Nothing hits like the era of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez going through multiple breakups throughout the eight years that they were in an on-again, off-again relationship. Labeled as the young couple in love, Jelena led some glorious times together before trouble in paradise started ruining their relationship, leading to numerous time-outs.
Thanks to the many times that they have gone through breakups, Biebs and Gomez have managed to pull up some really outstanding tracks about each other, most of which have gone on to garner significant attention from fans worldwide.
Now that the year is coming to an end and the two continue to make headlines, it sounds like a good time to walk down memory lane and take a look at some of the most famed songs of them all. This includes the likes of bangers like Gomez’s Nobody Does It Like You and The Heart Wants What It Wants, and Bieber’s Love Yourself and Sorry.
Without further ado, let’s dig right into the songs that had these singers pouring their hearts and feelings out!
1. Love Will Remember (2013)
First off, there’s Selena Gomez’s song Love Will Remember. She released this emotional track after their first major breakup back in 2013. And, brace yourselves, if you already don’t know, for this one even included a voicemail from Bieber himself!
In the voicemail added at the beginning of the song, he was heard saying:
Hey, babe, it’s me. I just wanted to call to tell you that I love you so, so, so, so much. Just wanted to let you know that you are my princess, you are worthy of all of the love in the world. You are the love of my life.
This was followed by Gomez dropping some really emotional lyrics as she weaved through the numerous emotions following their first big break. Take a look at the lyrics of the same here.
2. Bad Day (2013)
While Gomez chose Love Will Remember to express her feelings, Justin Bieber created his own track to do the same: Bad Day. Also released in 2013, this one reminded everyone that Jelena had bad times, too. Bieber sang in the track:
No, I didn’t think you would let me / Down that easy, oh, no girl / And I didn’t think it was over / Until you walked away like it was nothing, baby / And that moment was so hard for me to breathe, yeah / ‘Cause you took away the biggest part of me, yeah / Life is so unpredictable, yeah / Never thought a love like yours would leave me all alone, oh, no / Didn’t waste any time / But you had already made up your mind / No sympathy / ‘Cause I was out of line, oh yeah
Plus, Bieber also appeared to take responsibility for his role in their falling apart. He also added how he “knew I was wrong, but you could’ve said goodbye, baby.” Ouch. That must have really hurt. Check out the full lyrics here.
3. Nothing Like Us (2013)
After reminding us about the bad times, Justin Bieber also compiled Jelena’s good times in a song. This track was Nothing Like Us, released that same year. This one pretty much summed up to have Bieber candidly confessing how much he missed his love as he sang,
Lately I’ve been thinkin’, thinkin’ ’bout what we had / I know it was hard, it was all that we knew, yeah / Have you been drinkin’ to take all the pain away? / I wish that I could give you what you deserve / ‘Cause nothing can ever, ever replace you / Nothing can make me feel like you do, yeah / You know there’s no one I can relate to / And know we won’t find a love that’s so true
Well, there really isn’t anything like Jelena, so this track is only understandable. Check out the song’s complete lyrics here.
4. Nobody Does It Like You (2013)
In Nobody Does It Like You, Selena Gomez made it evident that she was into her then-ex-boyfriend’s notorious bad boy reputation. This was clear from the lyrics in the song that went like,
You’re my bad boy fairytale / My rebel with a halo / You hit me like a hurricane / And I can never say no.
Guess that’s why she chose to go back to that bad boy as well, throughout the duration of their on-again and off-again relationship. Here’s a look at the song’s complete lyrics.
5. Heartbreaker (2013)
Another track from Justin Bieber that detailed the heartbreaking period he went through during his rough patch with Gomez was Heartbreaker. Also released in 2013, the song from his fourth album, Journals, was one of the most personal tracks recorded by the singer.
Taking to his X handle, he even talked about the track, saying (via Marie Claire): “It’s a song for people going through heartbreak — like I was when I wrote it. It means so much to me to be able to share what I was, and am still going through, with my fans.” Take a look at the lyrics of this song here.
6. Forget Forever (2013)
Next off, there’s Selena Gomez’s Forget Forever. This one seemed to reference the breakdown of the couple’s love as the singer got candid once again about her feelings. One of the lyrics of this song went like,
Our love was made to rule the world / You came and broke the perfect girl.
Sounds like heartbreak was in the air, hitting a bit too close to home for both Bieber and Gomez. Still, the song was a banger, so that can’t be ignored either! Check out the complete lyrics here.
7. All That Matters (2013)
All That Matters was yet another song from Justin Bieber, where he wrote about the good times he shared with Gomez. In fact, later on, the singer even went on to confirm that his ex-girlfriend was the inspiration behind the song.
During a radio interview, he candidly explained that
‘All That Matters’ was written when I was in a great place in my relationship. At that time, she was all that mattered.
Even when he was asked directly if the track was about Gomez, he confirmed, saying, “I wrote the best music once my heart was broken.” Hmm. Says a lot. Check out the full lyric roster here.
