The most empowering female artists revealed ahead of International Women’s Day … Miley Cyrus, Sia and Cyndi Lauper top the charts

abellenger Mar 8, 2024 5 min read

Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey and Billie Eilish are the UK’s most streamed female artists

Spice Girls are the third most streamed all-female band in the UK, two decades on since they formed
Deezer launches infinite AI-generated playlist of female artists, from superstars to emerging talents
The global music streaming platform will launch a WhatsApp hotline for listeners to celebrate female artists

Miley Cyrus’ GRAMMY-winning record ‘Flowers’ was the most listened-to empowerment song by female artists over the last 12 months, according to global music experiences platform, Deezer.

Sia’s ‘Unstoppable’, Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, Dua Lipa’s ‘New Rules ‘and Taylor Swift’s ‘The Man’ also made the list.

The new streaming data has been released by Deezer ahead of International Women’s Day to celebrate the impactful voices shaping the music landscape.

Miley Cyrus’ chart-topper ‘Flowers’ is an irresistible self-love anthem. The lyrics promote female empowerment and independence following a breakup, with the chorus lyrics concluding ‘Yeah, I can love me better than you can’.

Sia’s ‘Unstoppable’ encourages listeners to break through their insecurities and express emotions to become forces to be reckoned with, and Cyndi Lauper’s 1983 classic conveys that women have no need for male approval or affirmation.

It comes as Deezer reveals there are 40,000 user generated playlists titled “Girl Boss”, 20,200 titled “Girl Power”, and 8,000 titled “Female Rage”.

In the UK, the most streamed female artist of 2023 was Lady Gaga, followed by Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande and SZA.

Across the pond in the US, Taylor Swift was the top streamed female artist, with Miranda Lambert, Dua Lipa, SZA and Carrie Underwood making up the top five.

Deezer’s data also analysed the most streamed all-female bands of 2023. Little Mix topped the chart, followed by Destiny’s Child. The Spice Girls took third place, continuing to spice up our lives 20 years after their formation.

In the US, the most streamed all-female bands include The Chicks, Maddie & Tae and South Korean girl group, NewJeans.

Deezer will launch its “Women’s Voices” channel on 8^th March, which will feature a selection of user generated playlists alongside Deezer curated playlists, which celebrate female artists in contemporary and historical music.

The channel will also harness Artificial Intelligence to create an infinite playlist unique to the user, via Deezer’s iconic feature, ‘Flow’. Its ‘Girl Power’ mode will allow users to discover an endless stream of female voices, from superstars to emerging talents.

The global music experience platform will also extend an invitation for users to share their stories about female artists who influenced and inspired them this year through a special WhatsApp hotline called ‘HerLine Deezer’.

Commenting on the importance of empowering female artists, Senior lecturer in Psychology at the University of Lincoln UK, Dr Annemieke van den Tol, said “Many of the songs listed in Deezer’s streaming data are so empowering because of the lyrics and the empowering image the female performers portray (in addition to being amazing singers and performers).

“Such strong female role models are particularly important for young women, who are still searching to find out who they are and want to be.

“Research shows that musical preferences may be more informative about someone’s personality than their hobbies, political choices, fashion choices, or what type of books of newspaper they read. With studies finding music is the number one topic that university students talk about when they are just getting to know each other.

“This is one of many reasons why it is so important that there is music out there that can celebrate being a strong, confident, and powerful woman”.

Deezer is disrupting the music sector, last week it delivered record results, growing its revenue and subscribers as it aims to achieve cashflow breakeven this year.

It comes after the recent launch of its Artist Centric Payment System, the first major change to royalty payments since the inception of streaming – which aims to better protect and reward artists.

It also leads the way on highly advanced fraud detection systems – and offers superior sound quality via HiFi streaming, which rival Spotify does not.

Top 10 most-listened-to empowerment songs by women artists

*data analysis Feb 2023 – Feb 2024