That there seems to be more women in the world of pop music isn’t just a feeling—it’s a fact. The Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California (USC) looks at the Billboard Hot 100 year-end charts and major Grammy categories each year to track statistics related to gender and race in the music industry. According to their 2023 report, the latest available, women made up 35% of the artists on the Hot 100—a record high. When removing bands and other groups from the picture to focus solely on solo artists, that figure climbs to 41%, which is nearly double the 22% noted in 2020. This isn’t something that could be achieved simply by one or two superstars like Taylor Swift or Beyoncé dominating with multiple hits. Instead, it implies a broader shift across the entire field. While the numbers for 2024 have yet to be officially announced, we can still gauge the general trend by looking at Billboard’s year-end charts. The Top Artists chart for 2024, which uses the same metrics as the Artist 100, lists eight female artists within the top 30—up from five last year. These numbers support the claim that many women making music were busy achieving new heights in their careers over the past year. Now, here are five artists—Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, and ROSÉ—without whom the pop landscape of 2024 would’ve looked completely different.

Charli XCX

For over a decade, Charli XCX has been considered the indie queen of dance/electropop. She’s also celebrated as one of the key figures who helped popularize hyperpop, having collaborated with artists under the label PC Music who pioneered the genre. Charli’s mixtape Pop 2 and album how i’m feeling now will likely go down as classics, but before her 2022 album CRASH debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and cracked the top 10 of the US’s Billboard 200, Charli’s popularity was limited to a relatively niche slice of the public.

Her 2024 album BRAT was the breakthrough that transformed this underrated queen into a cultural icon. The title on the lime-green cover, set in the font Arial, feels like it was just thrown together as an afterthought. The text is intentionally distorted slightly—it’s blurry, as though having been resized up and down, again and again. “I wanted to go with an offensive, off-trend shade of green to trigger the idea of something being wrong,” Charli explained in Vogue Singapore. “Why are some things considered good and acceptable, and some things deemed bad? I’m interested in the narratives behind that and I want to provoke people.” The lime green simultaneously evokes images of both the freshness of spring and of something slimy—or vomit. What do you see? The “BRAT wall” set up in New York became a social media hotspot and the backdrop for a surprise performance leading up to the album drop, becoming a symbol for the powerful marketing push over the summer. The album art became a meme, inspiring everyone to create their own personal lime-green covers—even a certain presidential candidate.

Following last February’s single “Von dutch” and then “360” in May, the release of the album turned the summer into “brat summer.” But Charli didn’t use her magic to cast a spell and whip up something that wasn’t already there—the artists who generated buzz by featuring in BRAT’s music videos and remixes were the result of years of hard-earned artistic integrity. By the time BRAT made Charli a household name, her longtime followers were already poised and ready to hype her up. The only difference now? Charli decided to become an open book. “This album is very direct,” she told Billboard. “I’m over the idea of metaphor and flowery lyricism and not saying exactly what I think. … This record is all the things I would talk about with my friends, said exactly how I would say them. … To me, it feels like listening to a conversation with a friend.” Being unapologetically herself paid off and bolstered the album’s success.

BRAT topped more lists of the year’s best albums than any other release in 2024. Rarely do we witness an artist peak both commercially and musically at the same time. So what’s next? You might feel like it’s already time to start anticipating what’s coming next, but “brat summer” taught us to savor every moment while it lasts.

Chappell Roan

The story behind Chappell Roan’s rise is similarly enthralling. In 2017, she signed a record deal on the strength of a song she posted on social media and released her debut EP, School Nights, but she didn’t yet establish the image she’s now known for, and the album wasn’t a major success. She returned to her hometown in Missouri and began independently releasing singles. With tracks like “Pink Pony Club” gaining traction, she got herself a second chance. Her debut studio album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, dropped in September 2023. Mixing ’80s synth pop with modern influences, it was moderately well received but largely seemed destined to fade into obscurity by early 2024. Was she destined to forever be remembered as one of the many quality indie artists out there? No way. Her irresistibly catchy hooks, bold queer backstory, and unflinching embrace of her identity and desires elevated her music far beyond a skillful balancing act between different genres and eras.

