From Charli XCX's "Brat Summer" to Sabrina Carpenter's Short n' Sweet Tour and the rise of the Midwest Princess herself, Chappell Roan, women in pop are dominating the soundwaves and the culture in a way we haven't seen since the early aughts. Yet unlike their predecessors of the noughties, these pop gals are standing in solidarity with one another, refusing to comply with the toxic, competitive culture of the music industry.
In the late '90s and early 2000s, it was nearly impossible to be a successful female pop act without being compared to or accused of a rivalry with peers. From Britney Spears vs. Christina Aguilera to Lady Gaga vs. Katy Perry, the predominant narrative in the media was that you have to fight your way to the top - where there's only room for one.
At a certain point, the tide began to turn, reaching a peak last summer when some of the top-selling albums - Charli XCX's Brat, Roan's The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, Carpenter's Short n' Sweet, Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department, Billie Eilish's Hit Me Hard and Soft and Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, all of which led this year's Grammy nominations, including an all-female pop vocal album category for the first time in history were all by women. Most importantly, women who actively support one another's work.
"What's so reassuring and so f**king sick is, like, the pop girls that you and I have loved our whole lives or, like, have been f**king stans the past two or three years... A lot of them have reached out and are, like, so supportive and girl's girls," Roan, who has been open about her mental health struggles in the midst of her sudden rise to superstardom, shared in a 2024 Tik Tok video.
Other instances of ladies spreading the lo...
In the late '90s and early 2000s, it was nearly impossible to be a successful female pop act without being compared to or accused of a rivalry with peers. From Britney Spears vs. Christina Aguilera to Lady Gaga vs. Katy Perry, the predominant narrative in the media was that you have to fight your way to the top - where there's only room for one.
At a certain point, the tide began to turn, reaching a peak last summer when some of the top-selling albums - Charli XCX's Brat, Roan's The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, Carpenter's Short n' Sweet, Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department, Billie Eilish's Hit Me Hard and Soft and Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, all of which led this year's Grammy nominations, including an all-female pop vocal album category for the first time in history were all by women. Most importantly, women who actively support one another's work.
"What's so reassuring and so f**king sick is, like, the pop girls that you and I have loved our whole lives or, like, have been f**king stans the past two or three years... A lot of them have reached out and are, like, so supportive and girl's girls," Roan, who has been open about her mental health struggles in the midst of her sudden rise to superstardom, shared in a 2024 Tik Tok video.
Other instances of ladies spreading the lo...
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Us Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, February 17, 2025