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Women dominated the UK pop charts in 2023, even as festivals struggled to enhance illustration and feminine musicians had been shut out of plenty of main awards ceremonies.
British stars together with PinkPantheress and Raye spent a record-breaking 31 out of 52 weeks at No 1 on the Official Singles Chart in 2023, in line with the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) commerce group. This is the best determine because the countdown launched in 1952.
Based on mixed figures from streaming and bodily gross sales, seven of the 12 months’s prime 10 singles had been by ladies, together with Miley Cyrus’s hit track “Flowers”, Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero”, and Cameroonian-American singer Libianca’s “People”.
Raye’s viral track “Escapism”, a collaboration with US rapper 070 Shake (actual identify Danielle Balbuena), was a No 1 hit that additionally reached No 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, whereas PinkPantheress’s “Boy’s a Liar” peaked at No 2 in the UK. The remix, that includes Ice Spice, additionally marked PinkPantheress’s debut on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No 3.
“Escapism” and “Boy’s a Liar” had been the third and eighth largest singles of 2023, respectively.
The numbers are in stark distinction to 2022 when simply two feminine musicians cracked the highest 10 largest songs: Kate Bush, along with her 1985 single “Running Up That Hill”, and pop singer Cat Burns with “Go”.
Ed Sheeran, in the meantime, managed to get three of his songs in the highest 10, together with “Shivers” and “Bad Habits” from his fourth studio album, = (Equals).
(Getty Images for The National Lo)
BPI’s chief govt Dr Jo Twist stated in a press release: “While work continues towards achieving full representation for women across the music industry, 2023 has been a brilliant year for women in the Official Charts.
“There is a more diverse range of recording artists than ever achieving great success with the backing of their labels. Women spent more weeks at No 1 on the Official Singles Chart than in any previous year, while seven of the 10 biggest tracks were by women.
“This should be celebrated, but without complacency, and our work in the music industry continues to ensure that this becomes the norm.”
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Despite pop dominance from megastars together with Swift, Cyrus and Dua Lipa, 2023 proved to be a blended 12 months when it got here to acknowledging the expertise and success of feminine artists.
L-R: SZA, Taylor Swift, RAYE, Miley Cyrus, PinkPantheress and Libianca had been behind a few of the largest songs of 2023
(AP, Getty, iStock)
In January, the Brit Awards got here beneath fireplace for failing to recognise a single girl in its Artist of the Year class, after it deserted gendered classes in 2022.
Instead, an all-male shortlist was nominated, comprising pop singers Harry Styles and George Ezra, producer Fred Again, and rappers Stormzy and Central Cee.
Meanwhile, Glastonbury Festival confronted its personal backlash when it was introduced that three male acts – Arctic Monkeys, Guns N’ Roses and Elton John – would headline the primary stage in 2023.
Co-organiser Emily Eavis – who was defended as a vocal supporter of girls in music by plenty of distinguished feminine artists – stated that the trade was failing to generate sufficient viable feminine headliners.
Emily Eavis on the Glastonbury Festival website
(© Marie Jacquemin / Greenpeace)
While the vast majority of acts acting on Glastonbury’s two largest levels – the Pyramid and the Other – had been male, organisers insisted that the festival-wide gender break up was roughly 50-50 when taking into consideration the tons of of artists taking part in that 12 months.
“We’re trying our best so the pipeline needs to be developed,” Eavis instructed The Guardian. “This starts way back with the record companies, radio. I can shout as loud as I like but we need to get everyone on board.”
All eyes will now be turned in direction of the approaching headliner bulletins for Glastonbury 2024. Eavis has hinted the occasion might have two feminine headliners this 12 months, whereas additionally confirming {that a} feminine artist would occupy the Legends slot on the Pyramid Stage.
The 2024 Brit nominations will even be introduced this month, following one more overhaul of the awards classes after final 12 months’s row.
The ceremony, which is organised by the BPI, has elevated the variety of nominees for Artist of the Year and International Artist of the Year from 5 to 10. It has additionally launched a brand new style class, R&B, after criticism {that a} mixed class of Pop/R&B meant that no R&B artists had been nominated final 12 months.
The lack of R&B illustration was referred to as out by distinguished musicians together with Tiana Major 9, Bellah and Mahalia.
“Forget putting us in this category. Give us our own!” Mahalia wrote on X/Twitter in January 2023. “How many times do we have to scream at you?”
She added in a follow-up publish: “Winning awards isn’t the reason why we make and release music. We do this s*** out of love. But, at this point, it’s nothing short of disrespectful.”
Mahalia later wore a jacket bearing the phrases “Long Live R&B” whereas strolling the purple carpet on the Brit Awards.
Mahalia on the Brit Awards 2023
(AFP by way of Getty Images)
“We’re hoping that by extending the [shortlist] we can improve representation, but we’ll see in a few weeks,” Gennaro Costaldo, director of communications at BPI, instructed The Independent of the forthcoming Brit Award nominations.
“There was [also] a much more balanced longlist for the voting academy members to select from. We’re hoping the combination of all those things will move [the Brit Awards] in the right direction.”
He added: “If, after that, we feel further action is needed to achieve meaningful change then we’ll look at that too. It’s a constant evolution.”
Paul Williams, the BPI’s strategic communications guide, stated the highest 10 largest singles of 2023 confirmed it had been “a particularly strong year for women”, however stated the trade shouldn’t develop complacent about championing feminine artists.
“We know that doesn’t represent the norm and we’re working hard to make sure it does become [the case],” he stated.
“However, we do hope this shows that we’re all heading in the right direction and there’s a lot more investment in talented women artists, and more diverse artists across the board.”
He identified main wins for Raye, PinkPantheress and newcomer Kenya Grace, all of whom cracked the Billboard 100 chart in the US final 12 months.
(Getty Images for BET)
“The holy grail for any artist is to break America, and the three UK artists who have [done that] are all female,” he stated.
Costaldo added: “Success tends to breed success, so where labels can see the demand is growing, they will carry on investing in that.”
Swift herself just lately acknowledged how she hoped her success would pave the best way for extra feminine artists to interrupt via.
“If we have to speak stereotypically about the feminine and the masculine, women have been fed the message that what we naturally gravitate toward,” she instructed Time journal after being named the title’s Person of the Year.
“Girlhood, feelings, love, breakups, analysing those feelings, talking about them nonstop, glitter, sequins… We’ve been taught that those things are more frivolous than the things that stereotypically gendered men gravitate toward, right?
“And what has existed since the dawn of time? A patriarchal society. What fuels a patriarchal society? Money, flow of revenue, the economy. So actually, if we’re going to look at this in the most cynical way possible, feminine ideas becoming lucrative means that more female art will get made. It’s extremely heartening.”
(AP)
Female artists are set to dominate the Grammy Awards subsequent month, with Swift, SZA, Victoria Monét and boygenius main the nominations.
Following the shortlist announcement in November final 12 months, SZA scored probably the most nominations with 9 general for her critically acclaimed album SOS.
Both the Song of the Year and Record of the Year classes are virtually fully feminine, with Oscar-winning composer and singer-songwriter Jon Batiste – the previous bandleader for Stephen Colbert – as the only real male nominee in each.
Swift, who in 2023 additionally helped increase vinyl gross sales to their highest degree, is on the right track to realize Grammys historical past ought to she win Album of the Year, which might make her the primary artist ever to win the award 4 occasions.
Other distinguished nominees at this 12 months’s ceremony – which takes place on Sunday 4 February on the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles – embody Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus.
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