It was her live performances that moved her from having a group of devoted followers to a massive fanbase. Her shows, with their combination of vibrant, drag-inspired makeup, outfits, and choreography, feel like a celebration of her unfiltered aesthetic. Chappell’s producer, Dan Nigro, used his connections to have her open for Olivia Rodrigo during the latter’s GUTS tour in February last year, where Chappell started captivating larger and larger audiences. From then on, her name started showing up in lineups for major festivals like Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza in Chicago. By April, her single “Good Luck, Babe!” debuted at number 77 on the Hot 100, driving her album into the Billboard 200’s top 10 as her popularity grew in the months before summer. Chappell already had impressive crowds coming out for her performances at Boston Calling in May and Governors Ball in June, and by August, she played to an audience of 110,000 during her daytime set on Lollapalooza’s main stage—the largest daytime audience for a non-headliner in the festival’s 30-plus-year history.

Chappell Roan was always aware of the power live performances have, so she was prepared. “If I’ve learned anything, it’s that the live show is where the heartbeat of the project is,” the “DIY indie-pop star” explained in Billboard. “Luckily, it’s my favorite part of what I do—I like touring, but a lot of people hate it because it’s horrible and hard.” Since her earlier setbacks in 2017, she’d spent years writing a wealth of new material that amounted to more than enough to become the foundation for her comeback and debut studio album. Her unapologetic embrace of her queer identity and drag aesthetics wasn’t a selling point designed to turn heads but an authentic form of self-expression that spoke to Gen Z’s hopes and desires. By September, “Good Luck, Babe!” soared to number four on the Hot 100 and was streamed so much that it joined Spotify’s Billions Club. There’s no such thing as luck—it all comes down to timing.

Sabrina Carpenter

Sabrina Carpenter might just be a textbook example of the American pop culture story. She’s a young talent who got her start on the Disney Channel and has since grown into a singer-songwriter and actress. But just as the 2023 film Barbie elevated a familiar cultural icon to new heights, 2024 turned Sabrina into a cross-generational pop star. The seeds of her success were planted over the course of several years. As she gradually distanced herself from her Disney roots, her 2022 album emails i can’t send caught on with tracks like “Nonsense” and “Feather.” The latter even broke into the Hot 100 top 40, hinting at greater potential from the artist.

That same potential was on full display for everyone to see when Sabrina performed at Coachella last April. Her fans, the most loyal of who had stuck with her since her days as a Disney kid, flocked not only to hear old favorites but to experience her newly released single, “Espresso,” live. The set was magnetic, pulling in even those only passingly or entirely unfamiliar with her work. “Espresso” debuted at number seven on the Hot 100 and number 10 on the Global 200. By June, Sabrina had released “Please Please Please,” collaborating with Barry Keoghan for one of the year’s most memorable music videos. The song debuted at number two on the Hot 100 and became her first chart-topping hit the following week. Because of the shockwaves she sent out in the first half of 2024 with these two singles, the release of her album Short n’ Sweet in August feels more like a formality—or a victory lap.

Short n’ Sweet debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and held steady for three weeks—the second-most successful album of the year after Taylor Swift’s juggernaut The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD). The third single, “Taste,” debuted at number two on the Hot 100, while “Please Please Please” and “Espresso” moved to numbers three and four, respectively, meaning she had three songs, each released two months apart from one another, all in the top five simultaneously. Only Sabrina and the Beatles have ever held three top-five songs in the same week. From the chart of September 7 to that of October 26, the three hits continued on in the top 10 together for eight weeks straight, marking the longest such streak by a female artist ever.

Sabrina Carpenter became a Grammy nominee for the first time in the lead-up to the 2025 Awards. She was recognized in six categories, including Album, Song, and Record of the Year, as well as Best New Artist. When the year started out, most people knew Sabrina as “that blonde girl” from the Olivia Rodrigo song “drivers license.” By year’s end, she was hosting her own Netflix holiday special.

Billie Eilish

To say Billie Eilish has already accomplished so much is certainly true. It’s been almost a decade since she came onto the scene in 2016, and five years since her first album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?, was released in 2019. In that time, she’s won seven Grammys, an Oscar, and a Golden Globe, had four top-10 hits on the Hot 100, and two number-one albums on the Billboard 200. But Billie hasn’t limited herself to the provocative goth persona that set her career in motion, nor has she repeated the delicate, deeply introspective approach of her sophomore album, Happier Than Ever. This year, with HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, she instead struck a balance of awe-inspiring creativity, disarming vulnerability, and unapologetic confidence.

