Ejercicio Grupo B - Pregunta 1 · Inglés PAU Canarias Junio (Humanidades) 2023

Shakira and Miley: writing a perfect break-up song

You have been through a break-up. You are experiencing all the emotions - rage, grief, sadness and tears.

You might binge a show, binge fast food, or unload your emotions into your private diary.

Or, if you are a world-famous musician, you might decide to record a *diss track aimed at your ex. Then,

upload it to the Internet, stand back and watch the sparks fly. At least, that is what Shakira did with Out of

5 Your League, her song about footballer ex Gerard Piqué cheating on her, which has broken YouTube

records making it the most-watched new Latin song in the platform’s history. But Shakira is not alone.

Fans are convinced Flowers by Miley Cyrus is about her ex, the famous Australian actor Liam Hemsworth.

However, pop superstars turning their emotions into break-up songs is not a new thing. Just ask Adele or

Taylor Swift, both queens of the break-up ballad, or Ariana Grande, The Weeknd and Justin Bieber — just

10 some of the big names who have released heartbreak-inspired hits.

But what is the trick to recording the perfect break-up song and why are they so satisfying to listen to?

According to songwriting professor Martin Wright, who works at the British and Irish Modern Music

Institute in Birmingham, the main reason for the genre’s popularity is obvious: most of us have been left

(or have left someone) at some point in our life.

15 Wright says the best break-up songs are all about the narrative. “If it is me breaking up with you, it is about

empowerment, liberation and freedom, whereas if it is you breaking up with me, it might be about sadness,

bitterness and even sometimes revenge,” he explains. In Out of Your League, Shakira impressively

combines most of these elements into a single line: “I won’t get back with you, not if you cry, not even if

you beg.”

20 The next ingredient is how a person feels about their breakup. There are a few options here. A popular

approach is the “I’m so over this”, as demonstrated by Ariana Grande (“I’ve learned from the pain. I turned

out amazing”).

And for the finishing touch, Wright says, the key is the chorus and looking to the future. You could strike

a hopeful note, like Adele (“Never mind, I’ll find someone like you”), or follow Taylor Swift’s decisiveness

25 (“But we are never, ever, ever, ever getting back together”). After all, Taylor Swift has built a career on

songs about past relationships.

As well as being good to listen to, break-up songs can be helpful for the people writing them. Singer and

songwriter Nahli, from London, says she used to write down her emotions in her diary. Now she turns

those journal entries into songs. “When I’m crying into the page and the tears are falling, deep emotions

30 come out; it really feels like therapy.”

Fragment adapted from BBC news, January 2023

*diss (disrespect + dismiss abbreviated)

1. Say whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE according to the text. COPY the evidence from the text. No marks will be given without the evidence. [1.5 points]

a)

Followers of Miley Cyrus believe that the target of Flowers is the singer's former husband.

TRUE

FALSE

b)

According to an expert, songs about break-ups are successful because we have all experienced similar situations.

TRUE

FALSE

c)

Break-up songs serve a double purpose: giving help to both listeners and song-makers.

TRUE

FALSE