10 Best Revenge Songs
The essential playlist for your next break-up.
What's the first thing that happens when you break up with someone? No, before you reach for the tub of ice cream and a spoon. That's right, you slap on a break-up playlist full of songs to make you feel better.
More often than not, this playlist will be full of revenge songs. These are tracks which feature vocalists who've either been wronged or feel empowered to seek out something better.
They'll all likely sing about wanting to or indeed succeeding in actually getting one over on the person who did them wrong. The approach, genre and mood of the song might differ massively, but they all seek to explore and relate a serious sense of pain or wrongdoing in some capacity. Everyone feels heartbreak at some point, right?
This is a small collection of some of the best revenge songs that you can find out there; give them a listen, and try not to think about your ex too much.
10. Justin Timberlake - "Cry Me A River" (2002)
After breaking away from NSYNC, Justin Timberlake needed to find a more mature voice to cement a solo career after being part of one of the most successful boy-bands ever. He certainly found that voice on "Cry Me A River", definitively the stand-out track from his debut album Justified.
This is a dense soundscape of Arabian-inspired motifs, electric piano, synths and even some Gregorian chanting for good measure. This unique RnB backing provides Timberlake the perfect grounds to show off his impressive falsettos.
Britney Spears, Timberlake's ex, accused the music video (which sees Timberlake recording a sex tape in the home of his ex-lover) of being a publicity stunt, to capitalise on their public break-up. Despite initially denying this, Timberlake eventually conceded nearly ten years later that he'd written the song after an argument with Spears. You can definitely see how this would have given rise to such an emotive and shocking song from the youngest member of NSYNC.
Regardless of the drama that may or may not have inspired the song, what is striking is how this, and by extension Justified, firmly cemented a career in pop for a young Timberlake.