Cheerleaders are often clouded with malicious, cliquey connotations of being promiscuous heart-breakers, bullies and airheads. But not all songs about cheerleaders paint the participants in this common, catty light.
From tracks about luxuriating in the wild energy of high-school cheerleaders, to love songs devoted to your true love offering her unconditional support through your own game of life, our collection of songs about cheerleaders crosses the genres and eras of music, picking out only the best pieces about the concept.
Songs About Cheerleaders
1. Nazareth – Cheerleader
Nazareth’s high-energy release, Cheerleader, translates the sleazy connotations of cheerleaders into their old-school, classic rock landscape.
Layering searing heavy metal solos upon rock ‘n’ roll piano riffs, this track crafts its unbridled, Motorhead-style energy with a myriad of colourful country flairs, Nazareth capturing the red hot ambience of American summers and retro teen rebellion with unique precision.
Cheerleader exposes a partner’s irrepressible passion behind closed doors, Nazareth using the stereotypical personality of a cheerleader to allude to a woman with the irresistible drive;
“Legs up to her shoulders, all the way back down, she’s not playing, she knows what she’s doing, and the word’s out on the town, she wanna be a cheerleader, she got the moves, she got the grooves, all the boys need her.”
2. OMI – Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)
OMI’s Caribbean-style pop hit, Cheerleader, is woven with a paradisal message of having found true love and basking in the light of your queen; “She gives me love and affection, baby, did I mention, you’re the only girl for me, no, I don’t need a next one.”
Putting a refreshing spin on the common symbolism of cheerleaders, this blue-skied, jazz inspired track interprets its title literally, becoming a love song dedicated to the woman who cheers you on with inspiring, unconditional support;
“When I need motivation, my one solution is my queen, ’cause she stays strong, she is always in my corner, right there when I want her.”
Omi’s most breathtaking sentiment embellishes the tail of each verse, finalising an anthem for those who have found the one; “All these other girls are tempting but I’m empty when you’re gone.”
3. AJ Tracey – Cheerleaders
AJ Tracey’s 2021 grime track, Cheerleaders, is centred in a hypnotic synth riff imparting an eerie sense of inner-city midnight nostalgia upon his track.
Despite titling the piece, cheerleaders have only fleeting references within his lyrics, their aesthetic embellishing his message about outdoing your competition;
“In my city, I’m big, I’m grande but my enemies come like Ariana… Can’t tell me ’bout life ’cause we life this, chocolate cheerleaders like Benihana, my lifestyle’s like a movie.”
AJ illustrates cheerleaders in the expected scandalous, fanatical light, seeking the attention of stars such as himself; “Cheerleaders running man down, when I walk in the spot, they’re surely rolling, gang said they’re surely pole-ing, like my flicks high, Macaulay Culkin.”
4. JP Cooper – Cheerleader
JP Cooper’s heartfelt acoustic pop release, Cheerleader, uses the vast resonance of its piano to pad a lucid love song in unconditional support of your partner as you progress deeper into the relationship.
This otherworldly, sentimental track is for anyone realising their unmatchable compatibility with another, proving that they’re true husband material, whilst planting the first seeds of marriage for the not-so-distant future;
“Take my heart, take my coat, honey, I’ll be laughing when your jokes ain’t funny, I’m the only cheerleader that you’ll ever need, take my name, put yours in front of it, darling, you can even take my wallet, I’m the only cheerleader that you’ll ever need.”
This romantic track proves a stark contrast to promiscuous, high-school and college interpretations of cheer-leading, its lyrics devoted to the adoration and support of your one and only;
“We got something good in a world gone crazy, give me your hand, I’m never gonna let go, here in your arms, I finally feel at home.”
5. Xavier Sorrow – Cheerleader
Xavier Sorrow’s 2022 hip-hop / pop track, Cheerleader, counters its vocal melodies and trance-like poetic rhythms with industrial-inspired beats, augmenting his atmosphere with an unmissable, energetic drive despite its non-rampant tempo.
Xavier’s track is about falling for someone so hard it feels like teen romance all over again. Whilst transferring youthful references of class clowns and silly bands into a grown-up context of love-seeking, Cheerleader depicts the lust for someone that makes you feel better than anything;
“It’s my party I can cry if I want to, be sad by myself but don’t want to, every time you come around I just want you, cheerleader take me back to high-school.”
6. Ghost Heart – Scene Queen Prom Queen
Ghost Heart’s emo rock single, Scene Queen Prom Queen, perfectly captures a nostalgic punk energy pre-dating its 2022 release, its rebellious teen attitude and gritty descriptions sliding straight into ‘00s pop-punk aesthetics.
Flooded with vibrant levels of wild, end-of-term energy, Ghost Heart’s lyrics detail a cutely reckless ‘punk rock princess’ attending her high-school prom alone, requesting heavy metal and dancing to her own rhythm.
Their cheerleader allusion staples their chorus with a message of embracing your own uniqueness rather than trying to fit in with the popular, pretty girls who attract nothing but drama and heartbreak;
“Scene queen prom queen, see it on her livestream, cheerleader’s crying in the back of the limousine, she’s a punk rock princess, she don’t need no prom king, she wears her crown with green hair and a nose ring.”
7. Kidz Bop Kidz – Girl Next Door
This Kidz Bop Kidz track may host some questionable moments, but its initial, grounding chord progression doused in copious amounts of reverb and phaser is completely captivating, giving a obscure, goth rock ambience to the piece before its harmonic ambition is re-centred with pop vocals.
Girl Next Door exposes the bitter feelings of jealousy and worthlessness when comparing yourself to the popular girls.
Composed from the perspective of a self-perceived nerdy, marching band student, this track is lyrically fuelled by downcast sense of anger at high-school hierarchy, whilst keeping its harmony optimistic and uplifted just enough to pass as a kids’ pop tune;
“Perfect skin, perfect hair, perfumed hearts everywhere, tell myself that inside she’s ugly, maybe I’m just jealous, I can’t help but hate her, secretly I wonder if my boyfriend wants to date her.”