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.  Continue reading →