Friendships can run deep, but female friendships, especially, can be complex because of their intensity, their loyalty – or the lack of it – and, unfortunately, their endings.
With that in mind, here are some songs that perfectly capture the highs and lows of female friendship.
1. Castle in Hollywood – Laufey
Laufey wrote this song about losing someone you expected to have by your side for the rest of your life and trusted with your soul, and the pain that comes with this loss. Unlike other songs that explore this theme, this one isn’t about romantic love, but about betrayal in a friendship.
The “Castle in Hollywood” can be interpreted as the safe place you built throughout the friendship: the inside jokes, the loyalty, the plans for the future… All of it came to an end, leaving an open wound in the aftermath of losing those moments.
This song touches that part of our hearts that still misses an ex-best friend — a loss that can sometimes hurt even more than the end of a romantic relationship. It captures one of the most defining aspects of female friendship: its intensity.
2. Space Between – Descendants
The opposite of the previous song, “Space Between” is about two completely different girls whose worlds collide, leading them to develop a deep bond that feels more like sisterhood.
In this song, the characters Mal and Evie from the Disney movie Descendants 2 (2017) sing about their distinct personalities and perspectives, but also about how much they care for each other despite their differences. They don’t want to lose the bond they’ve built, because, at the end of the day, they have one thing in common: neither of them wants to let go of what they share.
This spectrum of female friendship is very deep. It’s the kind of bond that, if it ever ends, can leave you feeling the way “Castle in Hollywood” describes: heartbroken over losing someone who felt like family. Nowadays, it’s common to hear girls call their friends their sisters, and that’s exactly the kind of friendship “Space Between” is all about.
3. Space Between – Kylie Cantrall
The song’s title is a reference to the Descendants soundtrack, and this Easter egg has a backstory of its own. Kylie Cantrall once had a friendship just like Mal and Evie’s, until she was betrayed by someone she trusted, turning her world upside down.
Both girls starred in the newer Descendants movies and were best friends both on and off set. That real-life friendship is what inspired the reference in the song’s title. Her full album reflects on the painful situation they went through, revisiting the drama months after it unfolded.
This is the extreme opposite of the situation in Disney‘s song: a sad and complicated friendship that came to an end — all because of a boy. But the suffering comes from losing a best friend, not a boyfriend.
That’s an example of the mix of feelings that female friendships can bring when they come to an end: sadness, nostalgia, sisterhood, and betrayal.
4. For Good – Wicked
Here’s an example of a mature friendship that has been through so much. Elphaba and Glinda have shared a long journey and were eventually forced to part ways, despite having a bond that almost felt like family.
“For Good” is the perfect example of how we can grow through friendship and how someone special can even change the way we see the world — and that doesn’t always happen because of a romantic relationship.
The emotional complexity of girls’ friendships is an important element at every stage of these relationships, as is their intensity — the way everything can feel so serious. The journey of these two opposite girls, whose worlds accidentally collided, who grew together and eventually drifted apart, is the perfect example of just how intense a friendship can be.
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The article above was edited by Alyah Gomes.
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