Happy Women’s Day to all the beautiful, fierce, strong, empowering, talented, and intelligent women out there! Today, we’ve gathered for you our top 5 most influential women in the music industry. Each of these women, along with many others, have done their part to bring change in the gender gap within their field as well as be influential role models for many young girls around the world!
Beyonce
In the simplest words, Beyonce is an icon. Once part of the most successful R&B/pop girl band, Destiny’s Child, Queen Bee has continued to bless us with a tremendous solo career. From the start, Bey has left a huge impression on music than anyone before. She’s been nominated for a Grammy over 70 times, has taken home 24 of them in the past 20 years, and is the second most-winningest woman in Grammy history. The fruits of her labor are the product of her endless dedication, drive, strength as a woman, ability to speak her truth and, unite different types of people from all over the world through her music. Thank you for inspiring young girls to be confident, to love themselves and follow their dreams, Bey!
“We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.”
What do you get when you mix raw emotions, a powerhouse voice, and a nonconforming personality type? You get an undeniably talented singer and songwriter named Adele who is able to sell out arenas in a matter of minutes just by her incredibly powerful vocals. Adele has only released three but strong albums (19, 21, 25) yet has continuously broken the records. Starting by becoming the first female artist to have two entries in the top five with two singles and albums on the charts at the same time. The beauty of Adele lies in the fact that who you see on stage is who she is backstage. There are tricks, glitz, or fabrication. If you’ve been to an Adele concert, you will agree with us that her concerts are all about her voice, personality, and relatability. And we absolutely love this about her! We also think it’s all of these valuable qualities that have granted Adele to win record of the year at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
Adele
“I never wanted to look like models on the cover of magazines. I represent the majority of women and I’m very proud of that.”
Lana Del Rey is one of the biggest female names in the music industry. Behind all the smoky haze and Old Hollywood glam is a singer, songwriter, and record producer who is known for her cinematic quality of romance, glamour, and 1950s-1960s Americana style. Born and raised in New York, her musical career began there in 2005 when she recorded and released multiple projects including, “Video Games,” “Born to Die,” “National Anthem,” “Blue Jeans,” and “Summertime Sadness.” Her debut album, Born to Die (2012) gained immediate international success when it sat on Billboards Hot 100 for multiple weeks. After releasing her most popular albums Honeymoon in 2015, Lust for Life in 2017, Lana Del Ray blessed fans yet again with another masterpiece called Norman F*cking Rockwell! in 2019. As of 2020, Del Rey has sold 19.1 million albums and over 13 million singles worldwide. All together, her YouTube and Vevo pages have reached almost 4 billion views! Lana Del Ray has definitely changed the sound of music with her mystical, melancholic, and romantic tracks.
Lana Del Ray
“My intention was never to transform into a different person. What other people think of me is none of my business”.
Starting from a young age, Alicia Keys was always talking against gender stereotypes. Growing up in New York, the rising star adopted her own signature style with crown braids and androgynous clothing to prevent the daily sexual harassment she experienced. As she got older and started making her way into the industry, she gained the confidence to speak her mind when she partnered up with her manager, Jeff Robinson in important meetings. She learned the intricacies of the industry as well as all the challenges that come with being the only woman in the room. She stood her ground when the label tried to fit her into the perfect cookie-cutter pop singer mold by changing her hair, outfits, and entire look. Today, Alica Keys is a 15-time Grammy Award winner, a 29-time nominee has been a judge on The Voice, and continues to challenge beauty standards, empower women, and fight for women’s rights.
Alicia Keys
“Failure isn’t an option. I’ve erased the word fear from my vocabulary and I think when you erase fear you can’t fail.”
Lady Gaga, aka, Mother Monster, is known to be the ultimate self-made icon. Notorious for her extraordinary sound and fashion, Gaga has always introduced herself as a ready-made popstar. She pours her heart and soul out into each of her songs she writes and performs which has granted her the title of one of the highest-selling artists ever. She has sold an estimated 114 million album sales and is the proud compatriot of 11 Grammy Awards and three Brit Awards. She uses her platform to speak up for herself and others. Never has Gaga allowed the opinions of others to affect her in any way. Rather she’s used their opinions to overturn, shake and deconstruct every system that governs her life.
Lady Gaga
“You have to be unique, and different, and shine in your own way.”
All these women – musicians, songwriters, mothers and daughters alike – represent a unique and different version of what it means to be a woman. Their melodies and musicality, lyrics and place in music history send powerful messages to young women everywhere. We salute to you, girls!
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