By Esme Campbell
This article was originally published in print, as part of ADRENALINE Magazine Issue 001, released December 2025. You can purchase remaining stock here.
Pop is the phoenix of the music world; it is an adaptable force that dies every decade to return as something else the next. The alt-pop grunge of the ’90s usurped the new wave of the ’80s. Noughties dance pop gave way to EDM influences in the 2010s.
Now, this disco punk era has stamped out its predecessor, but perhaps its defining feature will be the women who dominate it.
If you checked the charts every week last year, you would’ve seen a female artist atop the list for 34 of those weeks. Sabrina Carpenter’s trio of hits Espresso, Please, Please, Please and Taste gave her an accumulated 21-week reign, and Beyoncé, Gracie Abrams, and Charli XCX also shared their turns at the top.
Meanwhile, The Tortured Poets Department ran circles around the industry, becoming the most-streamed album on Spotify in a single day.
It’s a pattern that hasn’t let up in 2025. Lola Young seized control of the charts early this year with Messy, Chappell Roan has had two number ones and, more recently, rising star Olivia Dean crept to the top.
Independent female artists make up the biggest names in pop right now. From the formidable reign of the long-established, such as Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish, to the breakthrough of new voices like Chappell Roan and Tate McRae, pop is becoming women-dominated in a way that hasn’t been seen before.
Interestingly, there’s a tangible theme of nostalgia running through it all. Although culture is often cyclical, and recycles old trends – now in the return of flares, mullets, and vinyls – instead of a casual revisit, this time it has brought with it a whole retro revival.
Female artists seem to have been better at capitalising on this. Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia is a more on-the-nose nod to this phenomenon, but many of the women currently obliterating the charts are showcasing love letters to former pop eras in their work.
Pop stays popular by absorbing influences from other prevalent genres of the time, be it punk, hip-hop, or disco, and these inspirations tend to define each era. Although, the current style does show a boom in sounds drawn from 80s synth pop, 90s hip-hop and, most clearly, the 00s Y2K energy.
With her pop-punk rebellious vibe, Olivia Rodrigo is channeling something distinctly Paramore and Avril Lavigne in their early days, while Sabrina Carpenter’s production resembles early Britney. Tate McRae, Addison Rae, and, of course, Lady Gaga, also all feature sonic throwbacks to the start of the century.
Not to mention that two of last year’s chart toppers, Murder on the Dancefloor and Unwritten, were released over 20 years ago and have since resurrected, thanks to the films they featured in.
Pop nostalgia is evident in its sounds, but it seems that some artists are, themselves, the nostalgia. Lily Allen’s comeback has made waves with the recently released West End Girl, which is her highest-charting music in 11 years. And Charli XCX’s resurgence began with Crash in 2022, her most popular album since Sucker, before Brat blew it out the water last year.
There’s undoubtedly something to be said for the role of a rose-tinted past in successful music right now. But there’s another, more modern, contribution to this feminine revolution. Music marketed towards women is now being made by women.
The death of the boyband was transformative. Not only are we seeing fewer bands on the charts in general, but the former pop staple of cheesy smiles and cheesier hits has thrown in the towel. Records made for teenage girls, which were once written, produced, and performed by men, have now been pioneered by women. Independent female artists rose while boybands fell, and in an overthrow of the old ways, the teenage audience is reclaimed with relatable, women-led music.
This almost counter-cultural reshaping of the music industry is a testament to greater creative control. Women aren’t just the voices and faces of their music; more and more, they are the writers and producers, too. The result is something more confident, more powerful. It’s feminine in a non-conforming way which is a concept Olivia Rodrigo plays with in all-american bitch. From the Brat attitude that was last summer’s label to Chappell Roan’s Femininomenon, their artistic experimentation is transcending musical and cultural boundaries.
Unapologetic and uncompromising, the current women in pop are conveying a sense of freedom and invincibility. And whether it’s a coincidence or a cultural revolution, this era will be remembered for the female stars who shaped it.
Text Copyright 2025 © Esme Campbell/ADRENALINE Magazine.
Photography Copyright © reserved to its rightful owners.
Alexandra Pullen