Romantic bust-up songs

By Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

For most people, romantic flame-outs inspire sobbing midnight phone calls, sleepless nights and lots of excess drinking. For pop stars, that bad boyfriend or cheating girlfriend can be the road to contstant radio airplay. Take Alanis Morissette, for instance. Her 1995 song "You Oughta Know" was inspired by the bitterness inspired by her former lover's new flame and became the breakthrough hit that made Morissette a perpetual bestseller. Her latest album, "Flavors of Entanglement," was largely inspired by her rocky breakup with actor Ryan Reynolds.

But Morissette isn't the only pop star to mine her romantic failures for songwriting gold. These performers have all used their tabloid-worthy exploits as inspiration for something more hummable than humbling.