Playlist: Celebrating Women’s History Month With Pop Empowerment

This pop-indulgent playlist is here to remind you who really runs the world. Girls.

Written by Miranda Robertson

Illustrated by Thuy-Nhu Phung

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, there’s no better time to commemorate the women who made the world of pop what it is today. From the heartfelt Taylor Swift track “mad woman” to the powerful sensation unleashed on Beyonce’s “Formation,” this playlist showcases how women's voices inspire change, confidence, and rebellion via music. Through easy-listening radio tunes, these empowering melodies help girls understand the strength that comes with being themselves. 

After the rise of pop music in the '50s, “girl groups” gained a huge following in the next decade. Though most of the groups at the time sang songs written by men, the presence of women’s voices in the pop music mix was still a big leap. Through the next few decades, pop saw a progression in how the genre treated women, bringing artists such as Cher in the ’70s, Madonna in the ’80s, and Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani in the ’90s and ’00s, to light. These successes carry on to today, with artists such as Ariana Grande and Doja Cat dominating the pop-music charts. As the landscape of pop evolves, each era of songstresses have brought with them a distinguishable voice and image to make a historical mark in music. 

As we rejoice in women’s significance through history, these hits from the past five decades remind us that god absolutely is a woman.