In the commercial music industry, there’s no doubt that sexuality is used as a money-making tool. I’m not talking about simply singing about sex or the use of provocative images, but the honing of an artist’s image to become centered around being a sex object. While rap tends to be the biggest target for accusations of objectifying women, the reality is that women are objectified across almost every genre. While it is true that many female artists receive proper recognition for their talent, the innovative work that many women do in the industry is often discredited, overlooked, or not looked over at all as a result of this objectification.
Magazine issues like Revolver’s “25 Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock” focus on the physical attributes of female musicians, discrediting female musicianship (don’t worry Revolver, I’ll give you some good credit later on). Revolver also features an annual “Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock” calendar, which features said chosen chicks in various outfits and poses, some even resembling the classic “pin-up girl” image.
The good news is that more women are now becoming heard amongst their respective genres and circles, despite harassment and not being taken seriously. While Revolver’s “25 Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock” undermines the musical proficiency of many female artists, their website features multiple articles that respects and properly acknowledges the work of female artists and bands that include female artists.
Revolver also hosts the annual “Golden Gods Awards”, which features categories in best performance, etc. in gender sub-categories, awarding women and treating them as “Rock Godesses”. I hope that one day the removal of best “male” and “female” this or that can be done, and that sexism won’t invade a gender-congruent award system.
Regardless, something about a calendar reminiscent in many ways of a pin-up calendar as a way to pay homage to female musicians makes me uncomfortable. Pay homage to their talent and ambition, not their bodies. Here’s a list of 20 musicians from multiple genres who have paved the way for serious female musicianship.
1) Cristina Scabbia – Lacuna Coil
One of two lead singers in the heavy metal band Lacuna Coil, Cristina Scabbia puts on riveting, theatrical live performances that showcase her style, incredible vocal range, and endurance.
During a 2015 interview with Blabbermouth, Scabbia stated, “I’m not very happy about the female-fronted term, just because for me it’s very natural to think of a female in a band as a person like any other in the band. You can be a singer, or a guitar player, or a drummer, but I don’t do the separation of the sex[es] within the band.” Scabbia also wants to see more women in metal because, “Music is for everyone.” Very well put, Cristina.
2 & 3) Emily Armstrong and Siouxsie Medley
Hailing from Los Angeles, California, these two rocking chicks are members of the hard-rock band Dead Sara. As the contemporaries of many punk rock and grunge musicians, Armstrong delivers undeniably powerful and precise vocals, and Medley matches Armstrong’s energy with gritty, driving riffs.
Armstrong was nominated in Loudwire’s top vocalist category in 2012, Medley was nominated in Loudwire’s top guitarist category in the same year, and the band’s single “Weatherman” went to number 1 on Loudwire’s “10 Best Songs of 2012.”
Not only have they seen great success since the release of their first album, but the band performs and writes in styles outside of hard rock, blending in more traditional blues elements with many of their songs as well. Nice work, ladies.
4)Esperanza Spalding
Spalding hails from Portland, Oregon and has an impressive list of abilities and accomplishments. Self-taught on violin, Spalding reached concertmaster position by the time she was a teenager performing in Oregon’s Chamber Music Society.
She eventually picked up double bass and graduated from Berklee College of Music, becoming a faculty member at the renowned school by the time she was 20. Spalding has released 5 albums, and made music history in 2011 by becoming the first jazz artist to ever win a GRAMMY for Best New Artist. As a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and overall virtuosic musician, Spalding is an inspiration to aspiring musicians everywhere.
5&6) Rachael Price and Bridget Kearney
Bridget Kearney and Rachael Price met at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts (along with the rest of their band, Lake Street Dive). In addition to being incredible live performers, both girls play and write a variety of styles.
Lake Street Dive writes R&B-flavored, jazzy, indie-rock with a pop sensibility: basically, they can play just about anything. Price has a degree in Jazz Studies, which translates clearly through her sultry alto voice, and Kearney knocks out all kinds of bass riffs on songs like “You Go Down Smooth” and the group’s cover of “I Want You Back.” These girls are certainly an important part of a talented bunch with the variety they cultivate and perform.
7) Amy Lee
Lee was born in Riverside, California and is best known as the co-founder and lead singer for American rock band Evanescence. Lee’s trademark is her powerful voice, but she is also a classically trained pianist.
Her classical influences have shown through in much of her music, from her collaborations with composers for film soundtracks, to songs like “Lacrymosa” from Evanescence’s album The Open Door. “Lacrymosa” is based around Lacrimosa from Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, and with the addition of that signature lead vocal style and distorted instrumentation, you have classic Evanescence. Lee’s contributions to music display her creativity and innovations as a rock musician who has made the marrying of music genres seem natural.
8)Otep Shamaya
Perhaps a little more in-your-face than previous examples is Otep Shamaya. It’s no surprise that amongst heavy metal circles, there are significantly less females sporting a screaming style of vocal performance. Dabbing in these styles, as well as nu-metal, Otep Shamaya does not shy away from aggressive music or lyrics.
Though her appearance and style are intimidating, she often uses her music as a platform for activism. Shamaya is openly gay, and is known not only as an active supporter of the LGBT community, but also for being outspoken against sexual violence and abuse.
Active in politics, she also spoke at the 2008 Democratic Convention. Though her music and image are upfront and intense, Shamaya has proven herself to be a powerful voice for women in the metal industry and individuals facing poverty and violence.
