Featured: 10 Ways to Listen to Women in Music

Though there are a lot of women within the music industry, just like with a lot of things in life, they can sometimes be overshadowed by the men who put out music of the same genres. Women are often overly sexualized and looked at more so for their outward appearances instead of the quality of their music. These women of music should not be overshadowed and here is a list of 10 amazing women who are currently storming the charts.

Adele

It’s not a surprise that pop icon Adele is first on this list. Releasing her first album 19 in 2008, she hasn’t looked back since and has gone on to win a multitude of awards. Her latest album, 25, which was released in November of 2015, broke sales records in many different countries upon release. It’s first single, "Hello" broke both the record for most views in a day on Vevo and the fastest song to get 1 billion views on Youtube.

Lorde

Lorde, a singer-songwriter whose genres include indie-pop and electropop, was first introduced to the world in 2013 with the release of her song "Royals" from her first studio album, Pure Heroine. It was an instant hit and made Lorde the youngest artist to reach #1 on the Billboard Top 100 in over 20 years, as she was only 17 years old at the time. Since then she has moved on to win numerous awards, including two Grammys, and was named as one of Time Magazine most influential teenagers.

Daughter

Fronted by Elena Tonra, Daughter is an indie folk band that has been around the music scene since 2010. Their debut album, If You Leave, was released in 2013 and arguably featured their most popular song, "Youth". Since then, they have released various EPs as well as another studio album, Not to Disappear, at the beginning of 2016. Though less known as others on this list, Daughter is definitely a band worth listening to.

Sia

Though Sia has been around the music scene since 1997, when she sang on two albums for an Australian band called Crisp, she has been gaining the attention of many people for her most recently released electropop albums and her giant wigs that hide her face while she performs. She has released six studio albums in total, including 1000 Forms of Fear in 2014, which is home to popular songs such as "Chandelier" and "Elastic Heart". Her most recent release, This is Acting, despite only being released in January 2016.

Paramore

Frontwoman Haley Williams is hard to miss with her fire-red hair and big personality. In 2005, Paramore released their first pop punk album, All We Know is Falling in 2004 and have been going strong ever since. Even after losing two of its founding members, Williams is still standing tall as the lead singer of the band, with their most recent release being a self-titled album in 2013, featuring songs such as "Ain’t it Fun" and "Still Into You", which, though they may sound slightly more “poppy” than previously released songs, are still firm in the band’s rock roots.

Evanescence

Lead by singer Amy Lee, Evanescence is a rock band formed in 1995 which, after a recent hiatus, is still playing loud and proud. After releasing a few EPs, the band made their first real mark on the music scene with Fallen, which was released in 2003. With an additional two albums under their belt and a recent return from hiatus, it is rumored that the band will be going on tour again in 2016.

Birdy

Storming onto the scene at a very young age, Birdy is a folk singer-songwriter who got her start from winning a UK talent competition at age 11, the now-19-year-old has gained an audience by covering well known songs by other artists as well as writing her own beautiful songs. With many of her songs being featured in movies such as The Fault in Our Stars and Brave she is easily recognizable, even if you don’t think you know who she is initially.

The Band Perry

Made up of a group of siblings, with Kimberly Perry on lead vocals, this country band was discovered in 2008 and released their first self-titled album in 2010. Their second single off of that album, "If I Die Young" reached #1 on the country chart and #14 on the Billboard Top 100. In August 2015 they released their most recent single, "Live Forever" which adds a pop flair to their classic country sound and gives fans something to look forward to from their upcoming album.

CHVRCHES

This band, consisting of Lauren Mayberry on lead vocals, is a synthpop band from Scotland that released their first album, The Bones of What You Believe in 2013, which gained them widespread critic acclaim. Though "The Mother We Share" is by far their most popular song, many of their other tracks, including "We Sink" and "Gun" have appeared in various TV shows, such as Grey’s Anatomy, and video games. Their recently released second album, Every Eye Open, doesn’t disappoint, bringing in an 80s feel while still remaining modern and appealing to newer generations.

Taylor Swift

It’s hard to find a soul on Earth who doesn’t know this name. Whether you knew her in her humble beginnings as a 19-year-old country singer, with hits like "Tim McGraw" and "Our Song", or are more familiar with her pop princess-crossover, with songs such as "Blank Space" and "Shake It Off", her rise to pop stardom is no secret to anyone. With a multitude of awards under her belt as well as the title of Billboard’s Woman of the Year, Taylor doesn’t look to be stopping anytime soon.

Special thanks to cleopatra. and lily hughes. for editing.