The turning point may have been her haunting contribution to the Barbie soundtrack, “What Was I Made For?,” in 2023. Later that November, Billie revealed in a Variety interview that she’s “physically attracted to” women. “What Was I Made For?” resonated not just for being a reflection of Barbie’s themes but separately as an anthem for anyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, coming to grips with their identity. The album’s lead single, “LUNCH,” shares DNA with her earlier hit “bad guy,” but there was no acting this time around, making her desires plain (“I could eat that girl for lunch / Yeah, she dances on my tongue”). She even joined Charli XCX on a remix of “Guess,” singing, “Charli likes boys, but she knows I’d hit it.” While artists like Reneé Rapp and Chappell Roan have widened the horizons of lesbian/queer pop, Billie arguably paved the way, enduring intense scrutiny since revealing her sexual preferences.

HIT ME HARD AND SOFT has already won awards and will no doubt go on to win even more. It shattered Billie’s personal sales records, selling nearly 340,000 copies (by album-equivalent units) in its first week alone. Every single track off the album charted on the Hot 100, a first for the singer. Though Taylor Swift’s album TTPD blocked Billie from making her own a number one, the impact of HIT ME HARD AND SOFT lasted well beyond its May 2024 release, with waves still being felt in winter. Although not considered for release as a single at first, “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” became a fan favorite. Billie performed the song for the LA Olympics handover ceremony and it peaked at number two on the Hot 100. Apple Music awarded her Artist of the Year—after awarding her the same in 2019—and HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is nominated for seven Grammys, including Album of the Year.

ROSÉ

This past September, when a video came out of ROSÉ playing a drinking game called apateu with models at the Saint Laurent Paris Fashion Week after-party, no one could have expected anything more would come out of it. But then, when Bruno Mars later posted on Instagram about how he learned the same game from her, it became clear something was up. Right after that, ROSÉ announced she would be dropping her latest single the next day: a collaboration with Bruno called “APT.”

Released on October 18, “APT.” instantly became a streaming sensation. The music video garnered over 100 million views on YouTube in just five days, and has since surpassed 700 million. The song topped the Billboard Global 200 for nine straight weeks from November 2 through December 28. It was also streamed 220 million times globally in its first week, second only to the BTS song “Butter” for the all-time record of 290 million. Even now, weekly streams are hovering around the 150 million mark. The single entered the Hot 100 at number eight, marking the very first number-one hit, and therefore the highest chart debut, for a female K-pop artist ever. Unlike most K-pop songs, “APT.” also gained steady traction on US radio, rising to number 10 on the chart dated January 4. Her long-awaited debut album, rosie, debuted at number three on the Billboard 200.

Considering the tight competition fueled by Taylor Swift’s return to the charts with TTPD, surprise drops like Kendrick Lamar’s new album, and the usual surge of holiday hits, these achievements are nothing short of remarkable. With sales exceeding the equivalent of 100,000 copies in its first week, rosie’s success can be attributed to more than just BLACKPINK fans or streams of “APT.” Tracks like “toxic till the end,” which debuted at number 90, and “drinks or coffee”—which is slowly making its way up the charts—while more conventionally pop aligned than “APT.,” suggest ROSÉ’s fanbase will expand even further. And while “APT.” may be more about social media buzz, other tracks like these off the album contain a deeper exploration of relationships and emotions, positioning ROSÉ as an increasingly resonant global pop star from Korea. Naturally, her linguistic and cultural fluency only strengthens her appeal.

Some have questioned whether the themes explored on rosie might represent a shift into subject matter that’s too commonplace, leading them to ask where the boundary between K-pop and American pop lies. But, as a rebuttal, ROSÉ doesn’t create her art in a way that brands itself Korean, American, or Australian, nor does she seek to fall under any specific genre. As revealed in a New York Times interview, her art is about moving past self-doubt and discovering the desire to tell her own story. Through her music, ROSÉ sings about the pressure that comes with having to be everyone’s “perfect girl,” navigating relationships within the unique environment of being a K-pop artist and what it leads to, and the long, lonely search for self-acceptance in the face of cruel comments online. And that’s what makes her a must for this list.