What do you think of when you hear the words 2020s pop girlies?
If it’s that picture of Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Billie Eilish from the 67th GRAMMYs being likened to the PowerPuff Girls, you’re not alone. But why is that image of female friendship so significant to the question of women in the pop industry? As I’m sitting here writing this article and blasting ‘expectations’, Olivia Rodrigo’s new collaboration with Chappell Roan, I think it’s a clear representation of the cultural shift that we are seeing between the industry of the 2000s-10s and this new wave of 2020s pop girl solidarity.
The 2000s and 2010s are infamous for the music industry’s toxicity, especially for women, with the mistreatment of Britney Spears by the press leading to her 2007 breakdown, and the vilification of Amy Winehouse that encouraged her addiction. Thinking of women in pop from when I was growing up, I remember the media-crafted rivalries between artists like Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, and Cardi B and Beyonce, fed by a “this town ain’t big enough for the two of us” mentality. In a male-dominated industry, the media has always acted as if there is only space for one woman alongside the nine men in the Top 10, encouraging competition, rather than solidarity, between female musicians.
These click-bait dramas weren’t left behind in the 2010s: the media tried its best to pit Rodrigo and Carpenter against each other after the release of ‘drivers license’ in 2021 (and over a man, of course). The tabloids and TikTok are obsessed with these “cat-fights”, every slightly suggestive lyric being used to create a feud under the misogynistic view that women in the music industry couldn’t possibly get along. But the current pop icons are fighting this idea… with friendship. They really are the Powerpuff Girls.
Rodrigo’s creation, Daisy Chain Fields, launched this summer, a festival described by the artist to be “founded on the belief that joy, community, and creativity can inspire meaningful change”, celebrating “the voices, artistry, and contributions of women in music”. The line-up was stacked with huge names from 90s icons Bikini Kill and the Breeders, to current stars Doechii and Chappell Roan. Rodrigo is using her platform to inspire community between women in the music industry, and there is already speculation over who will join the lineup next year. The ex-Disney star is bringing a breath of fresh air to the world of pop, refusing to allow sensationalist rumours and the industry’s misogyny continue to pit pop girlies against each other. She is instead creating a space where women can be celebrated side-by-side, without the constant need for comparison.
However, not every woman in the pop industry has embraced this new mentality of female solidarity. Taylor Swift, a formidable force in music, with 12 studio albums since 2006, continues to desperately cling on to her top spot. Swift received accusations of chart-blocking with her release of two new versions of ‘Patient Zero’ at the same time as Rodrigo and Roan’s ‘expectations’ remix. This isn’t the first time the artist has released new music at the same time as another female musician, dropping ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ on the same day as Rodrigo’s latest studio album, as well as past re-releases around music from Charlie xcx and Billie Eilish in 2024. This latest move has sparked criticism from fans as they predicted the release, another episode in the ongoing saga of Swift vs the 2020s pop girlies. Is this just another media-fueled female rivalry, or something more? In a time when women in the industry are moving away from these petty conflicts, let’s hope this really is a coincidence, and Swift has left this woman-on-woman drama where it belongs: in the last decade.
So what does all this mean for the future of the pop girlies? It looks like the industry is making a real move away from the misogynistic ways of the 2000s and 2010s, towards a place where women find solidarity and friendship in their work, rather than rivalry. As female artists set boundaries with the media and embrace collaborative work, it seems that genuine positive change is being made, and hopefully other pop girlies follow in the footsteps of Olivia Rodrigo and her Daisy Chain stars.
