Women’s History Month is coming to an end. Many have taken the time to celebrate women of the past, but people often forget to celebrate the women who are living and making history right now. There are many women, especially in the music industry, who are making history and using their platforms to empower other women. Here are three women in modern music to honor this month:
Ariana Grande
Grande is a pop singer and is also known for her acting career. She debuted in the music industry in 2013 with her album titled “Yours Truly.” She has since had hit songs like “Baby I” and “Dangerous Woman.”
Grande has made history with her ability to create instant hit songs. She holds the record as the artist with the most songs to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. She has had five songs do this. She has also had other achievements on the Hot 100, which include occupying the top three spots on the chart simultaneously in February of 2019.
Outside of being a woman in music and making history, Grande has also used her music to discuss the power that women have, especially sexually. Her song “God is a Woman” explains that a woman’s sexual power is so strong that by the end of intimacy, you will no longer believe that God is a man.
“You love it when I touch you, my one. When all is said and done, you’ll believe God is a woman,” sings Grande in the chorus of the song, which was released in 2018.
Nicki Minaj
Minaj is a rapper, singer and songwriter who entered the music industry in 2007 with her mixtape: “Playtime Is Over.” She later became a mainstream hip-hop artist in 2010 with her debut album: “Pink Friday.” Minaj has written and recorded hit records like “Starships” and “Chun-Li” throughout the scope of her career.
Minaj has been making history as a female rapper since the beginning of her career. Minaj was the first female rapper to make a million dollars off a mixtape with “Playtime is Over.” Since then, she has continued to make history. She holds many records including being the Black female with the most entries on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart with 114 songs. She is also the most followed rapper on Instagram with over 132 million followers.
Outside of being a woman making history with her career, Minaj also uses her platform to empower other women and speak up for women like her. She often addresses double standards and how more is expected of women, especially in entertainment and music.
“When you’re a girl, you have to be everything. You have to be dope at what you do but you have to be super sweet. And you have to be sexy, and you have to be this, and you have to be that, and you have to be nice. It’s like, I can’t be all those things at once – I’m a human being,” said Minaj in her 2010 MTV documentary titled “My Time Now.”
Taylor Swift
Swift is a singer and songwriter who primarily makes country and pop music. She entered the music industry in 2006 with her self-titled album: “Taylor Swift.” Throughout the span of her career, she has had hit records like “You Belong with Me” and “We Are Never Getting Back Together.”
Swift has had a successful career. She holds the record for the female artist with the most entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She has had 129 songs appear on the chart. Beyond that, she has been nominated for 41 Grammy awards, has won 11 of those awards and was the first woman to win Album of the Year at the Grammys twice.
Swift also uses her platform to speak up and empower other women. Swift has often felt that men try to take credit for her success in the music industry. During one of her Grammys acceptance speeches, Swift touched on this topic and offered advice to the young girls watching.
“I want to say to all the young women out there, there are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame. But if you just focus on the work and you don’t let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you’re going, you’ll look around and you will know that it was you,” Swift said at the Grammys in 2016.
These three women have all made history with their achievements, and they are still active and making music, which means they are probably going to break more records and continue to make more history.
These three women also use their platforms to empower other women. They do this by either discussing women in a powerful way, discussing women’s issues or offering advice to women. Let’s honor them this month.