Cheap Applause

You really think you’re something, huh?

Like everybody wants your place

But attention ain’t a compliment

When you’ll take it from anyone with a face

You walk around like heartbreak somehow made you legendary

Like cheating made you dangerous instead of fucking ordinary

You ain’t some femme fatale, you’re predictable as hell

Need a stranger in your inbox just to feel good ‘bout yourself

That’s why losing me got twisted into “I deserved much more”

Girl, you needed validation like a junkie needs a score

Every compliment’s a Band-Aid, every DM buys a minute

Then the high wears off and there you are, still fucking trapped within it

Cheap applause

Cheap disguise

Whole damn ego built on lies

You call it confidence

I call it needing eyes

And here’s what makes you angry

I finally know the trick

Take away the audience

And there ain’t much left of it

Cheap applause, paper fame

Everybody wants you, right? That’s what you claim

Keep collecting little hearts like they add up to a soul

But a thousand empty hands still can’t make a person whole

You thought cheating made you wanted

Like that somehow raised your worth

Nah, it only showed how cheaply

You’d trade loyalty for thirst

You love rewriting history where you’re always someone’s prize

Convenient how your version leaves the fucking cheating out sometimes

Then I’m “toxic,” I’m “obsessed,” I’m the villain in your scene

Anything to keep your mirror from reflecting what you’ve been

You need me bitter, don’t you? Need to think I’m losing sleep

‘Cause the thought I might forget you cuts your ego way too deep

That’s the funniest part, you thought you’d haunt me when you left

But ghosts require some mystery, and I’ve already seen the rest

Cheap applause

Cheap disguise

Whole damn ego built on lies

You call it confidence

I call it needing eyes

Keep polishing that image

Keep pretending you’re elite

A pedestal looks pretty

Till somebody sees the feet

Cheap applause, paper fame

Everybody wants you, right? That’s what you claim

Keep collecting little hearts like they add up to a soul

But a thousand empty hands still can’t make a person whole

You thought cheating made you wanted

Like that somehow raised your worth

Nah, it only showed how cheaply

You’d trade loyalty for thirst

Now I understand exactly why you need to feel desired

Your whole personality collapses if nobody feeds the fire

So you flirt, collect reactions, keep another one nearby

Then call yourself “independent” while depending on their eyes

That’s not power, that’s a hostage with attention holding keys

And the saddest fucking part is you still think that you’re free

You wanted me destroyed because it proved you mattered still

But indifference hits an ego harder than my anger ever will

Cheap applause

Let it fade

Watch that confidence decay

If nobody wants the show

Who are you backstage?

I don’t need to break you

Your reflection does enough

You built yourself on being wanted

That’s a fragile place f