37 celebrity couples who wrote and recorded music together

Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco were collaborators long before they were a couple; Blanco co-produced two songs on Gomez’s 2015 album “Revival.” They also teamed up for Blanco’s 2019 single “I Can’t Get Enough.”

“I Can’t Get Enough” reappears as track 12 on “I Said I Love You First,” Gomez and Blanco’s 2025 collaborative album, released just a few months after they announced their engagement.

In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Blanco said he felt like Gomez’s “personal journal” while they were working on the album.

“I was constantly just writing whatever you said wherever we were,” he told Gomez during the interview. “Sometimes, you’d be saying something really important, and I didn’t know if you even realized, but I would always open my phone and be like, ‘Fuck, that’s such a good line for a song.'”

Canadian pop star Tate McRae and Australian rapper-singer Charlton Howard, aka The Kid Laroi, went public with their relationship in the summer of 2024.

The following year, the couple collaborated on “I Know Love,” released as the eighth track on McRae’s album “So Close to What.”

“It was a really funny process, because me and Laroi have never really, like, taken each other seriously,” McRae said, per Billboard. “You know when you’re in a relationship and you sing around each other, but you don’t really, like, sing? So it was a little stressful being in the studio singing and writing in front of him, but it was a cool experience to watch him in his process.”

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton began dating in late 2015 when they met as coaches on NBC’s “The Voice.” The following year, they released their first duet, “Go Ahead and Break My Heart. “

The now-married couple has continued to collaborate. Their duets include the uber-romantic duet “Nobody But You” on Shelton’s 2019 album “Fully Loaded: God’s Country,” “You Make It Feel Like Christmas” on Stefani’s Christmas album of the same name, and “Purple Irises” from Stefani’s 2024 album “Bouquet.”

Beyoncé and Jay-Z have worked together throughout their relationship, from Jay-Z’s 2002 single “03′ Bonnie & Clyde” to Beyoncé’s 2024 album “Cowboy Carter,” for which Jay-Z cowrote six tracks.

Their many collaborations span across decades, genres, and catalogs. Jay-Z is featured on iconic Beyoncé hits like “Crazy in Love,” “Déjà Vu,” and “Drunk in Love,” while Beyoncé returned the favor to Jay-Z for songs like “Lift Off,” “Part II (On the Run),” and “Family Feud.”

In the wake of cheating and divorce rumors sparked by Beyoncé’s album “Lemonade,” the couple released a collaborative album in 2018 called “Everything Is Love” before embarking on their second joint tour.

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill got together in 1996 when the former enlisted the latter as his tour’s opening act.

In the years since, the now-married country stars have recorded many songs together, including “It’s Your Love,” “Let’s Make Love,” “Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me,” “I Need You,” “Angry All the Time,” “Speak to a Girl,” “Like We Never Loved at All,” and “Keep Your Eyes On Me.”

Cardi B and Offset met and secretly married in 2017, the same year they released their first collaboration, “Lick.” Cardi was featured on the Migos song “MotorSport” a few months later. Offset and his fellow Migos rappers then appeared on Cardi’s 2018 song “Drip.”

The pair have continued to collaborate, despite the ups and downs in their marriage. Cardi granted Offset a coveted feature on his 2019 song “Clout” and again in 2023 for “Jealousy,” the lead single from his second solo album, “Set It Off.”

Joe Alwyn is not a musician by trade, but the “Conversations With Friends” actor seems to share his ex’s affinity for songwriting.

During Swift and Alwyn’s six-year relationship, the pop star enlisted her boyfriend as a collaborator on her 2020 album, “Folklore.”

When the album was released, Swifties were surprised to find the name William Bowery among the sparse set of collaborators, listed as a cowriter on “Exile” and “Betty.” Swift later confirmed the name as Alwyn’s pseudonym. He was later added as a coproducer on six tracks: “Exile,” “My Tears Ricochet,” “August,” “This Is Me Trying,” “Illicit Affairs,” and “Betty,” making him eligible to share Swift’s Grammy win for album of the year.

But their collaboration didn’t stop there. Alwyn’s pseudonym appeared once again in the credits for three songs on “Evermore” — “Champagne Problems,” “Coney Island,” and the title track — which was released just a few months after its predecessor.

Alwyn later said that cowriting with Swift was an “accident” and “as basic as some people made sourdough.” He has likely made millions in song royalties.

Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes released their first song together, “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” in November 2015, long before they started dating.

Four years later, they released a chemistry-filled music video for “Señorita,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019 and was nominated for best pop duo/group performance at the 2020 Grammys. The sultry duet naturally stoked intense romance rumors. Cabello later confirmed they fell in love while working on the song.

Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks got married in 2005, but the longtime couple recorded “In Another’s Eyes” together back in 1997, while they were still married to other people. 

In the years since, Yearwood and Brooks cowrote “What I’m Thankful for (The Thanksgiving Song)” for their 2016 “Christmas Together” album, as well as “For the Last Time” for Yearwood’s 2018 Frank Sinatra-inspired album.

Halsey and Yungblud dated for about nine months in 2019. During that time, they released the rock duet “11 Minutes,” which they cowrote with Matt Schwartz and Brynley Rose Plumb.

Swizz Beatz produced his future wife’s 2007 single “Waiting for Your Love.” Before they tied the knot in 2010, they cowrote and coproduced multiple tracks, including “Put It In a Love Song,” “Wait Till You See My Smile,” and Whitney Houston’s “Million Dollar Bill.” 

In 2011, Alicia Keys was featured on Swizz Beatz’s single “International Party.”

Halsey and G-Eazy began dating in 2017. She lent vocals to his single “Him & I” later that year, writing on Twitter, “this song is so special to me. i made it with someone i love for the people we love.”

Halsey has all but confirmed that G-Eazy cheated on her, which led to their split in July 2018 (and again in October, after a brief reconciliation). She went on to write her hit song “Without Me” about their “heinous” breakup.

“Without Me” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019 and has since been certified diamond.

Jhené Aiko and Big Sean were first heard on a song together back in 2013, “Beware,” when they were both dating different people. They even formed the musical duo Twenty88 and released a collaborative album in 2016, while Aiko was married to Dot da Genius.

They dated for about two years before they split in 2018, but the exes still collaborated on multiple breakup songs in 2019: Big Sean’s “Single Again” and Aiko’s “None of Your Concern.”

Ariana Grande and Mac Miller began dating three years after collaborating on her romantic hit single “The Way” in 2013. They recorded the duet “My Favorite Part” for Miller’s 2016 album, “The Divine Feminine,” and Miller hopped on a remix of Grande’s single “Into You” that same year.

The couple broke up in 2018 and Miller died unexpectedly later that year, a shock that Grande has described as “all-consuming.”

However, their musical connection has lived on; Grande appears to have uncredited vocals on Miller’s posthumous album, “Circles.”

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony met while working on music together in the ’90s. They dueted on “No Me Ames” in 1999.

In 2004, the same year they secretly tied the knot, Lopez was featured on Anthony’s sultry song “Escapémonos,” which they also performed at the Grammys. The couple toured together in 2007 and separated in 2011, but continued to work on music together: In 2016, Lopez announced that she was working with Anthony to produce a Spanish-language album.

“When we first started working together it’s how we met, we met working,” Lopez said in 2017. “And so we remembered that like, oh right, we connect on this level of music. And we have that. And that’s what the album came out of.”

Taylor Swift dated the Scottish DJ Calvin Harris for about a year, in between her “1989” and “Reputation” eras.

After the couple split in 2016, TMZ broke the news that Swift wrote her ex-boyfriend’s hit song, “This Is What You Came For,” which features Rihanna.

Swift’s publicist confirmed to People that she wrote the song under the pseudonym Nils Sjoberg, while Harris handled the arrangement and production.

As fans began to speculate that Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill were an item, he lent two features to her 2014 album “The Pinkprint.” The following year, just before they confirmed their relationship, Minaj announced that Mill would open for her forthcoming tour.

In June 2015, Mill dropped the lead single from his sophomore album, “All Eyes On You,” which included a coveted feature from his girlfriend. The rappers split less than two years later.

Halsey began dating Lido while they worked together on her debut album, 2015’s “Badlands.” He served as an executive producer on the project and even recorded background vocals for the romantic deep cut “Drive.” They’ve performed the song together multiple times.

The two split shortly after the album was released, but continued to live and work together. He cowrote and produced four songs for her sophomore album, 2017’s “Hopeless Fountain Kingdom,” including the harsh breakup tracks “Lie” and “Walls Could Talk.”

Lido is also credited as a producer on six songs from Halsey’s 2020 album “Manic.”

