Women make the best pop stars – and it’s about time the industry recognised it | Lauren O'Neill

Too long demeaned and treated as playthings by executives, female artists are finally getting the attention they deserve

Madonna, Beyonce, Britney, Whitney: if you think about the most iconic names in mainstream pop history, you'll probably come up with a list of women. And this week, we have solid confirmation of female artists' dominance. British audiences listen to more female musicians than male, according to the latest industry figures for 2023.

It was the most successful performance for women on the UK singles chart since it began in 1952, the British Phonographic Institute (BPI) found. This included artists such as Raye and PinkPantheress, both of whom saw their music proliferate on TikTok this year, and those global heavy hitters you'd probably expect: Miley Cyrus - whose single Flowers stayed at No 1 for 10 weeks on the UK chart - Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo et al.