I’m All About Girl Pop

Growing up, I had a lot of internalized misogyny. I was convinced that boy things would always be better than girl things, and this definitely included musicians. I loved Ben Folds Five and *NSYNC, but female singers? Ew, they sang so high. They couldn’t carry the weight of an emotional song like a man could.

Lies!

So many lies that kept me from loving some really wonderful female singers. Thankfully, I’ve grown out of that internalized misogyny, and now I’m free to love both male and female musicians. Which is fantastic, because there are some truly phenomenal girl pop creators making my kind of music right now.

1. Taylor Swift. Four months after 1989 came out, I still listen to the full album at least three times a week. I cannot stop! I was never much into TSwift as a country singer, but when she made the switch to pop, she stole my heart forever. I love every song on her album (with the occasional exception of This Love, which is sometimes too slow for my preferred car jams). I mean, seriously, the amount of times I say, “This one is my favorite! No…this one is my favorite!” is ridiculous, considering I’ve had four months to decide. Taylor is queen of pop, and I’m a happily devoted subject.

2. Betty Who. Tumblr made me aware of Betty, and thank goodness. I played Take Me When You Go so often in the car that the kids I nanny started singing her songs under their breath while doing homework. She captures young love angst so well, and I always feel so understood after listening to her album. Yeah, girl, we do put up with so much just to feel loved. Sing it.

3. Marina and the Diamonds. My friend Abby found out I was into girl pop, and she told me I had to try Marina. I rolled my eyes, because I’m just self-absorbed enough to think that if something is cool, then I already know about it. Nope! Abby was right, and I needed Marina in my life. She has got dance pop down, and I cannot listen to anything she’s made without immediately swaying side to side….and then jumping up and throwing my body around in something that loosely resembles dancing. It’s amazing.

4. Florence and the Machine. A friend once told me about this insane artist who was absolutely ridiculous, and when she specified that the person she was talking about was Florence, I held up my hand. “Um, I love her,” I said. “She’s weird,” my friend insisted. “I know,” I said. “She’s weird and amazing.” I love Florence. She’s weird. She’s amazing. Listen to her.