Back in 2013, Big Sean was featured on “Right There,” the third single from Grande’s debut album.

They began dating in 2014, the same year Grande dropped her sophomore album, which included another Big Sean feature on “Best Mistake.” (That’s also his voice whispering the chorus on her smash hit “Problem,” although he’s not officially credited as a cowriter or feature.)

Grande is also featured on the rapper’s third album, 2015’s “Dark Sky Paradise,” on a deluxe track called “Research” — but they broke up later that year. 

Jason Derulo and Jordin Sparks dated for more than two years before their split in September 2014. They dueted on “Vertigo,” the fifth track on Derulo’s 2013 album “Talk Dirty.”

In 2008, about two years into their courtship, Shelton recorded a cover of Michael Bublé’s “Home” with Miranda Lambert on backing vocals. They embarked on a joint headlining tour later that year and dropped their second collaboration, the cheeky duet “Bear Skin Rug,” which they cowrote.

Shelton is credited as a cowriter on three tracks from Lambert’s 2009 album, “Revolution,” and she appears as a featured vocalist on the title track from his 2011 album, “Red River Blue.”

Shelton also cowrote Lambert’s award-winning single “Over You” in 2012, drawing inspiration from the death of his older brother.

“Miranda and I wrote this together one night on my bus. We decided that she should record because I wasn’t sure if I could get through it every night,” he said during a concert in 2013, according to Country Rebel.

The two country singers announced their divorce in 2015 after four years of marriage.

After a year or so of romantic ups and downs, John Mayer and Katy Perry released the duet “Who You Love” in August 2013. The duo cowrote the song for Mayer’s sixth studio album, “Paradise Valley,” and starred in the music video together.

They broke up less than a year later and Mayer wrote “Still Feel Like Your Man” about Perry.

Nathan Sykes and Grande began dating shortly after recording the 2013 duet “Almost Is Never Enough.” They broke up about five months later.

However, the exes teamed up again in 2016 for a remix of his song “Over And Over Again.”

Ciara released the sultry single “Body Party” in 2013, which was cowritten by her then-boyfriend Future. The rapper also stars in the music video, which appears to recount the story of when they met at a house party.

In reality, Ciara and Future met in the studio when he recorded a guest verse for a remix of Ciara’s single “Sorry.” They were dating by the time the remix was released in late 2012. Ciara returned the favor by hopping on a remix of Future’s single, “Turn On the Lights.”

The two musicians later got engaged, but broke it off in 2015.

Chad Kroeger and Avril Lavigne began dating while he was working as a producer on her self-titled album. By the time the lead single was released in 2013 — “Here’s to Never Growing Up,” which Kroeger cowrote — they were engaged.

By the time the album’s third single was released — “Let Me Go,” which features Kroeger — they were married.

The couple split in 2015 but continued to work together. Lavigne described her ex-husband as “a really great soundboard” for her sixth studio album, 2019’s “Head Above Water.” He even lent vocals to the title track.

“I would call him and send him songs to get his opinion, and if I was ever stuck on something, he’d help me out, which is super f—ing cool, if you think about it,” she told USA Today. “I’d play him songs on FaceTime and he’d be like, ‘I’m so proud of you, you did such a good job.’ So he just cares about me and wants to see me do well, which is really nice.”

When Mayer was in his early 30s, he tweeted about wanting to feature then-teenaged Swift on a song in early 2009. Later that year, they released the duet “Half of My Heart” and performed the song together at Z100’s Jingle Ball.

In 2010, Swift released her scathing breakup song “Dear John,” which Mayer said “humiliated” him. In response, Swift said it was “presumptuous” of Mayer to assume she wrote the song about him.

Sean “Diddy” Combs is credited with discovering Casandra “Cassie” Ventura as a young, up-and-coming singer. They were first linked together romantically in 2007, the same year Cassie released “Must Be Love” featuring Diddy (then known as Puff Daddy), who also cowrote the song.

Diddy and Cassie went public as a couple in 2012 and split in 2018.

In 2023, Cassie filed a lawsuit against Diddy, accusing him of rape and perpetuating a “cycle of abuse” during their relationship. Although they settled the following day, the lawsuit ignited a wave of civil suits alleging sexual assault, sexual misconduct, and sex trafficking.

In 2024, Diddy was arrested and indicted on racketeering and sex-trafficking charges by federal prosecutors in Manhattan. He pleaded not guilty and, through a lawyer, has denied all charges.

