Who Run the World? How your favorite female pop stars are shaping global politics
Photo Credit: Modified image by Mihika Gokarn featuring photographs by Eva Rinaldi (CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons) and Raph_PH (CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
The pop girls have been “standing on business”.
The past year has ushered in an unprecedented era for women breaking through glass ceilings. In every sector from sports to music, women have been setting record achievements. The viral hype surrounding the Women’s NCAA March Madness 2024 Semi-finals, featuring The University of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and University of Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers, translated to sky-high viewing numbers, making it the most-watched basketball broadcast in ESPN history for either the men’s or women’s divisions in America.
Similarly, Beyoncé’s most recent release Cowboy Carter topped the country music charts and ignited a lot of well-overdue genre discourse. The album features country music legends Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton while also shining a spotlight on other lesser-known, Black country music artists like Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, and Willie Jones. Beyoncé’s inclination towards the genre was cemented after the tepid reception of her song “Daddy Lessons'' at the 2016 Country Music Awards. Beyoncé faced backlash for performing at the event because, despite her Texan background, she had not made her career in country music. What may have added fuel to the fire was performing alongside one of country music’s most infamous trios, the Chicks. The all-female group encountered major controversy after loudly opposing President George Bush and the 2003 Iraq War. The Chicks were subsequently blacklisted, with country music radio stations taking their singles out of circulation.
Country is a musical genre with roots stemming from America's South and maintains strict classification criteria, especially with the Billboard Music Charts. Billboard’s metrics are the primary determinant of the commercial success of a song, which is critical quantitative feedback for artists and record labels. However, this traditional paradigm has shifted partly due to the era of online streaming. Lil Nas X, a native of the Southern state of Georgia, faced massive uphill battles with getting his wildly successful single “Old Town Road” recognized by the Billboard Country Music charts until he added a feature by country music star, Billy Ray Cyrus. Taylor Swift, originally from the Northeast state of Pennsylvania, faced no such controversy when making her “crossover” country music albums during the early dawn of her career. One’sgeographical origins should not limit their ability to experiment with genres, but the fact remains that the barrier of entry for respect and recognition should not be skin deep.
Maybe it could be that Beyoncé’s music does not contain certain specified “essential” country elements or maybe Beyoncé, who proudly broadcasts her origins from the American South via Houston, Texas, is unfairly subject to“misogynoir”, a term popularly coined by Moya Bailey, denoting the intersectional discrimination that Black women face. Despite the undeniable longevity of her career success or the consistent acclaim her body of work has received, she is still yet to receive one of the most quintessential symbols of peer recognition: the Grammy for Album of the Year. It is possible that her music may find a warmer reception outside of the U.S.
Paris is one such city that has long had a love for Black American jazz artists like Nina Simone, Louis Armstrong, and Josephine Baker. These artists often lamented that they were treated with much more respect while abroad than at home due to the lingering vestiges of segregation and racial stigma, and often chose to relocate because of it. Josephine Baker is even buried at the Panthéon in Paris for her services to the Allied cause. It is admirable these artists were able to find refuge in European society to continue creating, though one must wonder whether they would be treated so well without their fame and ties to America.
Despite the present love for these Black American artists’ contributions in France, the French music industry is still plagued by immense stereotypes (and perhaps, what could even be considered racism) concerning the essence of what falls within the framework of French identity. Aya Nakamura, a French-Malian singer who is arguably France’s most popular musical export, has been at the center of a targeted campaign from right-wing personalities after President Emmanuel Macron floated the idea of Nakamura performing an Edith Piaf song at the Olympics Opening ceremony. Critics decried that she is a poor representative of French culture due to her slang-embedded lyricism which draws influences from her West African ethnic origins and her upbringing in the northern banlieue suburb of Paris.
Although alternatively most French artists like Daft Punk and David Guetta have found mainstream success by producing English-language music, prominent politicians said that Nakamura, one of the most-streamed French-language singers, whose 3-night concert run in Paris sold out in less than 15 minutes, was undeserving of the position to be one of the artists representing France on the global stage. Nakamura seemingly responded to the criticisms leveled at her with a single called “Doggy”. The song’s lyrics muse that the massive pushback she’s receiving hasn’t stopped her from being displayed on “magazine covers” (or Met Galas) and achieving her success, overall. Nakamura is being modest. Her music can be heard at every venue or festive occasion, and her music consistently reaches the top charts with the most streams in an often male-dominated category of French-language music.
Another familiar musical juggernaut who has been dominating everything from headlines to the box office is none other than Taylor Swift herself. Whether you love Swift or are polarized by her, the Eras tour has yielded many importanteconomic and political developments all over the world. Taylor Swift’s concertgoers helped break records for hotel occupancy rates in American Midwestern metropolitans-- Chicago and Minneapolis– and similar trends from Taylor-induced tourism can be seen all across America. Procuring Eras Tour tickets was no easy feat either. The outcry over ticket-acquiring fiascos sparked a bipartisan federal investigation culminating in an antitrust lawsuit regarding Ticketmaster’s merger with LiveNation. The lawsuit argues that the mash-up of these companies created a near-monopoly on American live entertainment which snowballed into adverse results for customers and artists.
