Happy fall semester! Getting back into the groove of a semester of homework, exams, and essays is certainly a struggle. Sometimes it feels like no amount of extra espresso shots is enough to get you out of bed and to class or Club Stroz. But never fear! I have compiled a list of a few female artists who are on the rise and whose music is sure to inspire you and get your day going. Plus, who doesn’t love a little girl power?
1. Meghan Trainor
Meghan Tranior is a 20-year-old pop artist who has been creating music since 2011, when she released the first of three albums that she wrote, performed, recorded, and produced in her home studio. Her music earned a special place in Collegiettes’ hearts over the summer when she released her body-positive single “All About That Bass.” This catchy tune features uplifting lyrics such as, “Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top.” Trainor has plans to continue pleasing our ears with her cheerful music; her debut EP, Title, will be released on September 9.
2. Charli XCX
Charlotte Aitchison, better known by her stage name Charli XCX, is a synth pop musician from the UK whose talent is bursting at the seams, and she’s about to take the world by storm. With songs that iTunes describes as “neon Goth,” Charli XCX currently has two songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Her popularity exploded this summer after she was featured on “Fancy” with hit artist Iggy Azalea, and her song “Boom Clap” was included in the wildly successful movie, The Fault in Our Stars. New music from this talented woman can be heard in October when her album, Sucker, will be released.
3. Maddie & Tae
Maddie & Tae are two blonde country singers that graduated from high school just this year, but they are already wise enough to acknowledge what many Collegiettes across the country have known for a while. Their very first single, “Girl in a Country Song,” reflects upon the misogynistic threads running through many country songs, and fights against a genre that has recently been deemed as “bro country.” From NPR to E! News, many news networks are celebrating the song, which already has over 6 million views on YouTube and has been included on Billboard’s Top 25 Country Songs for the past 7 weeks. We look forward to hearing more from this girl-power group.
4. Tove Lo
Swedish artist Tove Lo honestly expresses the cycle of a relationship in her EP, Truth Serum, released earlier this year. The first song of the EP, “Not on Drugs,” expresses a relationship’s blissful beginnings, including the lyric: “I’m not on drugs / I’m just in love / you’re high enough for me.” Tove Lo’s raw lyrics in the final song, “Habits (Stay High),” express her struggle with engaging in unhealthy habits, such as binge drinking and drug use, to cope with a break-up. The artist recently gained publicity when “Habits (Stay High)” was remixed by Hippie Sabotage, and she is taking advantage of this attention by releasing another album at the end of this month, entitled Queen of the Clouds.