What happens when the meaning of a word becomes a battleground for ownership? In an era ruled by algorithms and search results, artists aren’t just fighting for chart positions; they’re fighting for searchability, virality, and relevancy. Lyrics, titles—even family names—are fair game for reclaiming, reframing, or rewriting history. Let’s take a look at some recent examples featuring a few of my faves:
Beyonce, Tina, Rumi & Blue Ivy Carter onstage
Beyoncé and the Carter Family (not that one):
At her wildly successful Cowboy Carter concert, Beyoncé consistently brings out her actual Carter family, a bold visual and symbolic move. The original “Carter Family” is often credited as one of the founding families of country music. But with this gesture, the queen flips the narrative. Now, when you think “Carter family + country,” it’s her family that takes center stage. A search engine’s dream: keyword remixing as cultural reclamation.
Kendrick’s song cover for Euphoria
Kendrick Lamar and the word “Euphoria”:
Kendrick’s diss track Euphoria isn’t just lyrical warfare. It’s a metadata masterstroke. Drake is famously a producer on Euphoria, the HBO show. So now, when someone searches the word “euphoria”? Kendrick shows up. It’s not just a diss, it’s a hostile takeover of the term. This man is playing chess while the rest of us are still drawing the first circle in tic-tac-toe.
Bonus Theory Corner
There’s a long-standing conspiracy theory that Disney named Frozen to bury search results about Walt Disney’s rumored cryogenic preservation. Search “Disney Frozen” now and you’re knee-deep in Elsa gifs, not frozen-head conspiracies. Some search results are worth melting for? 😉
In 2025, artists aren’t just making music—they’re making moves in a digital chess game, where every title is a tactic and every lyric is metadata. In the algorithmic age of art, history belongs to whoever tops the search results.