On the other side of the world, a geopolitical controversy arose when it was discovered that Singapore’s governing bodies negotiated with Swift’s concert promoters, Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), to ensure that she would not perform in other countries in Southeast Asia, like the Philippines and Thailand. Representatives from Singapore insisted there was no foul play. They remarked other countries in the region could have crafted their own deals with Swift and that Singapore was simply acting within its “best interests”.
Sure, the geopolitical “players gonna play”, but hosting a Taylor Swift concert is no mere game. When Singapore reported its year-by-year GDP growth, the Swift effect yielded an increase of 2.7% for the first quarter of 2024. As reported by Le Monde, economists estimate that her six concerts in Singapore yielded €200 to €345 million for the country, on par with Swift-induced profits in Australia (€330 million) and surpassing those generated in Japan (€200 million).
It can’t be denied that Taylor Swift has moved the world. Following her latest album’s release, her record-breaking Eras tour heads to Paris, London, and other European locales this summer. She is slated to play over 140 concerts across five different continents – an unfathomable achievement from the past 2 years. Yet notably, her tour skips over China and India which boast some of the largest cities and biggest markets in the world, and many netizens are left wondering why.Questions of Western access and privilege outside its sphere have long been met with few satisfactory responses, which just further cements that international politics and music are inextricably linked with one another.
It is dire to concede that despite her small-island-rivaling carbon footprint, Taylor Swift, as powerful as she is, cannot do everything everywhere all at once. One should not overlook the fact that female artists everywhere are paving the way to uplift their communities in their corners of the world. While not Palestinian herself, Egyptian singer Sherine and her music have been a key aspect of giving a voice to Palestinians as well as promoting Palestinian activism. It just goes to show that it only takes one person to help catalyze a movement of people, of which there is no better example than Dua Lipa
In 2018, Dua Lipa and her father, Dukagjin Lipa, created the Sunny Hill Festival, a 3-day event that debuted in Kosovo’scapital city, Pristina. Though born in London, Lipa proudly hails her heritage by way of Kosovo. Many may still recount memories of violence and rising political tensions from Kosovo’s quest for official statehood recognition. Lipa, an honorary ambassador of Kosovo, seeks to change this perception and elevate her homeland’s profile by doing what she knows best: putting on one heck of a show. A study comparing Serbia’s EXIT and Hungary’s Sziget determined, thatmusic festivals, when done properly, can help foster many social benefits and stimulate local economies. Other similar“hometown heroes” who’ve sought to give back via music festivals include Tyler the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival set in Los Angeles, J. Cole’s Dreamville Fest in Raleigh, and most recently Jack Harlow’s Gazebo Festival in Louisville, just to name a few.
Festivals like Woodstock and Coachella hold a special place in collective memory, and for good reason. Music festivals across the world have numerous economic benefits. They generate substantial revenue for local economies; in America alone, the industry supports over 900 thousand jobs and generates €38.9 billion in wages, and these figures don’t include the revenue boost that local businesses experience. Between 2015 and 2022, Edinburgh saw a massive festival-induced economic impact going from €329 million in 2015 to €479 million in 2022. More genre-specific events like the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival net around €322 million for the regional economy annually. New Orleans also sees social benefits for their programming.
These benefits include the proliferation of an international clientele to interact with cities that may not receive as much love as some of the country’s biggest cities. There is also more dedicated funding to improve urban infrastructure and an additional dimension to a city’s culture and branding. New Orleans is synonymous with jazz. Nashville is synonymous with country music. Atlanta is synonymous with hip-hop and so on. Music festivals spark unique opportunities for innovation and identity.
Having a successful female pop star at the helm is not the only thing that makes Lipa’s Sunny Hill distinct from the aforementioned cases. Among many aspects, the proceeds from the festival are donated to the Sunny Hill Foundation which seeks to uplift Kosovar youth by promoting arts and culture within the country. Another significant development from the festival is nurturing local Kosovar talents by providing them a global platform alongside some of the world’sbiggest artists like Miley Cyrus, J. Balvin, and Diplo. Despite the many bureaucratic hurdles and criticisms such as the lack of ticket affordability for local Kosovars, the festival has been a success and has added advocacy to their mission.
A major consideration for the Lipas while creating their music festival, had been the consideration of substantial travel limitations for many Kosovars due to the arduous process of procuring visas. In 2022, Kosovars could only travel to 6 countries without a visa, which enormously hindered academic and traveling opportunities. Despite Kosovo’s proximity to the European Union, citizens couldn’t travel through for layover or land in any of those territories due to a lack of visa liberalization. Dissatisfied by a “stalled integration process” despite meeting the EU’s 95 benchmarks back in 2018, the Sunny Hill Festival launched their #SetMeFree campaign to further encourage and spread awareness for visa liberalization and allow travel in the Schengen region visa-free for up to 90 days. Finally, 2 years after #SetMeFree’slaunch, Kosovo was formally allowed into the Schengen zone.
Often when it comes to the women in pop, geopolitical change is not what first comes to mind. While women'scontributions to the music industry and the larger conversation have mostly been reduced to their relationship status or appearance, their accomplishments and far-reaching influence demand greater attention and respect from the global community. While the training season for global change is still ongoing regarding a future of equitable live music access or the rightful recognition of minority artists, the international impact of female pop stars, through their artistry and advocacy, is not to be underestimated.