Cheating songs in Western music. The world’s forbidden love and infidelity songs.

FoolishAshanti

Ashanti – Foolish

This R&B classic captures the frustration and unbreakable attachment of being unable to leave an unfaithful lover.

It’s performed by Ashanti, a powerhouse American singer and Grammy winner.

Even when you know you’re being cheated on, even as you blame yourself for being foolish, you still can’t stop loving them…

Have you ever found yourself stuck in that kind of messy relationship? If trying to forget only makes you think about them more, then, like this song suggests, letting yourself sink fully into the melancholy might actually help you confront your own feelings.

Released in February 2002, this track achieved the remarkable feat of spending 10 consecutive weeks at No.

1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as a single from the acclaimed album “Ashanti.”

I HopeGabby Barrett

Gabby Barrett – I Hope (Official Music Video)

Gabby Barrett, an American country singer who shot to stardom from a popular talent show.

Her debut hit is, contrary to its title, a biting cheating song that seethes with revenge: “Just like you betrayed me, I hope your new lover betrays you too.” Behind words that pretend to wish happiness lurks a barbed, candid truth.

This intense drama of love and hate struck a deep chord only those who’ve lived it can fully understand.

Released in July 2019 and included on her debut album Goldmine, the track got an extra boost from a remix featuring Charlie Puth and climbed as high as No.

3 on the U.S.

charts.

When you don’t want to end your anger and sorrow in tears alone, listening to this song—while wrestling with those complicated feelings—might help soften the thorns in your heart just a little.

How Do You Sleep?Jesse McCartney, Ludacris

Jesse McCartney, Ludacris – How Do You Sleep?

It’s a track by American singer Jesse McCartney and rapper Ludacris that can be heard either as a scathing question to a lover who abandoned you or as a cry from a heart tormented by lingering attachment and jealousy.

While you spend sleepless nights, the other person seems to carry on with a new day as if nothing happened.

Haven’t we all felt that maddening unfairness and found ourselves asking, “Why?” What’s remarkable about this song is how it dares to set that helpless emotion to a danceable beat.

Included on the May 2008 album Departure, its remix reached No.

26 in the U.S.

and was also used in the film G-Force.

It might be just the thing for nights when you’d rather dance it away than sink into sadness.

Natalie Don’tRAYE

RAYE – Natalie Don’t (Official Video)

This is a striking song by RAYE, the acclaimed British artist who won six awards at the 2024 BRIT Awards, featuring the anguished cries of a woman who fears losing the one she loves.

The track portrays raw jealousy and desperation as she pleads with a woman named “Natalie,” begging her, “Please don’t take him.” Despite its uptempo sound, the lyrics evoke a modern-day Jolene.

Knowing that the story is based on RAYE’s real-life experience makes it all the more poignant.

Released in July 2020 on the mini-album Euphoric Sad Songs, it’s a song many might relate to when they feel overwhelmed by anxiety in love.

If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don’t Want to Be RightLuther Ingram

Luther Ingram – If lovin you is wrong i don’t wanna be right

Sung by American soul singer Luther Ingram, this ballad straightforwardly portrays the turmoil of a man tormented by forbidden love.

Released in April 1972, it became a massive hit, spending four consecutive weeks at No.

1 on Billboard’s R&B chart.

The protagonist defiantly declares that if loving is wrong, he doesn’t need to be right.

His heartbreaking resolve comes through with piercing clarity in a gospel-rooted, soul-stirring vocal performance.

Love’s depth can be such that, even knowing someone will get hurt, you still can’t stop.

Millie Jackson’s cover version was used in the film Cleopatra Jones.

When you’re struggling with a love that can’t be neatly justified by what’s “right,” this song may seep deep into your heart.