Happy March and Women’s History Month, everyone! While I was taking a walk through Hoboken and enjoying the semi-warm weather, I was listening to my “Feminist” playlist on Spotify. I had an idea to highlight some of my favorite female artists and discuss why I love them so much, as well as talk about the impact they have made on the music industry. So, for this column, I’m going to do exactly that! Here are my top three favorite female music artists/groups.
- Megan Thee Stallion
One of my favorite music artists of all time is the one and only, Megan Thee Stallion. I got into her music my senior year of high school, and ever since then, I have been listening to every single one of her releases. She became the second female rapper to win the Best New Artist Grammy since Lauryn Hill in 1999. My favorite quote from her is, “Confidence literally starts from yourself. You have to go look in the mirror at yourself. If you don’t like what you see, you’re going to give off that energy.” Megan Thee Stallion is funny, confident, talented, and an amazing performer. She inspires me to love myself and to be the best girlboss I possibly can be. Favorite song: Freak Nasty
- Blackpink
Blackpink is a Korean pop (K-pop) group consisting of Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa, and I absolutely love them! They have been active since 2016, and they have since then made history. To list only some of their achievements, they became the first female K-pop group to perform at Coachella in 2019, and they are the highest-charting female K-pop group on the Billboard Hot 100. Blackpink is made up of strong women who have taken the music industry by storm, making history for the K-pop genre as a whole. I had the privilege of seeing them in concert in May 2019, and they are amazing performers. They had the entire stadium captivated by their incredible dance moves and stage presence. Favorite song: Playing With Fire
- Taylor Swift
What would this list be without Taylor Swift? Taylor Swift is a music icon and one of my favorite singers. She has consistently been one of my top Spotify artists for years. Swift is an outstanding artist, and sometimes I can’t believe how she writes exactly what I’m feeling in the form of a song. Swift has sold over 200 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She has won 11 Grammys and has had eight Billboard Hot 100 number-one songs. Needless to say, Swift is a powerful woman in the music industry and has been an influential icon. As my favorite quote, Swift states, “No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.” Favorite song: Haunted
If you haven’t checked out these musicians, I highly recommend them. They are talented, strong, and forces to be reckoned with. Being a woman in a male-dominated industry is certainly not an easy feat. According to the article “Just how misrepresented are women in the music industry?” by Grace Braswell, “The music industry has historically ignored women. A recent study reported that only 21% of all artists are women, 12% are songwriters and only 2% of women are producers.” While I can talk about this issue in greater detail, I wanted to shed light on an issue that is prevalent in the music industry. Aside from being talented artists, all women in the music industry are powerful people as well.
Honorable mentions: Doja Cat, Twice, Rico Nasty, Flo Milli, Dua Lipa, Rina Sawayama, Britney Spears, Marina
Girl Talk is an Opinion column written by a current female student to discuss issues surrounding women, whether it be feminism, current events, personal experiences at Stevens or in life, and more.
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