8. The Heart Wants What It Wants (2014)
This was one of the most emotional songs released by Selena Gomez as the singer laid all of her complicated feelings for her ex-boyfriend on the line. The song included lyrics that went like,
The bed’s getting cold and you’re not here / The future that we hold is so unclear / But I’m not alive until you call / And I’ll bet the odds against it all / Save your advice ‘cause I won’t hear / You might be right but I don’t care / There’s a million reasons why I should give you up / But the heart wants what it wants.
Plus, she even pretty much confirmed that the track is about Bieber during an interview with Ryan Seacrest. She revealed that she showed the music video to Bieber, and he was “a little jealous of the video guy at first.” At the time, she also said that she “supports” her ex-boyfriend and doesn’t want “anything bad” to happen to him (via Entertainment Tonight).
See the complete lyrics for The Heart Wants What It Wants here.
9. Where Are U Now (2015)
Produced by Diplo and Skrillex, Justin Bieber’s Where Are U Now seemed like another emotional track inspired by heartbreak. He sang,
I gave you the key when the door wasn’t open, just admit it / See, I gave you faith, turned your doubt into hopin’, can’t deny it / Now I’m all alone and my joys turned to mopin’ , tell me / Where are you now that I need you? / Where are you now?
Check out the complete lyrics of the track here.
10. Mark My Words (2015)
Mark My Words was yet another track from Justin Bieber, released in 2015. In this song, he appeared to be referencing a future reconciliation with Gomez, singing,
Trying to rekindle us / Only to lose yourself / But I won’t let me lose you / And I won’t let us just fade away / After all that we’ve been through / I’ma show you more than I ever could say
Well, she did come back to stay, but not for long. Sorry Biebs. See the full lyrics of the song here.
11. What Do You Mean? (2015)
After the slew of songs released by the couple in 2013, 2015 was yet another year when Justin Bieber launched into emo-mode as multiple of his tracks seemed to be written specifically for his ex-girlfriend. What Do You Mean?, in particular, saw him shining a light on what he saw as her tendency to say one thing and do another when it came to their relationship. He sings,
Wanna argue all day, makin’ love all night / First you’re up, then you’re down, and then between / Oh, I really wanna know / What do you mean?
Adding to this, he even straight-up admitted that the song was about Gomez. Appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, when the host asked him if What Do You Mean? was about Gomez, he actually nodded (via Bustle). Take a look at the lyrics of this track here.
12. Love Yourself (2015)
Although this one didn’t have Justin Bieber openly admitting that Love Yourself was about Gomez, there’s some pretty strong evidence that it might as well have been about her.
As many eagle-eyed fans were quick to notice, the female singer has “love yourself first” tattooed in Arabic on her back. That should be more than enough to prove the point about the song most probably being about her! Plus, you should check out the lyrics of the same here to further connect the dots between the two.
13. Same Old Love (2015)
Selena Gomez also once again chose to sing about her relationship with Bieber in 2015 with her track Same Old Love. In this one, she sang about a relationship that had a LOT of ups and downs. Some of the lyrics of the same went:
Take away your things and go / You can’t take back what you said, I know / I’ve heard it all before, at least a million times.
Well… Bieber did release Sorry that same year, sooo! See the lyrics of this song here.
14. Sorry (2015)
Everyone knows the smash-hit track that was Sorry, which was enjoyed even by Justin Bieber’s non-fans and those who weren’t well-versed with his on-and-off relationship with Gomez. After all, the main chorus of this track went,
Is it too late now to say sorry? / Cause I’m missing more than just your body / Is it too late now to say sorry? / Yeah, I know that I let you down / Is it too late to say sorry now?
Plus, Bieber even seemed to own up to his mistakes, evident from lyrics like “I know you know that I made those mistakes maybe once or twice / and by once or twice, I mean maybe a couple of hundred times” and “I’ll take every single piece of the blame if you want me to.”
Check out the entire lyrics of the song here.
15. Friends (2017)
Last but barely least, there’s Justin Bieber’s Friends from 2017. This one was about hoping that it’s possible to still be friends with an ex, which more than just hints at his friendship with Gomez that followed their breakup.
Not to mention, this came out just before the two started hanging out again. So yeah, while it might have been a coincidence, sure, that was more likely not the case. You can look at the lyrics of this song here.
Besides all these tracks, there’s also Selena Gomez’s Lose You To Love Me and Look At Her Now from 2020, just the mere titles of which make it evident who it might as well have been for.
Especially the latter, which included lyrics like, “He was her first real lover / His too till he had another / Oh god, when she found out / Trust levels went down,” and “Of course, she was sad, but now she’s glad she dodged a bullet / Took a few years to soak up the tears / But look at her now, watch her go.”
To sum it up, all these hit bangers were what Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez had to say about each other during the time that they were together and fell apart. What do you think about these? Got some thoughts or opinions of your own to share? If yes, then make sure to let us know in the comments section below!