9) Brittany Howard
Raised in Athens, Alabama, Brittany Howard is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for rock band Alabama Shakes. Howard’s vocals are a staple of the group’s signature soul rock sound, and their second album, Sound & Color, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. This album features more experimental sounds compared to that of Shakes’ debut album Boys & Girls. Sound & Color, in addition to her soulful singing, features jazzy, funky, and R&B rock riffs and sounds.
A talented songwriter, Howard is also a down-to-Earth, quirky, and fun-loving person. Most people would state some type of food or expensive luxury as a guilty pleasure, but Howard? Buying household appliances. Apparently blenders are difficult to resist for the bluesy singer.
10) Adele
This voice of British pop has sold millions of records and won multiple GRAMMYs. Adele has also won an Oscar for her song “Skyfall,” written for one of the James Bond films.
In addition to being a prolific performer, the singer is also a dedicated mother. Following her release of 21, Adele left the spotlight to dedicate her time to motherhood. After returning with her smash album 25, she has had continued success, wowing audiences, critics, and maintaining the status of an incredibly talented performer.
11) Kirstin Maldonado
Few acapella groups have received such widespread recognition as the group Pentatonix. Hailing from Arlington, Texas, the group is known for complex acappella arrangements of popular songs and Christmas tunes.
It may come as a shock to some that the vocal group has more YouTube subscribers than Beyoncé and is the only acappella group to have won a GRAMMY for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Capella… and they did it twice. Kirstin is the only female in the group, and her soaring mezzo-soprano voice will easily leave you with chills.
Disney fan? Check out her and her boyfriend’s Disney Love Medley performed with acappella group Voctave, and there will be no way you could deny her talent.
12) Orianthi
The Australian, Orianthi Panagaris is best known for her shredding guitar abilities. When she was six years old, she picked up the guitar after listening to her father’s records. The artist was thrown into the spotlight after a soundcheck with Carlos Santana turned into a guest appearance during his show when the guitarist was only 18 years old.
Following the jam session with her hero, Orianthi was added to Michael Jackson’s musical cast in 2009. Jackson unexpectedly passed before the tour, but Orianthi was featured in his This Is It movie of the same year. She has since released 3 full-length albums and performed with greats like ZZ Top and Prince.
13) Taylor Swift
It’s a little difficult to make a list of important women in the industry and not mention T-Swift. With her beginnings in music starting when the singer was five years old, the Pennsylvania-raised Swift is the first woman to release three albums selling over 1 million copies within their first week of release.
She has also won the GRAMMY Award for Album of the Year twice (also being the first woman to do so), and has won a whopping total of 10 GRAMMYs, 6 CMT Music Awards, 8 Academy of Country Music Awards, and 19 American Music Awards. The singer has been successful not only in terms of dominating the industry, but in transitioning from country to pop styles, seeing huge crossover success. Taylor Swift is nothing to mess with.
14) Lzzy Hale
The frontwoman of rock band Halestorm, Lzzy Hale also has some achievements under her belt. Halestorm is the fourth female-led act to score two number one songs on Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart. This is a male-dominated format, and there are currently only two acts featuring female vocalists to top this chart (the other being The Pretty Reckless).
The band also won a GRAMMY in 2013 in the Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance category for their song “Love Bites (So Do I)”, making Lzzy the first female to win a GRAMMY in this category. The frontwoman has also collaborated and performed with an impressive list of classic and modern rock greats, including Slash, Lita Ford, Corey Taylor, Myles Kennedy, Brent Smith, Maria Brink, James Michael, and David Draiman. Rock on, sista.
*The picture above is of myself and Lzzy Hale, circa 2013.
15) Mercedes Lander
Perhaps a little less contemporary than the rest, but certainly worth mentioning is Mercedes Lander of the all-girl alternative metal group Kittie. Their debut album, Spit, was recorded when Lander was but 15 years old. Her sister, Morgan, is the frontwoman for the band, with Mercedes singing backup. The Canadian group has played with notable metal groups like Slipknot, which is an accomplishment to tour with one of the biggest groups in metal as an entirely female band. Cudos, ladies.
Quite clearly, the music industry is full of women with undeniable talent. Obviously, there are prominent musicians I did not mention, such as Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Kaki King, Sara Bareilles, Nita Strauss, Florence Welch, Lady Gaga, St. Vincent, I could go on and on. While all of this success shows that the industry has come a long way in terms of women excelling amongst their respective genres, a simple Bing search reveals that women are often not taken seriously as musicians because of how sexualized they are.
While searching for pictures for these musicians, I couldn’t help but notice that many suggestions for image results revolved around the appearance of these women. Now, when I search for images of many of the notable men these women have worked with, I get results like these.
While there are clearly instances of male musicians being sexualized, I found it to be more common when searching women. Take Amy Lee, for example. Out of all of the things you could search about Amy Lee, like a picture of her playing the instrument she was classically trained on or collaborating with composers (luckily, someone is interested in Minecraft), people seem to be more interested in seeing her naked. While many of the search suggestions are similar between these women and men, suggestions for the men tend to leave out the more sexual side of things.
I believe a woman should be able to be confident, have gorgeous photoshoots, and even sing sexy songs without being reprimanded and that it does not determine her worth as a person or musician. Still, I don’t support Revolver’s “25 Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock.” Obviously, I support the women who have been a part of this annual issue for years, but it is time female musicians get a better form of praise for their abilities.
So, what can we do? That chick you know who’s starting a band? Express to her how awesome she is at her craft, and if you’re a guy, perform with her! Take her seriously, and while many could argue that female musicians do not take themselves seriously, our society doesn’t seem to have an issue taking male musicians seriously, even when they promote and advertise their own promiscuity (because for them, we know how “sexual” you appear does not determine your musicianship). Support your ladies!
