too would take the long way home from school, just so I could be alone with my thoughts of him. That was until one of my girlfriends got tired of me talking over him and decided to tell Tony that I was feeling him. He laughed. And not like “oh I’m only laughing at how flattered I am.” No, I’m talking about an obnoxious, tummy holding, finger-pointing, hearty laugh, which echoed throughout the lunch room.  In a matters of seconds, which felt like an eternity, my crush had crushed me. Now every time I hear that song I think about how some Kid N Play knockoff destroyed my young and impressionable self esteem.

No if you’re ever wondering
About the way I’m feeling
Well baby boy there ain’t no question
Just to be around you is a blessing
Sick and tired of trying to save the world
I just want to spend my time being your girl
And what you’re givin’ me
Makes me know that we’ll be alright…

I used to have an adverse reaction to Justin Timberlake’s “Until the End of Time,” featuring Beyonce. Maybe it had something to do with the local radio station playing it ad nauseum or maybe the idea of the overexposed Timberlake combined with the more overly exposed Beyonce was just too much for my psyche. It was probably the latter. Nevertheless, that became our jam. Our being Tariq (name withheld to protect the innocent) and I. He was a struggling actor; I had just started my job as a community organizer. We had been in a relationship for about a year. One day I was driving him home. We had a long day of running errands, shopping and hanging out, just talking. He was mulling over quitting acting for more financially secure work. I was emotionally and mentally drained from my job, which required me to “empower” a community, steeped deep in violence, apathy and government bureaucracy. As melancholy as we were individually, it seemed that we always took comfort in being able to escape from the world whenever we were together. Anyway, we were in the car, riding through raining streets, sitting silent and content in just being an each other company when Until the End of Time came on the radio. Without any prompting we both began singing this song at the top of our lungs – riffs and all. After the song was over, I leaned over to him and said, “This should be our song.” He looked at me, scrounged up his face and said, “Nawh, I hate this song.” Although we are no longer together when I hear that song, I think about that car ride home and I smile.

I’m a stubborn girl
You’re a stubborn guy
Could be why we fight all the time
If it’s not your way
Then it must be mine
Can’t communicate
Can’t even compromise…

From 2007 to 2009, Floerty’s “Feelings” would become the soundtrack to my love life. Just the one song – on repeat. For the sake of this particular story, let’s call him Sam. Sam and I met volunteering at a community event. We shared a mutual acquaintance who introduced us to each other. She thought we shared common interest in the community and had hoped we would work together. Instead we shared a common interest in each other and ended up hooking up later that night. It should have been just a one night stand. But we kept partaking in each other for several months thereafter. I should have kept my feelings to myself. Rarely does anything good come out of situations based solely around sex.  But I let it slip from my lips that I wanted more. He said he couldn’t do it. He just wasn’t in a place at that moment for a relationship. He just wanted to be friends. I couldn’t accept that. So I would spend two long, tortuous years being loved by him while also being pushed away. He was the one that broke my spirits. I couldn’t eat or sleep. My hair was falling out from stress and I honestly felt like I might have been going crazy.

I remember once I had been driving around all night. I don’t know where I was going but being alone in the house, with nothing but my own thoughts, was too much for me. I wanted to see him and him to see me. I called him. He didn’t answer so I called him I’m estimating 24 more times until he finally picked up. I was on the phone crying and begging. He got angry, called me crazy and then said something totally contradictory. He said, “Isn’t it obvious that I really like you too?” No, it was not obvious. What was obvious was that you didn’t know what you wanted. Or you did but were too scared to do it. But I was caught up and stuck around for longer than I should, thinking that I could help him make up his mind. After a while, my love for him, and his continued rejection of me, turned into resentment. And only then did I learn to let go and move on.

I’d seen him recently. I was walking my dog down the street when he pulled beside me in his truck. He began small talking me, inquiring about what I’d been up too. I kept my answers short, all the while Boyz 2 Men’s “Doin’ Just Fine” was playing on repeat on my internal record player. Defeated and almost apologetically, he said, “I just wanted to see how you were doing and tell you that you really look nice. I miss you.” Heavy sigh.  I never once doubted that in his own twisted, perverted way, he cared for me. Truth is we both were crazy as hell and neither of us were truly ready for anything. But that’s what happens when you catch feelings.

There are many more songs which I could offer tributes up to both happy and less than happy moments in my life. In fact, I’m sure of it that most of you have a few songs that remind you of that special, or not so special, someone in your life. Truth of the matter is that each experience has a sacred song, and every instant in time has a tune. We are just living breathing soundtracks, waiting for an harmoniously voice and melody to start, “strumming my pain with his fingers, singing my life with his words…”

More on Madame Noire!

• Single Black Male: The 5 Steps to Approaching A Woman
• Where Are They Now? 11 Singers and Rappers Who Didn’t Blow Up Like We Thought They Would…
• Signs He Will NEVER Be Into You
• OO-OOP! Did You Know These Celeb Women Are Deltas?
• You Don’t Have To Be Wonder Woman: The Importance of Vulnerability In Relationships
• Bison Brothers: 10 Notable Men Who Attended Howard University
• Love On Your Terms: Are Your Expectations Too High?

Whether you watched “Cadillac Records,”  or read her biography, it’s clear that Etta James’ life was no walk in the park.

The tumultuous nature of her life and particularly her love life are reflected in her lyrics and in her passionate delivery.

Find out what lessons she taught us in her music at Your Tango.com.

These days, finding a good love song on the radio is like locating snow in Nevada. Sure it happens but you have to go to great lengths to see it. Unless you’re listening to an old school hour, the love songs of today leave a lot to be desired. But they are out there; so in the spirit of 2011 coming to a close, we’ve taken the time to compile some of the best love songs this year had to offer.

1. “So in Love”

Jill Scott Feat. Anthony Hamilton

I love your mannerisms, babe,
The way you handle them
Oh, I’m so proud to be with you
So attracted to you too…

Is it really a surprise that these two members of the royal family of soul would produce the smooth groove of the year? Jill and Anthony have been on my fantasy collaboration list for a very long time. So I was excited to see them working together. If you’ve been known to step, this song was made just for you.

Calling all poetry readers, listeners, and writers…have you ever heard a poem so deep that it gave you chills? Hasn’t the spoken art cut directly into your soul? Weren’t you impacted by its portrayal of love, happiness, and desperation? Music reverberates every emotion there is – even the frustration of putting pen to paper.

We love poets so much that we’ve decided to showcase lyrical geniuses who changed the poetry circuit for good!

Check them out:

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Believe it or not, Prince turns 52 today. In honor of his birthday, Madame Noire, lists our top five favorite songs from his Purple Badness.

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