"Ironic" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette, released in February 1996 by Maverick and Warner Bros. as the third single from her third studio album, Jagged Little Pill (1995).

The lyrics present several unfortunate situations that are described as "ironic"; this has led to debate as to whether any of these match the accepted meaning of irony.

"Ironic" was included on the set list of Morissette's Jagged Little Pill World Tour (1995), and her compilation albums MTV Unplugged (1999), The Collection (2005), among others.

"Ironic" was written by Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard, and produced by the latter for her third studio album, Jagged Little Pill (1995).

Morissette's vocals range from the tone of E4 to A♯5, and "Ironic" chord progression starts with the sequence of Emaj7–F♯6–Emaj7–F♯6, before changing to F♯–Badd9–F♯–G♯m7 in the chorus.

[5] The song's usage of the word ironic attracted media attention; according to Jon Pareles of The New York Times, it gives a distinct "unironic" sense in its implications.

"[9] In 2014, Michael Reid Roberts wrote a defense of the song for Salon, saying that it cites situational ironies:[10] the "state of affairs or event[s] that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often wryly amusing as a result".

[10] Michael Stevens of the YouTube channel Vsauce devoted time to the discussion of irony in the 2014 episode "Dord".

"[13][14] The CollegeHumor spoof was similarly replicated in July 2013 with a song called, "It's Finally Ironic" by sisters Rachael and Eliza Hurwitz, from New York City, who published their version on YouTube.

[17] Morissette herself poked fun at her grammar mistakes during a 2013 performance of "Semicolon" with The Lonely Island on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

In it, Morissette cut off their song to explain that their use of hashtag rap to demonstrate the function of a semicolon is incorrect, to which they respond that her critiquing their grammar is "ironic".

Additionally, he noted that the acoustic version “actually sounds more relaxed and engaging without the hoary loud guitars of the original".

[22] Pareles noted that in verses of "Ironic", and another song from the album ("Mary Jane"), "it's easy to envision Morissette on the stage of a club, singing wry couplets backed by acoustic guitar".

[7] Victoria Segal from Melody Maker praised it as "a perfectly nice piece of bubbling folk rock.

"[24] A reviewer from Music Week rated it four out of five, noting that it "builds into another powerful anthem with beautiful echoes of The Cocteau Twins.

[47] Like in Australia, "Ironic" became Morissette's highest-peaking single in New Zealand, but only at the time; "Thank U" and "Hands Clean" would chart higher in 1998 and 2002, respectively.

[57] In the beginning of the video, Morissette is at a gas station, walking to her automobile (1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V) with a cup of coffee in her hand.

The spunky character, who Morissette refers to as the “quirkster,” wears a yellow sweater with a crown of long swaying braids.

"[58] Blaine Allan noted in the book Television: Critical Methods and Applications (2002) how Morissette interacts with the watcher.

He commented that unlike Britney Spears' "Lucky" music video, where Spears plays dual role of a girl named "Lucky" and her fan, and both appear together in some scenes helped by visual effects, "Ironic" does not utilize them, using solely editing, giving the sense that all the Morissettes interact with each other.

[59] Journalist Carol Vernallis also found that Morissette's "chitchat" way of singing the song creates an intimate connection with the viewer.

Vernallis added that "Ironic" music video functions as a limited example of how the meaning of a song's lyrics become "inaccessible" when they are videotaped and televised.

[64] In late 1996, a parody version of the video was released featuring a 6-year-old Canadian girl named Allison Rheaume, who mimics Morissette's actions and wardrobe while lip syncing to the original song.

[65] Inglewood, CA rapper DBA Flip parodied the video for his 1996 single "It's Friday Night (Just Got Paid)".

[68] Canadian band Rusty parodied "Ironic" on the version 2 of the music video for their 1997 single "Empty Cell".

[70][unreliable source] In 2018, Toronto R&B singer Ramriddlz paid tribute to "Ironic" on the music video for his single "Worst Love".

Super by Norwegian author Erlend Loe, the protagonist watches the music video for the song on television and dreams about "meeting an Alanis-girl and living in a house together with her".

[155] The music of the song was featured in the romantic comedy film I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007), where Saoirse Ronan, as Izzie Mensforth, sings an altered version of the lyrics in a talent show.

[156] It also made a predominant appearance as the opener to 2013 comedy film The Internship, starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, as they sing along to it.