2024 gave us no shortage of significant and historical moments. Between the election, the Olympics, and a year full of countless films and albums, we never had a dull moment. As a pop culture aficionado, I want to examine the phenomenon that is the women of pop music. We received dozens of albums and even more amazing performances from women in the pop world including, but not limited to, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Kacey Musgraves, and Billie Eilish. While each of these women hold significance in the pop music canon, there are three more artists that undeniably ruled the airwaves in 2024: Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Charli xcx. If you made it out of the year without hearing “Pink Pony Club” or “Espresso”, or seeing some of your favorite brands change their logo to brat green, you were living under a rock. What is so special about these three? They each have been writing music and performing for almost a decade to modest but loyal fan bases, and then suddenly became household names with sold out arena and festival tours. Reportedly, they even took time to reach out to one another and check in about their wellness. Some may see them as underdogs that finally had their big break. I see them as hardworking, badass women who demonstrate if you stay true to who you are, your people will find and celebrate you. Let’s acknowledge each of them and share what we can learn from their music and their stories.
Chappell Roan
After releasing her first full length album last year the Midwest Princess is a pop music supernova. She is a queer woman from a rural town who dresses in drag and advocates for her own mental health. Her music is boldly feminine, fun, and vulnerable. “Pink Pony Club” and “Good Luck, Babe” have become ubiquitous queer anthems, not only because they are catchy and fun to sing along to, but because the lyrics go beyond what many consider to be a typical pop song. Her lyrics are nuanced and informed to her own experiences, yet undeniably relatable to her incredibly large fanbase. So what can we learn from Chappell Roan? Acting within your integrity only makes you more appealing and relatable to your tribe. How do we stay within our integrity? The first step is having a clear understanding of your values. Values provide a compass to use when navigating difficult decisions. When we are put in a difficult situation where it can feel like there is no “right choice” we can lean on our values as a way to make a decision that reflects our integrity. The rise to fame Chappell had this year can only be described as exponential, and she publicly stated that she had difficulty tackling the rapid onset of fame. Despite her difficulties, however, her actions proved that one of her core values is protecting her mental health and well-being. This resulted in her canceling shows, standing up for herself against toxic paparazzi, and going online to publicly ask her fans to give her grace when she does not present with the same persona as she does on stage. While these actions caused some harsh criticism and unkind jokes, it also strengthened the resolve of her fan base. Her existing fans saw someone who had bad days just like them and felt excited to support her, and she gained new fans from people who saw that she was authentic and not a cog in the pop music machine. Acting within your integrity does not mean you have to be in a serious situation with a difficult decision to make. For Chappell it also shows up in her production choices, choosing to make music that is intentionally fun. Chappell is reported as asking other artists to “stop trying to impress the music industry and start trying to impress gay people.” Advocating for the queer community is clearly a value of hers, and she has soared in the process.
Sabrina Carpenter
This Short and Sweet star swept the nation with her album’s debut single, “Espresso,” a song that exudes confidence while also being witty and clever. She instantly sold out an area tour for an album that at the time only had only one single. This felt bittersweet for Sabrina’s long time fan base: while they mourned the loss of an artist who they felt an intimate closeness with, they also felt joy for the justice Sabrina had achieved. I am not referring to the justice of a star rising to the fame she deserves, but the justice of a public relations feat that took 3 years to accomplish. In 2021, Sabrina was caught in a scandal that wrongfully painted her as a homewrecker. At that time, a young female artist released an album that extensively detailed a break-up that felt even more sour when the ex-boyfriend immediately began dating another woman – the other woman being Sabrina. While none of these artist’s songs directly blamed Sabrina or expressed any disdain for her, the media’s portrayal of the event caused this artist’s fans to grab their pitchforks. It is a storyline we see time and time again where the media makes the lazy decision to pit two women against one another for the sake of more clicks and views. Sabrina, however, did not let the narrative end there. A year later she released her 5th album, emails i can’t send, where she addressed the scandal in her song “because i liked a boy,” among other tracks. While this album was adored by her loyal fanbase, it still did not hold the power to initiate mass forgiveness from the general public. Fast forward to 2024, all of her success implies that the public either realized they fell prey to a nasty media tactic, or just forgot about the scandal in general. Regardless, many people spent the summer joyfully bopping along to her album. So how do we reflect on what Sabrina has taught us? Don’t let the bastards get you down! Honestly. It would have been so easy for Sabrina to quit in 2021 after the media portrayed her as an enemy, and even worse, not a girls-girl. She certainly did not quit, however! Moving on from the past and all the negative connotations she held, her most recent album, Short and Sweet, is unapologetically sexy, fun, and radiates girlish charm. This is an act of advocacy for herself: she was once accused of being so sexy and tantalizing that she stole another woman’s man and now she is fiercely embracing her sex appeal without giving a damn. This is something that has fans in a trance. We love seeing someone thrive in spite of any hate that has been flung in their direction. Fans are rightfully flocking to arenas all over America to see her sing these songs that have sparked a resurgence of sensual pop music.
Charli xcx
Last but certainly not least is one of my personal favorite artists, Charli xcx. Her latest album, brat, took the world by storm. The cover art for the album features a solid neon green background with the word “brat” in a simple, pixelated Arial font. Charli has since revealed she somewhat made this aesthetic choice to save money, as she did not think the album would generate significant revenue; however, the album quickly became her biggest success, and the minimalist and intentionally striking aesthetic choice was sensationalized. Corporations changed their logos to reflect the brat marketing, the DNC utilized brat colors when Charli endorsed Kamala Harris, and even NATO posted the word “peace” in brat format on their instagram (somewhat problematically…). The simplicity of the cover is deeper than just saving money. Charli reports the intentionally jarring color is meant to feel “eye-catching in all the wrong ways”—a tongue-in-cheek nod to online aesthetic trends and internet culture. When brat’s 2nd single and music video, “360”, was released, I knew she was about to release a deeply profound album. “360” pokes fun at internet fame, specifically commenting on the society’s noxious and insatiable need for constant content from hot women. The rest of the album flows with themes of defiance, freedom, and raw self-expression. She acknowledges that while she is one of the hot internet girls, she also has crippling anxious thoughts, pondering the future and her sense of self beyond the pop world.
I would argue we have sample lessons to learn from Charli xcx, but I will keep it simple: Charli teaches us that confidence is best harnessed when paired with vulnerability. This may feel antithetical in nature. Confidence allows us to embrace and present our strengths assertively, while vulnerability fosters authenticity and trust, allowing others to see our genuine self. Charli acknowledges that in our society, when confidence stands alone, it can sometimes come across as detached or intimidating; vulnerability softens this, adding relatability and warmth. The paradox gives us permission to present fully self-assured. The pairing of confidence and vulnerability invites us to become secure in our identity without needing to hide our challenges or fears. It is significant that Charli thought this album would not be successful. She wrote these songs that embodied this complex paradox thinking it would not resonate with the masses. I am happy to report she was wrong.
In conclusion, I am so thankful for the women in pop music. They use their platform to show us how to hold boundaries, have fun, and embrace = imperfection. If you are not a fan of pop music this may have all seemed like a bunch of nonsense, but I would encourage you to open your mind, heart, and ears and turn on some of these girlie’s hits.