The 5 Best Pop Feuds Of 2012: From Christina Aguilera Vs. The Wanted To Lady Gaga Vs. Madonna

Jacques Peterson | December 19, 2012 5:30 am

As 2012 comes to a close and we all start fondly looking back at the best music that the year had to offer, we must also remember the biggest beefs of the past 12 months. From rappers to pop tarts to boy banders, 2012 was chock full of feuds. Thankfully for us, most of them were just as entertaining as they were petty.

But not all cat fights were created equal, so here we present to you the top five juiciest, naughtiest and beefiest pop feuds of the year. Clench your fists and head below!

5. Christina Aguilera vs. The Wanted
There are divas, and then there’s Christina Aguilera. Besides the charming Courtney Love, no blonde has gotten into more celebrity spats than Legendtina, and even though her career has slowed down in recent years, her ability to piss people off has not. Earlier this year, Xtina found herself in a random, one-sided fight with boy band The Wanted. The fivesome labelled the songstress “a bit scary” and a “total bitch,” claiming that she refused to speak or even look at them when they performed on The Voice. They then half-apologized for their scathing assessment of Lady Lotus, before once again reiterating that she was indeed, “a bitch.” A few months later, they finally said sorry (for real this time), all because Aggie seemed “really, really nice” during an interview on Chelsea Lately. They generously chalked Christina’s behaviour down to a “bad day,” and the feud was officially put to bed — all without one word back from Aguilera herself.

4. One Direction’s Zayn Malik vs. The Wanted’s Max George
And the award for the most childish beefer of 2012 goes to… Zayn Malik! He and his cohorts in One Direction have been trading jabs with boy band rivals The Wanted all year, but things finally came to a head in November with a catty schoolyard Twitter spat. Zayn called The Wanted’s Max George a “geek”, and then heaped on further insults when the 24-year-old tried to casually laugh it off. Max told Zayn to stop smoking weed, Zayn said Max had “chlamydia,” Max told Zayn to “grow up,” Zayn took a swipe at The Wanted’s vocal abilities and so on and so forth. From Biggie and Tupac to this. My, my — how times have changed.

3. Rihanna & Chris Brown Vs. Karrueche Tran & Drake
Rihanna’s nastier side reared its ugly head earlier this year when the superstar reunited with her abusive ex to record their “EVERYBODY LOOK AT US!!!” duet/remix thingy, “Birthday Cake.” RiRi used the song to take a shot at Breezy’s then-girlfirend, Karreche Tran, by singing that she was, “sweeter than a rice cake” — a reference to Tran’s Vietnamese background? The “S&M” hitmaker further amped up the shade by dressing up a packet of rice cakes in hoop earrings and sunglasses, and tweeting it out along with the “Birthday Cake” lyric, “Ima make you my bitch.”

While the ladies fought their battles through social media, Drake and Breezy hashed out their differences with a bloody brawl in a New York nightclub. Punches were thrown, expensive bottles of champagne were hurled and by the time the dust had settled, an innocent female bystander was left needing 16 stitches to the head.

Is a piece of Rihanna’s birthday cake really worth all this?

2. Lady Gaga Vs. Madonna
Gaga just couldn’t keep out of trouble this year. She feuded with a gossip blogger, a South African rap duo and most famously of all, the Queen of Pop. Madonna and Mother Monster’s beef started back in January, when Madge labelled Gaga’s song “Born This Way” “reductive”, and called it a “redo” of her classic hit “Express Yourself.” Lady Gaga indirectly responded with a shady tweet and some rant-ish concert banter, while Madonna — never afraid to speak her mind — was a little more upfront, hilariously taking credit for co-writing “Born This Way” and performing the song as a mashup with “Express Yourself” during her MDNA tour. Madge has since tried to bury the hatchet by inviting Gaga to perform with her — an invitation that Gaga politely declined. As of now, the beef is inactive, but remains unresolved.

1. Nicki Minaj vs. Everyone
Was there anybody that Nicki Minaj didn’t fight with this year? The “Starships” songstress had drama with DJ Pete Rosenburg and the whole Hot 97 crew, a supposedly “racist” Steven Tyler, and even little ol’ Barbara Walters. But of course, Minaj’s biggest beef — perhaps the biggest beef of 2012 — was with Mariah Carey.

The two divas clashed on the set of American Idol, with the hot-headed Minaj launching into a profanity-ridden temper tantrum over what she perceived to be Mimi’s narcissistic diva behaviour. Mariah — a seasoned veteran when it comes to musical feuds — responded by playing the victim card for all it’s worth, telling Walters that the rapper had threatened her life, and then conveniently letting the paparazzi snap her leaving the Idol set surrounded by police and bodyguards. Nicki clapped back with a Twitter meltdown, and then called Mariah out on her poorly-rated E! reality series, My Truth.

The two have since put the drama to rest for the sake of Idol, but we think it’s only going to be a matter of time before the claws come out again.

Jacques spills the true tea on a daily basis at The Prophet Blog. Did he miss any of your favorite feuds of the year? Let us know below, or by hitting us up on Facebook and Twitter!