Famous Couples Show Us The Pangs Of Love In These Romantic Duets

Famous Couples Show Us The Pangs Of Love In These Romantic Duets
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 26: Singer Beyonce (L) and rapper Jay-Z onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 26: Singer Beyonce (L) and rapper Jay-Z onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

When they're feeling extra lovey-dovey, celebrity couples hit the recording studio together. It's like a rite of passage for Hollywood's hottest musical pairs. But exactly how romantic are these infatuation-driven duets? From Jay Z and Beyonce to Sonny and Cher, we put 15 songs to the test, assigning each a "heart beats" rating that ranks romance factor on a scale of 1 to 10. Usher in Valentine's Day with these love songs, and chime in with your favorite celebrity-couple duets below.

Jay Z & Beyonce -- "'03 Bonnie & Clyde"
YouTube
Released: 2002, even though we technically didn't know they were a couple at the time.

Heart beats: 6. This one's more about luxury gifts than true love, but Bey and Jay abound with partner-in-crime infatuation.

Most romantic lyric: "Only time we don't speak is during 'Sex and the City' / She gets Carrie fever, but soon as the show is over / She's right back to being my soldier"

Still together?You know it.
Avril Lavigne & Chad Kroeger -- "Let Me Go"
YouTube
Released: 2013

Heart beats: 3. It's about a rough breakup, but the end reveals they've both found someone else. Yay?

Most romantic lyric: There aren't any. "You came back to find I was gone / And that place is empty / Like the hole that was left in me / Like we were nothing at all." Heavy stuff.

Still together? Yes, they got married in July 2013.
Sonny & Cher -- "I Got You Babe"
YouTube
Released: 1965

Heart beats: 10. You probably started singing this classic the second you read the headline.

Most romantic lyric: "So let them say your hair's too long / 'Cause I don't care, with you I can't go wrong / Then put your little hand in mine / There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb"

Still together? Cher and Sonny Bono's relationship began to unravel in the late '60s in the wake of their sudden career woes. They maintained public appearances until finalizing a divorce in 1975. Bono died in 1998.
John Mayer & Katy Perry -- "Who You Love"
YouTube
Released: 2013

Heart beats: 7. This could be a hippy-dippy free-love anthem if it weren't styled like an adult-contemporary canticle that doubles as hold music for a 1-800 call.

Most romantic lyric: Oh, you can't make yourself stop dreaming / Who you're dreaming of / If it's who you love / Then it's who you love"

Still together? It depends on the day, but for now, yes.
Bobby Brown & Whitney Houston -- "Something In Common"
YouTube
Released: 1993

Heart beats: 6. It's a combination of sex rumblings ("I'm sweatin' for your body") and he-said-she-said romantic passion ("I'm the type of girl who understands my man").

Most romantic lyric: "Girl, you know it's you that I adore / And there's no one in this world / That I love more"

Still together? No. The tumultuous marriage ended in 2006 when Houston filed for a separation. Their divorce was finalized the following year. Houston died in 2012.
Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony -- "No Me Ames"
YouTube
Released: 1999

Heart beats: 4. This is one complicated relationship. Sometimes they love each other, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they're "dying in a war of regret and sad thoughts," sometimes "this great love deserves to soar through the blue sky."

Most romantic lyric: "I will always love you." Really, there aren't many choices here. And the song is in Spanish, which isn't helping.

Still together? Lopez and Anthony married in 2004 and had twins in 2008. Citing irreconcilable differences, the couple separated in 2011 and divorced the following year.
Jessica Simpson & Nick Lachey -- "Where You Are"
YouTube
Released: 2000

Heart beats: 3. It's sentimental, but it's also entirely about death.

Most romantic lyric: "Where you and I can breathe together once again / We'll be dancing in the moonlight just like we used to do / And you'll be smiling back at me / Then I will be free"

Still together? The couple apparently had problems beyond Simpson's tuna confusion. They divorced in 2006 after four years of marriage.
Faith Hill & Tim McGraw - "Let's Make Love"
YouTube
Released: 2000

Heart beats: 8. It's hard to discern whether this is soulmate love or sex-until-the-sun-comes-up love, but their vocals are passionate enough not to make you question it too much.

