Pop girls face many challenges in their professional lives – including getting raped and manipulated by producers, dealing with a misogynistic and mostly disloyal public, and having to fight each other for a small share of the pop market pie. For many of these entertainment icons, this journey began at home with an abusive and/or absent father.
Christina Aguilera - I'm OK“It is such a hush-hush topic because it happens in the home. I definitely wrote that song not to badmouth him at all, but one, for a healing process for myself, and two, to give people hope or a voice to relate to. To know that you can get through it and that it will be OK.”
Adele - Hello“He will never hear from me again. Because there is nothing that would upset me more than my dad being bribed by the press. It makes me angry! To come back after 10 years and be like, ‘Maybe her problem with me comes down to me.’ It’s like, ‘How dare you comment on my life?’ It makes my blood boil.”
Lindsay Lohan - Confessions Of A Broken Heart"A lot of people go through family issues, abuse and that kind of thing. I think it's important to show that other people go through it. I hope he'll see what I say in the song is, 'I love you,' so many times, that I need him and the crazy things in my life. I hope he sees the positive side of the video rather than the negative. The video is kind of offensive, but it is very raw. He's my father. I need someone to walk me down the aisle when I get married."
Madonna - Oh FatherIn an interview with Vanity Fair, Madonna commented that she saw herself in her youth as a "lonely girl who was searching for something. I wasn't rebellious in a certain way. I cared about being good at something. I didn't shave my underarms and I didn't wear make-up like normal girls do. But I studied and I got good grades.... I wanted to be somebody." Terrified that her father, Tony Ciccone, could be taken from her as well, Madonna was often unable to sleep unless she was near him. Two years after her mother's death, her father married the family's housekeeper, Joan Gustafson. At this point, Madonna began to express unresolved feelings of anger towards her father that lasted for decades, and developed a rebellious attitude.
Beyonce - Ring OffThe song is about Beyoncé’s mom Tina, whom she even addresses at the beginning of the track, singing, “Mama, I understand your many sleepless nights/When you sit and you think about Father/Or how you tried to be the perfect wife.” The song goes on to share Beyonce’s admiration for her mom picking herself up and becoming stronger than ever, with the performer singing, “Always know that you’ve got a daughter/That’s so, so proud you took the high road.” Beyoncé’s mother can even be heard doing the song’s outro, saying, “If you’re going through it just know it’s called ‘going through it.’ You’re not gonna get stuck there, you’re not gonna die. You’re gonna survive.”
Cher Lloyd - SirensIn an interview after the premiere, Lloyd revealed that the story behind the video retells an event from her childhood in which her father was arrested when she was five years old.
Demi Lovato - Father“I was very conflicted when he passed because he was abusive. He was mean, but he wanted to be a good person… He wasn’t capable of raising a family, and it was because of his mental illness. To know that it wasn’t fully his fault really was saddening to me, and I wanted to write about it. I wanted to process it.”
Ellie Goulding - I Know You CareIn an interview with TIME Ellie said that I Know You Care was about her dad where she hasn't seen him for a long, long time. And her parents divorced when she was really young. And she guessed it was my way of saying that Ellie wasn't bitter or angry anymore. She stated that she was just sad and just felt like something was missing.
Hilary Duff - Stranger"Stranger is a song I wrote about how my mom must feel around my dad. I made it seem like it was about a relationship I was in, because I didn't want people to know about my parents. But I've realized that so many people can relate to what I've gone through."
Marina & The Diamonds - GuiltyKelly Clarkson - Because Of YouClarkson revealed that she burst into tears after playing this song for the first time to Sony record executive Clive Davis. "I cried because he hated it and told me verbatim that I was a 'sh--ty writer who should be grateful for the gifts that he bestows upon me,'" she said. "He continued on about how the song didn't rhyme and how I should just shut up and sing. This was devastating coming from a man who I, as a young girl, considered a musical hero and was so honored to work with."
Sources: 1234567891011ONTD, do you hate your father?
