I was recently scrolling through my Spotify playlists and I noticed that I don’t have many female musicians in them. Every playlist had mostly male artists. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I wanted to start supporting more female artists.
I took the time to search for some new singers that I had never heard before (or only heard a few songs from) and give them a listen to, as well as listen more to a few I found on TikTok. I’m always interested in finding new music, so I was open to anyone really. Instead of keeping these incredible women to myself, I wanted to share a couple of them, along with my top recommended songs by them.
Originally starting out as a Youtuber, Dodie’s music career has soared. I have been listening to Dodie for a little while now actually, but she deserves so much more recognition. With a few of her songs getting popular on TikTok, she is gaining more of an audience which is really exciting to see. She still posts videos and new songs on her YouTube before they get added to Spotify, so I love following her career. My favorite songs by her are “Monster”, “If I’m Being Honest”, and “Absolutely Smitten”. Highly recommend!
Originally found on TikTok, I realized how catchy a lot of Tessa’s songs are. After doing some research, I learned that she also started off on YouTube, which I had no idea about. Her voice is very unique and I love all of the music she’s put out so far. She also has such a fun sense of style and her bright yellow hair that she has now is definitely such a look (she’s also friends with Dodie, so they have a couple videos together on YouTube which is so fun!). The songs I’d recommend are “Bored”, “I Like (the idea of) You”, and “Not Over You”.
Once again another artist found on Tik Tok (shocker, I know), Ashe is someone who’s music I’ve really been enjoying listening to. A couple of her songs really blew up on TikTok, with almost 800K videos made to her sound. These viral songs are all really good, so I figured I should listen to a couple of her other songs and I love them! She’s another singer who just has a really distinct voice that is really different from everyone else. I’d recommend “After Life”, “Sometimes People Suck”, and “Moral of the Story”.
My cousin actually recommended Maggie Rogers to me, and as soon as I finally took the opportunity to listen to her, I fell in love with her music. Maggie’s songs are perfect for car rides with your friends on chilly summer nights, driving down town roads with the windows down or dancing in the rain. Her music really speaks to me and her voice is so beautiful. The songs I’ve been vibing to are “Love You For a Long Time”, “Fallingwater”, and “Light On”. My cousin recommends “Retrograde”, as well!
I actually found Orla Gartland on my Discover Playlist and I was really surprised by how much I actually enjoyed her music. I immediately fell in love with the song that was suggested. She is such an incredible songwriter. Her songs are the perfect mix between upbeat and calming and just generally a good time to listen to. The songs that I really enjoy are “Between My Teeth”, “Did It to Myself”, and “Lonely People”.
**Bonus: Sara Bareilles
I’d also just like to add a quick shoutout to Sara Bareilles. She has been my favorite musician for so long now and I think her songs get overlooked a lot. Obviously everyone knows “Love Song”, but she has so many songs that are even better than that one. She also wrote a musical, Waitress, and also helped produce and write music for a new TV show, Little Voices. She’s an incredible person and her voice and songwriting is unmatched. My favorite songs are “Gravity”, “Uncharted”, “Say You’re Sorry”, and “Hercules”.