Most romantic lyric: "I'm so in love with you / Look in my eyes / Let's get lost tonight / In each other"

Still together? Thankfully. Country fans flipped when divorce rumors circulated last year after 17 years of marriage, but the couple called the suggestion "perplexing."
Swizz Beatz & Alicia Keys -- "International Party"
YouTube
Released: 2011

Heart beats: 0. You'd never know the duo is dating based on this thumping party anthem. "Big money is us" is not a sentiment that connotes courtship.

Most romantic lyric: "I don’t really care / Who’s in here / I’mma run this place / And this is my year"

Still together? They make for a beautiful married couple, even if Keys thought he was "so annoying" when they first met.
John Mayer & Taylor Swift -- "Half of My Heart"
YouTube
Released: 2010

Heart beats: 5. He kind of loves her a lot, he's kind of "never truly loved anything." Bummer.

Most romantic lyric: "I was made to believe I'd never love somebody else / I made a plan, stay the man who can only love himself / Lonely was the song I sang, till the day you came / Showing me another way and all that my love can bring"

Still together? LOL. As if. Do you know Taylor Swift?
Rihanna & Chris Brown -- "Nobody's Business"
YouTube
Released: 2009

Heart beats: 9. It may be painful to admit, but this one's pretty romantic.

Most romantic lyric: "You'll always be the one that I wanna come home to / Girl, let me love you and show you how special you are / I wanna be your baby, you'll always be my baby / Tell me what you want"

Still together? You know the story. They've been on and off again since 2009. For now, they're off.
Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham -- "Frozen Love"
YouTube
Released: 1973, when a pre-Fleetwood Mac Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham combined to form a duo known, fittingly, as Buckingham Nicks. (Their efforts were not commercially successful.)

Heart beats: 4. It's kind of sweet, but we don't think "frozen love" sounds like a particularly uplifting notion.

Most romantic lyric: "And if you go forward, I'll meet you there / And if you climb up through the cold freezing air / Look down below you; search out above / And cry out to life for a frozen love"

Still together? Fleetwood Mac's bed-hopping nature has been well documented, and Nicks broke it off with Buckingham in 1976. Despite their volatile relationship, Buckingham told Rolling Stone last year that "there's a subtext of love between us."
James Taylor & Carly Simon -- "Devoted To You"
YouTube
Released: 1974 (It's a cover of a Felice and Boudleaux Bryant song that was first made famous by The Everly Brothers.)

Heart beats: 10. It's all in the title.

Most romantic lyric: "I'll never hurt you / I'll never lie / I'll never be untrue / I'll never give you reason to cry / I'd be unhappy if you were blue"

Still together? Simon and Taylor's marriage lasted 11 years and gave way to two children. They divorced in 1983.
Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert -- "Over You"
YouTube
Released: 2012. The song is recorded by Lambert, but she and Shelton wrote it together. They joined forces for a duet on a May 2013 episode of "The Voice."

Heart beats: 2. It feels like a lost-love ballad, but the couple have revealed it's about Shelton losing his brother as a teenager.

Most romantic lyric: "I miss you / They say I’ll be OK / But I’m not going to ever get over you"

Still together? They've been married since 2011.
Ciara & Future -- "Anytime"
YouTube
Released: 2013

Heart beats: 10. It's not every day someone promises to go to war for you.

Most romantic lyric: "I cry happy, happy tears every night / I'mma spend the rest of my life / Just loving on you, kissing on you, being on you / Holding on you, touching on you, leaning on you"

Still together? Yes, they're engaged and expecting their first child together.
Kaley Cuoco and Ryan Sweeting

Celebrity Couples' First Valentine

This post has been updated with additional information about the inspiration for "Over You."

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