Let’s celebrate: 25 of the best birthday songs

One of the most famous birthday songs was created in 1980, when Stevie Wonder released “Happy Birthday.” The song was originally a petition to make Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday.

In her 2013 single “Birthday,” Katy Perry gives a different meaning to what it means to celebrate. In the song, she uses birthday more as a figure of speech to describe having a good time with your crush.

2 Chainz is a man who knows what he wants with his 2012 single “Birthday Song.” Along with Kanye West, Chainz makes no secret of the fact that he only wants a sensual woman for his birthday.

In 2013, pop singer Selena Gomez released her debut studio album. Stars dancing. In “Birthday,” the first track on the album, Gomez is all about going out and telling everyone that it’s her special day, even if it’s not actually her birthday.

50 Cent’s 2003 single “In Da Club” isn’t necessarily about celebrating a birthday. It’s more about going out and partying. However, at the beginning of the track, 50 calls out to anyone celebrating their special day by rapping, “Go shawty, it’s your birthday / We gon’ party like it’s your birthday / We gon’ sip Bacardi like it’s your birthday.” This line alone has DJs all over the world playing the track in clubs and at parties for people celebrating their birthdays.

Lesley Gore’s 1963 single “It’s My Party”, produced by Quincy Jones, is one of the most iconic birthday songs. In the song, Gore describes her displeasure at her crush leaving her party and returning with another young lady. Of course, Gore is not happy about it.

In 2011, Rihanna released her sixth album, Talk about this conversation. While the album spawned four singles, one of the standout songs was “Birthday Cake.” It’s important to remember that Rihanna isn’t talking about actual cake here; she’s using it as a simile to describe a sexual rendezvous. This is evident in the first verse, when she says, “It’s not even my birthday / But he wants to lick the icing / I know you want it bad / I can’t wait to blow out my candles.”

Written by Beatles band members John Lennon and Paul McCartney, “Birthday” sees the band honoring a person’s special day and making sure that person feels all the love and joy.

In 2022, pop singer Lizzo released her critically acclaimed fourth album Particularly. Aside from the three singles, “Birthday Girl” is one of the standout tracks, where Lizzo looks back on her life and celebrates with her loved ones. As she says in the chorus, “Is it your birthday girl? / ‘Cause you look like a present / Is it your birthday girl? / Let’s celebrate.”

Pop legend Madonna teamed up with MIA for their collaboration “B-Day Song” in 2012. It was a bonus track on the deluxe edition of Madonna’s MDNA album, and the song is about feeling happy on your birthday.

R&B legend Usher and super producer Zaytoven teamed up for their 2018 EP. A. One of the standout songs is “Birthday,” in which Usher wants to make sure a birthday boy or girl has the time of their life. It’s an anthem for birthday boys to dance to while making sure they get everything they want.

It was in 1962 when former President John F. Kennedy hosted a gala at Madison Square Garden for his 45th birthday. Actress Marilyn Monroe came on stage to sing the traditional “Happy Birthday” song, but she added new verses to make it special for JFK.

In 1998, Destiny’s Child released their eponymous debut album. Although it wasn’t a single, the song “Birthday” is a ballad about women who want to do something nice for their partners on their birthdays. In the slow jam produced by Tony, Toni, Toné member D’Wayne Wiggins, the girls sing about celebrating a nice birthday with their partners.

In 2021, rap trio Migos released their fourth and final studio album, Culture III. On the track, Quavo, Offset and the late Takeoff have no problem rapping about their wealth and status. They also highlight how they choose women they are interested in and are willing to spend money on them, especially on their birthdays.

In 2016, producer and DJ Kygo teamed up with soulful singer John Legend for their tender song “Happy Birthday.” The song tells the story of a father singing to his daughter, possibly when she was just born, while Legend reflects on how he can’t always protect her, but is always there to cheer her up when she’s down.

Anne-Marie’s 2020 song “Birthday” is the perfect anthem to the fact that on your special day you have no excuse to do whatever you want, and of course it’s the day when everyone else should be nice to you.

Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am teamed up with his label newcomer Cody Wise for the anniversary song “It’s My Birthday”. In the song, Wise sings about being able to buy anything he wants and live his life the way he wants because it’s his special day.

In 2010, the rock band Kings of Leon released their fifth studio album, Come by at sunset. In the track “Birthday,” the band doesn’t necessarily sing about birthdays, but it does allude to spending time and celebrating like it’s their special day.

T-Pain is no stranger to making party anthems. That was evident on his 2019 song “It’s My Dog’s Birthday.” In the song, T-Pain reflects on how people like to go all out for their friends’ birthdays. In the chorus, he sings, “It’s my dawg birthday, yeah / We gon’ do whatever we want / Poppin’ bottles, taking shots of Patron / We gon’ do this sh-t all night long.”

In 2017, R&B singer K. Michelle released her fourth studio album, Kimberly: The people I knew. The first single was “Birthday”, in which Michelle sings about how she spoils her partner on his special day and makes him happy.

Beatles legend Ringo Starr teams up with a cappella group Pentatonix for their song “Happy Birthday Beautiful.” Written by award-winning songwriter Diane Warren, the song wishes someone the best on their special day.

In 1990, the pop group New Kids On The Block released their fourth studio album, Step by step. Although “Happy Birthday” wasn’t released as a single, it’s the kind of song people want to hear on their birthday because it’s all about feeling a year older. In the second verse, they sing, “Happy birthday / You’re still young / Age is just a number / Don’t stop having fun.”

In 2018, pop-punk band All Time Low released their EP with the fitting title Everything is good on your birthday. On the single “Birthday,” All Time Low uses cake as a metaphor for their love desires. In the chorus, they sing, “You know I want you in the worst way / I need you like cake on my birthday / The way you act is so sweet / I need you like cake on my birthday.”

“Weird Al” Yankovic is a creative guy who knows how to put his own spin on songs, and that’s exactly what he does with “Happy Birthday,” where he takes inspiration from the traditional birthday song but adds his own twist, which is that people should celebrate their birthdays happily because things could always get worse.

In 2009, R&B singer Jeremih made waves with his debut single “Birthday Sex.” The song is pretty self-explanatory and Jeremih emphasizes how much he wants to celebrate his partner’s special day with a night of love.