Making music isn’t just about playing an instrument, writing lyrics, or singing; it’s about the performance quality and aesthetic the artist has that captivates the public. This pattern of ‘going all out’ in a performance has been seen since the 1990s and 2000s, with Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Madonna, pop stars who all brought an extra spark to their shows – remarkable choreography, refreshing style, visual storytelling – making their performance a striking event, rather than just a space for singing. This pattern is a reflection of how women have always had to work harder to stand out and secure a lasting name in the industry, as seen at the 2026 Coachella, where Sabrina Carpenter created narrative and scenery while Justin Bieber played songs on his computer and sang along.
This same logic applies to today’s artists; live performances and music videos have become a massive production to make the public connect not just through sound, but visually as well. Artists who go above and beyond during their concerts like Xuxa and Lady Gaga are known for performing with a set that transports the audience to the world the song creates, with various props and images that connect with their music and enhance the experience for the viewer. Though decades and cultures apart, Xuxa and Lady Gaga share a core belief: a song is never just a song, it’s a world waiting to be built.
Xuxa has always shown this fantastical universe with spaceships and elaborate sets ever since her program, not just concerts. Gaga carries the same instinct forward, she uses staging as a way to transform the song; like in her bloody ‘Paparazzi’ performance at the VMAs 2009, where the spectacle re contextualised the song into something more confrontational, where she shows how obsessing over someone can lead to pain, later in 2025 she performs the song with crutches, symbolising dependence turning into autonomy; also in her Copacabana concert, where she opened an enormous hoop skirt on stage which revealed her dancers inside. Together, they reveal a common philosophy: truly memorable performance doesn’t just showcase music, it reshapes how the audience experiences it.
Artists like Tate McRae and Marina Sena use different methods to enrich their performance. Tate is a professional dancer, so while presenting she leans on an alluring choreography and stunts which dazzle the viewer, as can be seen in her latest performance at Lollapallooza; Marina Sena sings beautifully, and uses bewitching melodies and visual identity to enthral the audience.
Beyond the stage, the aesthetic surrounding pop artists becomes part of the product itself. Today’s defining pop stars aren’t trending just because of their talent, but because of their visual identity. Sabrina Carpenter turned bangs, kisses, and dark humour with flirty innuendo into her personality. Olivia Rodrigo managed to connect herself to the colour purple, stars, and the complicated feelings of adolescence and early adulthood within just 2 albums.
But this connection is also built by the fans themselves, turning a song into something they can wear. Back in 2023, with the release of Midnights and the start of The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift got thousands of people to make friendship bracelets for their favorite songs, based on her song, “You’re On Your Own Kid” where she encourages herself and other people to live their lives, make memories, and friendship bracelets. Through her lyrics, each album becomes a story in the hands of her fans. Each one has its own concept where the fans connect daily-life elements, like clothes, drinks, hobbies, and even colours and emotions, causing them to relate more to the songs.
These elements transform the artist into more than just a singer with amazing songs: they become a lifestyle, one that gets marketed alongside the music, turning the artist into a cohesive, sellable image instead of just a voice.
On the other hand, singers with simpler aesthetics – who perform with just a guitar or just sing without great theatrics or don’t have a specific aesthetic – often struggle to gain the same recognition. Emerging artists like Elle Coves, Lou Garcia, and Bella Kay struggle to find a voice in the industry, as they have yet to consolidate a concept strong enough to set them apart. In contrast, rising artists like Adéla, Audrey Hobert, and Pinkpantheress carved a clear differentiator: Adéla challenges industry taboos while wearing a grunge look with ballet slippers, Audrey Hobert embeds her quirky confidence and wit into her songs and performances, and Pinkpantheress has her recognisable flannel, y2k, very british style and melody.
This shows that a distinct and unique style can gradually lead to stardom. But standing out doesn’t always happen naturally; for some artists, achieving that differentiator sometimes requires a total rebranding. Zara Larsson, for instance, shifted from the generic bubblegum-pop image to a more mystical, tropical, dolphin-like aesthetic in order to reposition herself in a saturated industry. This shift not only helped her gain more recognition, but she states that “Midnight Sun” is who she really is and ‘it’s the joy’ in an interview for Elle Magazine.
A similar shift can be seen with Charli XCX, whose ‘brat’ era redefined her public image almost overnight, turning a specific aesthetic into a cultural moment bigger than any single song. Brat became more than just an album: it became a fashion aesthetic and full cultural brand; it created a whole identity beyond music, the acid-green cover and lowercase font deliberately indicated an unpolished, “messy” visual message, which expanded far beyond the songs themselves. “Brat Summer” took over social media, with people using the green and font to caption anything from a night out to a mood, whether it had to do with the album or not. Brands, meme accounts, and even political campaigns borrowed the aesthetic because it had become recognizable on sight. What started as one artist’s era ended up functioning like a product: a look, a mindset, a way of presenting yourself as unbothered and a little chaotic, making people embrace their messiness without worry.
Charli XCX, once known as the girl who sang ‘Boom Clap’ everywhere, became a beacon of accepting who you are in an unapologetic way. The transformations not only refreshed hers and Zara’s image but also revitalised their career, proving that reinvention can be just as powerful as raw talent when it comes to staying relevant.
Ultimately, the pop stars of today aren’t just musicians – they are performers, brands, and living aesthetics carefully constructed to sell not only songs, but entire worlds. From the grand productions of Lady Gaga and Xuxa, to the sellable identities of Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter, to the reinvention of Zara Larsson and Charli XCX, the pattern is made clear: for women, visibility often depends on spectacle as much as talent, as we can see through the comparison of Sabrina Carpenter and Justin Bieber at Coachella and the need for Zara Larsson and Charli XCX to rebrand.
However, as seen on the song “Goddess” by Laufey, people are tending to forget the gap between the god-like figure adored on stage and the ordinary human that is left when lights go out.
Perhaps that’s the real cost of turning artists into brands: the more polished the persona becomes, the easier it is to forget that there’s still a person underneath, someone who is part of an industry where the brand and the spectacle are what sell the music.
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The article above was edited by Giovanna Rodrigues.
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