Highlighting Women Musicians
- tatimonty
- Mar 10, 2021
- 6 min read
Monday was International Women's Day, so in honor of that, here are women who are absolutely killing it as musicians. Women in the industry tend to not get the recognition they deserve, or get hate for the recognition they do get, so here are female-fronted bands and female artists who deserve more recognition and attention than they get. Or, in some of their cases, deserve the success that they have gotten.
Against the Current
Led by lead singer Chrissy Costanza, Against the Current formed in 2011 and are currently signed to Fueled By Ramen, and have been since 2015 after gathering a following on YouTube for their covers. They've released two full length albums, 2016's In Our Bones, and 2018's Past Lives. They've released a new single, "that won't save us," in October 2020 and have recently been teasing new music, gearing up for their third full length.
Recommended Tracks: "that won't save us," "Forget Me Now," "Chasing Ghosts," & "Voices"
Bishop Briggs
Bishop Briggs rose quickly in the music world. Her first single "Wild Horse" reached number 1 on Spotify's US Viral Chart, and number 2 on Spotify's Global Viral 50 charts. Her music doesn't fit into just one genre. She's now two full length albums into her career with no sign of slowing down.
Recommended tracks: "Wild Horses," "JEKYLL & HYDE," "White Flag," & "Higher"
bülow
bülow is a German-born Canadian singer. She's been releasing music since her debut EP Damaged Vol. 1 in 2017, which earned her the title of "New Artist of the Week" by Apple Music Canada. She's yet to put out a full-length album, having four EPs under her belt now. Literally as I'm writing this, she just dropped a new single, "First Place." Her music is so unique sounding as she continues to push the limits as to what she can create.
Recommended tracks: "First Place," "Not a Love Song," "Own Me," & "You & Jennifer."
Eat Your Heart Out
Eat Your Heart Out is an Australian rock band, led by lead singer Caitlin Henry. They've been signed to Fearless Records since 2017. They've released three EPs, Distance Between Us (2015), Carried Away (2017), and Mind Games (2017). In 2019, they released their debut album, Florescence. They only have roughly 81,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, but their cover of "Shape of You" for Fearless Record's Punk Goes Pop Vol. 7, has garnered over three million streams, and their lead single, "Carousel," for their debut album, has over one million streams. They've got a strong future ahead of them.
Recommended tracks: "Carousel," "Closer to the Sun," "Spinning," & "Blinded."
Envoi
Cleveland-based Envoi is led by lead singer Madeline Finn. They went off the grid for a little while, while Finn was on American Idol. While they may not have the catalog or social media presence that a lot of these other bands and artists have, the songs they do have really speak for themselves. They're a rising act with a lot of potential ahead of them.
Krewella
Krewella is two sisters, Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf, from a Chicago suburb, Northbrook. They're an electronic dance music duo who blends genres together. There was previously a third member of the group, Kris Trindl, who sued them for "wrongfully" being thrown out of the band. They ended up settling out of court in 2015, and the sisters put it behind them and haven't slowed down. They've headlined EDM festivals across the globe, including Ultra Music Festival, Electric Daisy Carnival, Stereosonic, Spring Awakening, Sunburn Festival and Paradiso festival. Those performances gained them the 2012 International Dance Music Award for "Best Breakthrough Artist." Since their formation in 2007, they've released four EPs and two albums, the most recent of which, zer0, was released in January 2020. Krewella has proven again and again that they're not slowing down.
Recommended tracks: "Greenlights," "Team," "Beggars" & "Ring of Fire"
Lights
Lights Poxleitner-Bokan, known as just Lights, is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. She's known for an electropop and contemporary synth-pop sound, but she played around with genres and sounds to get there. Her 2009 and debut album, The Listening, was characterized as gentle indie-electronic alt-rock. Her 2011 follow-up album, Siberia, on the other hand, was characterized by a "heavier" sound than her previous works. Along with her five studio albums, Lights has also released a graphic novel in 2018 called Skin&Earth: Volume one. She's won pop album of the year twice at the JUNO Awards, once in 2015 with Little Machines, and then again in 2018 with Skin&Earth. Being married and having a child isn't slowing her down, even though it's something that's often seen as impossible to do for women.
