The Music Industry’s “Femininomenon”
After a summer defined by Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter’s smash hit albums, are women taking over the music industry and reviving pop along the way?
A Marist student's record player, featuring "The Tortured Poets Department" by Taylor Swift and "HIT ME HARD AND SOFT" by Billie Eilish. Photo by Margaret Batta '27
Since the start of the new year, female artists have been dominating the charts like never before. Whether it’s industry veterans like Ariana Grande or newcomers like Chappell Roan, women have been topping the charts in all genres.
“Right now, women and men in the LGBTQ community are dominating … and their stardom has become almost instant — it feels, not gradual,” said Angelina Ruiz ‘27. “I think [the music industry] is thriving with a resurgence of old artists and new ones jumping to fame.”
From Beyoncé’s foray into country with “Cowboy Carter” to Adrianne Lenker’s familiar indie folk-rock sound in “Bright Future,” ladies are establishing a formidable presence throughout the industry as a whole. Even traditionally male-dominated genres, like rap and hip-hop, seem to be overtaken.
Jasmin Arias ‘27 has noticed this spike in female artists, “… especially in the music I listen to, like rap music. I would say that it is pretty male-dominated, but the women are getting in there. They get a lot of backlash because they say a lot of nasty stuff. But that’s the thing. Men will say the same stuff, and it's whatever. But when women say it: ‘Ew, that’s trashy.’ But that’s what’s so good about it.”
Women are making their mark on music, no matter the sound, and Marist College students love it.
“All the musicians I listed [as my favorites] are female or have women in the band,” said Katherine Ewald ‘27, a fan of indie/alternative-pop artists, including Lana Del Rey and The Marias.
When asked about this “Femininomenon,” William Silkowitz ‘27 agreed. “I would say [I’ve] definitely [seen an increase in female artists] overall, but especially in pop. I’ve found pop to often be led by female artists, but recently, it has been overwhelmingly women. Something about the nature of their tone or ‘vibe’ is just uplifting.”
While subsections of the pop genre have thrived over the years — such as the beloved indie pop genre, thanks to artists like boygenius and Clairo — traditional pop in its purest, sugariest form has largely been absent from the cultural zeitgeist, until today.
When interviewed, six out of seven Marist students noticed this shift, with an anonymous sophomore recognizing the strength of the revival, “but not to the extent of Y2K/2010s pop.”
“I think there’s been a resurgence in more fun, campy pop like Chappell Roan and Charli XCX, but I think pop, in general, has always been relevant,” said Isabella Loiacono ‘27.
Roan and XCX remain some of the largest players in the pop conversation with their albums, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” and “brat,” respectively, dominating the cultural conversation unlike ever before.
Though Roan’s queer-pop album was released in September 2023, it successfully retains its presence in the media. Nearly a year later, Roan boasts multiple songs still charting on Billboard’s Top 100, and multiple Marist students cited her as one of their favorite artists. Her breakout success recently earned her the award of Best New Artist at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.
Unlike Roan, XCX began releasing music as far back as 2008, with her debut synth-pop album “True Romance” officially releasing in 2013. Since then, the English singer has released albums periodically, with her most recent album, “brat,” being her biggest success.
XCX released “brat” in June 2024, instantly taking the world by storm. Numerous influencers and brands adopted some variation of the “brat summer” moniker based on the album’s mission statement of looking hot and partying 365 days a year. The album even stretched to American politics, with Vice President Kamala Harris branding her presidential election campaign’s social media presence off of the “brat”’ aesthetic. Nearly every Marist student interviewed cited “brat” as one of their favorite albums of the year.
“A lot of the bigger pop artists right now, like Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, they’re all women,” said Grayce Journick '27. “They’re making their mark, and they’re doing it well.”
The return of female pop stars, led by artists like Roan and XCX, has led to an understanding between female listeners and artists. “It’s great to see how many women are in the pop genre right now because I feel that wasn’t always the case,” said Loiacono. With a greater female presence in pop, female Marist students have reported feeling more represented.
Ewald said she felt connected to pop “not necessarily more than other [genres], but I do feel a bit more connected with it than I used to.”
“I have [felt more represented] because pop has been in many different forms. Like [Billie Eilish] is pop, but she is different,” Ruiz said.
While some women feel spoken to by the enigmatic synth-pop of Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poet Department,” others feel drawn to the queer, alternative-pop medley of “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” by Billie Eilish.
This feeling is not universal for all women, however. “When I listen to it, I don’t necessarily feel represented,” Arias said. “It’s just for fun.”
Whether people listen to see themselves reflected in their music, or just for the fun vibes, there’s no denying the success of women in the music industry, pop stars or rappers alike. As the year comes to a close, one wonders if this recognition of female artists will continue to thrive.
Until then, Marist students will continue bumpin’ these beats from female artists and wait patiently for awards season to wish these singers “Good Luck, Babe!”