THE RISE OF THE POP GIRLIES

Once upon a time, teenage girls plastered the walls of their bedrooms with posters of boy bands, swooning over their swoopy hair and obsessing over their every move. Ask any girl which member of One Direction she thought was going to marry her at thirteen, and she will have an answer (for me, it was Harry, of course). 

And while my fangirl heart still truly believes Harry Styles will fall in love with me one day, I’ve noticed a shift in the stars that teenage girls idolize. Gone are the days of the Beliebers (sorry Justin), the Jonas Brothers are all grown up, and One Direction has become an old wives tale, only remembered by those who were lucky enough to live through it. Enter the era of the pop girlies, as I like to call them, a generation of remarkable women who are not only dominating the charts but also rewriting the rules of the game. 

Let me introduce you to some of the main pop girlies, and tell you just why they’re so awesome.

SABRINA CARPENTER

Maybe you’re like me, and you remember falling in love with Sabrina Carpenter on Disney Channel’s Girl Meets World, where she played the unapologetically cool Maya Hart. Or maybe you came across her name when she was involved in the infamous love triangle with Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo (more on her later). Regardless, Sabrina Carpenter is currently the moment, and there’s no denying it. She rocked the stage opening for Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour (if you’ve ever heard of it), and her album Emails I Can’t Send still has TikTok in a chokehold—or at least me. Her newest single, Espresso, is a vibrant summer BOP, and the music video visuals are there to prove it. She’s cool, outspoken, and her music is so, so fun. I wasn’t lucky enough to watch her at Coachella last weekend, but I did see enough videos on Twitter to know I missed out on greatness. 

OLIVIA RODRIGO

Everyone remembers where they were when driver’s license dropped. The world shifted on its axis and has never been the same. Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album SOUR is one I consider perfection. I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t think she would be able to top it. Then her sophomore album GUTS came out. Man, was I wrong. Even though their relationship is a little murky right now, we all know that Olivia was heavily inspired by Taylor Swift, having been a swiftie since childhood, and it’s so evident in her lyrics. She really packs a punch. Now, what I think is so unique about Olivia is that she isn’t just a pop girlie, she’s slowly making her way to becoming a rock star. On GUTS, she explores more punky and grungy sounds, and to say she’s rocking the stage on the GUTS tour would be an understatement. Just watch a video of her performing her song obsessed, and tell me that isn’t a rock star in the making. Where Taylor Swift is the people’s princess, Olivia Rodrigo is the IT Girl. 

TAYLOR SWIFT

I don’t need to tell you about her. You know it all. I’ll tell you anyway. 2023 was arguably the year of Taylor Swift. Let’s recap some of the things she has accomplished recently. Highest grossing tour of all time (that’s still going on). Highest grossing concert film of all time (I once watched it 3 times in one day). Two re-recorded albums both debuting globally at #1. Nine VMA awards. Time Person of The Year. First person ever to win Album of The Year 4 times at the Grammys. Announced her 11th studio album The Tortured Poets Department. Needless to say, she’s dominating the industry. Whether you love her or hate her, there is no denying she is THE pop girlie. People are just obsessed with her. I say ‘people’, but I mean me. Transgressing nearly every genre, her music is like crack for teenage girls. And I took a poetry class in high school, so you can trust me when I say her lyrics put William Wordsworth to shame. 

Even though these three awesome women are, in my opinion, leading the rise of the pop girlies, there are so, so many more. There are the familiar faces we know and love: Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa, Beyoncé (although she is now a country girlie), but there are also new faces shaking up the pop landscape. Reneé Rapp and Chappell Roan both absolutely crushed it performing at Coachella, and are firmly making their way into the mainstream pop world, and we are so here for it. 

I feel so lucky to be alive at the same time as the pop girlies. In a world where teenage fangirls were once characterized as “boy-crazy”, they now find themselves drawn to a force of pretty cool, fearless women, and I just think that’s awesome. We still love our boy-band heartthrobs, of course, but 2024 is the year of the girls. 

By Nazly Elbosaty

Published April 17, 2024.