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5 Pop Stars With Memoirs

By Laila Abuelhawa
Mariah Carey attends the Recording Academy Honors, Elton John speaks onstage during the 38th Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony, Britney Spears attends the 2016 Billboard Music Awards.

With seemingly every celebrity out with a memoir these days, there aren’t that many in the world of pop music that have released memoirs. Though we thoroughly enjoyed actress Megan Fox’s series of poems in Pretty Boys Are Poisonous, it isn’t technically a memoir. Her first book was “written in an attempt to excise the illness that had taken root in me because of my silence. I’ve spent my entire life keeping the secrets of men, my body aches from carrying the weight of their sins.”

Megan Fox Reads From Her Book "Pretty Boys Are Poisonous" Pop Stars With Memoirs

(Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

Musicians connect with their fans through lyrics, giving the general public insight into their personal lives. When it comes to writing a book, however, music artists reveal things that are usually such private part of their upbringing and reveal their raw feelings. The world’s most famous musicians have released memoirs over the years.

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Huge names in the industry like Elton John, Dave Grohl, Bob Dylan, and Nina Simone have released memoirs of their extraordinary life. Many pop stars and celebrities  have released more harrowing stories about their childhoods or terrifying tales from the industry.

For example, Alicia Keys’ 2020 memoir, More Myself: A Journey, the award-winning singer-songwriter wrote about her early childhood in Harlem and Hell’s Kitchen. In the “If I Ain’t Got You” singer’s memoir, she explored what it means to be a woman in the public eye and the journey she’s been on to discover her true self away from the spotlight.

From being famous, she discussed the loss of privacy surrounding her romantic relationships and the oppressive expectations of female perfection. Since Alicia rose to fame, she has struggled for years not fully recognizing or honoring her own worth. After withholding parts of herself for so long, she navigated her true identity throughout the book.

Take a look below at the 5 pop stars with memoirs:

  • Mariah Carey -- 'The Meaning of Mariah Carey'

    Carey’s 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, is told in four parts, “woven together to reveal a journey that is ongoing.” The four parts of the award-winning singer’s memoir are: Wayward Child, Sing. Sing., All That Glitters, and Emancipation. Her book takes fans through the triumphs and traumas behind the scenes of her private life, from her difficult childhood growing up in Long Island, New York, to her allegedly abusive marriage to music executive Tommy Mottola. She also offers readers a glimpse of her songwriting process while exploring her identity as a biracial woman in the music industry.

  • Jessica Simpson -- 'Open Book'

    Jessica Simpson’s 2020 memoir, Open Book, discusses the “I Wanna Love You Forever” singer’s “hard times” she shared with fans by using journal entries she kept since she was 15 years old. While trying to make it in the industry at a young age, she discusses how she messed up her Mickey Mouse Club audition, to competing with pop superstars Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera in the charts. Elsewhere in the memoir, she discussed her struggle with alcoholism and failed marriage to 98 Degrees’ Nick Lachey, as well as her romances with John Mayer and Johnny Knoxville.

  • Britney Spears -- 'The Woman in Me'

    Following the end of Britney Spears’ 13-year conservatorship, fans were eagerly waiting to hear the Princess of Pop’s story. In 2023’s The Woman in Me, Spears explores her rise to fame, her journey with motherhood, and her experiences breaking free from the conservatorship. As we steadily reported on the details of her memoir, the “Toxic” singer revealed that in 2000, she and then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake faced a challenging decision regarding a pregnancy. Ultimately, they opted for an abortion, which continued to have a lasting impact on Spears.

  • Paris Hilton: 'Paris: The Memoir'

    The Hilton heiress released her Paris: The Memoir in 2023. The “Stars Are Blind” singer talks about her self-proclaimed “superpower” of ADHD and a hidden history that traumatized and defined her. Hilton disclosed that her childhood was shattered by two years of strip searches, isolation, beatings, restraint, and brainwashing within the now infamous “troubled teen industry.” As we reported, the socialite attended Provo Canyon School, where she faced emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. She also details the traumatic story behind her infamous sex tape with ex-boyfriend Rick Salomon in 2003, when she was 18 years old at the time.

  • Elton John: 'Me'

    Elton John’s Me is about his extraordinary life, filled with “sex, drugs, and rock & roll.” Joking aside, Sir Elton John’s 2019 memoir chronicles the musician’s highs and lows in life, diving into music and the most important people in his life. John gets candid about his childhood, how he broke into the music industry, and how he overcame a decade-long drug addiction. From his friendships with fellow musicians like Freddie Mercury and John Lennon to his marriage to David Furnish, John’s memoir chronicles the life of one of the world’s most noted singers.

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