The guitarist Jack White (né Gillis) and drummer Meg White, who met in high school, tied the knot in 1996. The couple subsequently named their band after her surname, performed for the first time as The White Stripes in 1997, and released their debut album in 1999.

The White Stripes released six celebrated rock albums over the course of eight years, despite Jack and Meg splitting up in 2000 (and publicly claiming to be brother and sister, for some reason). The duo played their final concert together in 2007 and officially dissolved the band in 2011.

Nas and Kelis were married from 2005 to 2010 and released numerous songs together, including “In Public” (2005), “Blindfold Me” (2006), and “Not Going Back” (2006).

Kelis has since accused her ex-husband of physical and mental abuse.

Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey had been dating for about two years when they released “Where You Are,” which was included on her debut studio album, 1999’s “Sweet Kisses.”

The couple went on to record a cover of “A Whole New World” (from Disney’s “Aladdin”) and the Christmas song “Baby It’s Cold Outside” before they split in 2005.

Common and Erykah Badu had been dating for a few years when they released “Love of My Life,” a romantic duet featured in the 2002 film “Brown Sugar,” but split that same year. Common later said their breakup left him in a “haze.”

“Carryin’ On with Johnny Cash and June Carter” was released just seven months before the two musicians tied the knot. The album is full of famous duets, including the Grammy-winning “Jackson” and the single “Long Legged Guitar Pickin’ Man.”

June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash, widely considered music royalty, were together until her death in May 2003. He died four months later.

Shortly after their 1992 wedding, Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston released their first collaboration: “Something in Common,” the 10th track on his album “Bobby.” Ten years later, he was featured on her song “My Love,” the fourth track on her 2002 album “Just Whitney.”

Houston later opened up about the emotional abuse she suffered during their marriage. Brown has admitted he was physically violent with Houston.

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham’s tumultuous relationship coincided with their music careers. They met in high school and released an album together, “Buckingham Nicks,” in 1973.

Two years later, they joined the blues band Fleetwood Mac. They continued to write and record together, even during times of strife.

The band’s 1977 album “Rumors” is one of the most revered breakup albums of all time. Around the same time that Nicks and Buckingham were breaking up, bassist John McVie and keyboardist Christine McVie filed for divorce, and drummer Mick Fleetwood divorced his wife as well.

Cher was still a teenager when she met her future husband, Sonny Bono, who was 11 years her senior.

They went on to form the musical duo Sonny & Cher and costar on “The Sonny & Cher Show.” They released five studio albums together, as well as four compilation albums, one soundtrack album, and two live albums.

Cher later revealed that Bono had secretly rewritten her business contracts, effectively trapping her in “involuntary servitude.”

“I’d worked my whole life, yet apparently I had nothing to show for it,” she wrote in her memoir. “I’d never for a second imagined that I needed to protect myself from Sonny, of all people, yet the contracts he’d had me sign were secretly designed to strip me of my income and the rights to my own career.”

After 13 years together and 40 million records sold worldwide, their divorce was finalized in 1975.

Cher went on to host two seasons of “Cher,” a solo variety show on CBS, in 1975 and 1976. She won an Oscar in 1988 for her lead performance in “Moonstruck,” a Grammy in 2000 for her hit song “Believe,” and an Emmy in 2003 for “Cher: The Farewell Tour.”

Ono and Lennon began working together while he was still a Beatle. They created the first of three experimental albums in 1968, “Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins,” and formed the Plastic Ono Band together in 1969.

Ono and Lennon got married in 1969. After The Beatles split up in 1970, the married couple continued to cowrite and collaborate on music, including iconic songs like “Give Peace a Chance” and “Imagine.” Their last album together, 1980’s “Double Fantasy,” was released just three weeks before Lennon was killed. It won the Grammy Award for album of the year in 1982.

Known as Ike & Tina Turner, the married couple released their first record together in 1958. They built up widespread acclaim throughout the next decade and eventually won a Grammy for the song “Proud Mary” in 1972.

The Turners ended their professional relationship in 1976 and divorced in 1978. Shortly after, Tina accused Ike of domestic abuse throughout their marriage.

“I was insanely afraid of that man,” she told People magazine in 1981.

The duo was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. Ike continually denied Tina’s claims until his death in 2007. Tina died in 2023.