Recommended tracks: "We Were Here," "Kicks," "Savage" & "Almost Had Me."
MARINA
Marina Lambrini Diamandis, known mononymously as Marina, previously as Marina and the Diamonds, is a Welsh singer, songwriter and record producer. She came to prominence upon placing second in the BBC's Sound of 2010. Her sophomore album, Electra Heart, a concept album about a character of the same name. however, would become her first number-one project in the UK and be certified gold in both the US and UK. Her third album, Froot (2015) would be the first to gain entry in the US Billboard 200, where it reached number 8. She's been nominated for over a dozen awards throughout her career, and boasts over eight million monthly listeners on Spotify. Marina proves that women can not only be successful artists, but also producers, having produced Froot alongside David Kosten.
Recommended: "Man's World," "How to Be a Heartbreaker," "Primadonna" & "Savages"
Paramore
Paramore has been on the scene since 2003, led by lead singer Hayley Williams. They're released five studio albums in that time, including most recent After Laughter. They rose in the industry early, most notably with their sophomore album, Riot!. Since, they've been leaders in the genre of music, while still not being afraid to push boundaries. Hayley Williams has notably spoken out about their big hit "Misery Business" and has pushed back on it, saying it has no place in modern times. People tend to use it as a women empowerment or solidarity song, and she majorly disagrees, saying it was written from a narrow-minded perspective. This is in reference to the lyrics "Once a whore, you're nothing more / I'm sorry, that'll never change." The band announced in 2018 that they would no longer be playing that song live, because they've grown from it. Williams uses her platform to help others, to spread awareness, and she's learned to grow from her past. Paramore has seen over a decade of success, and they continue to push boundaries of the music they can create.
Recommended tracks: "Fake Happy," "Ain't It Fun," "Brick by Boring Brick" & "Hard Times"
P!nk
I don't think there's much I need to say hear about P!nk. She's been an icon since the early 2000's. She's released eight studio records, most recently Hurts 2B Human in 2019. She's been nominated for over two hundred awards, winning 131 of them. She's known as a trailblazer constantly pushing the envelope and breaking boundaries. She's inspired dozens of mainstream artists, including Demi Lovato, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and Tegan and Sara. All of this, and she's a proud mom to two children.
Recommended tracks: "Raise Your Glass," "So What," "Walk Me Home," & "Hustle."
PVRIS
PVRIS is led by lead singer Lynn Gunn. In 2020, they released their third studio album, Use Me, and with it, Gunn said she was done letting the pressure of the music industry get to her. She had felt that, being a woman lead singer and frontwoman, she had to share the credit equally with the rest of the band. But now, after a conversation with the band, she's taking full credit, coming forward as the sole creative force behind the band. The lyrics, the melodies, all of it comes straight from her. If that's not strength, I don't know what is.
Recommended tracks: "Holy," "Fire," "Dead Weight" & "Hallucinations"
Stand Atlantic
Stand Atlantic are an Australian pop punk band that formed in 2012. They're fronted by lead singer Bonnie Fraser. They signed to Hopeless Records in 2018, and their sophomore album Pink Elephant (2020) debuted at number 23 on the ARIA Album Chart. They've been featured in magazines like Rock Sound and Kerrang!. They brilliantly build off the classic pop punk sound to create something fresh and modern.
Recommended tracks: "Jurassic Park," "Hate Me (Sometimes)," "Wavelength" & "Skinny Dipping."
Other Artists
The following are other female artists, or female fronted-bands that also deserve recognition, but quite frankly, I don't know enough about to write up a bio or give recommended tracks for. They're still getting included, because they deserve it.
Hey Monday (has been on hiatus since 2011)
The Summer Set (not female-fronted, but the drummer, Jess Bowen, is a woman, and that's very rare)
We Are the In Crowd (was supposed to end their hiatus that began in 2016 to play Slam Dunk in 2020, but the festival got postponed until 2021, which will be their first show in six years)
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