25 Empowerment Anthems: Songs for an Extra Boost of Confidence – Billboard

Music has the ability to empower the listener just as much as it does the artist. For members of less-represented communities especially, music offers a confidence boost for those moments when they feel powerless in the world.

Weve put together a list of 25 songs to help inspire people who want to live their lives as loudly and authentically as they choose, because regardless of who you are or where you come from, everyone is entitled to musical empowerment.

Express Yourself Madonna

Originally written as a feminist anthem about independence,Madonnas 1989 dance-floor standard has since become synonymous withself-love and holding oneself in high regard. The songs lyrics directly address women and urge them to not settle for men who dont treat them like the queens that they are. In the years following the songs release, it has been embraced by Madonnas gay fans around the world and has simultaneously become an anthem of personal expression and female empowerment.

Titanium DavidGuetta&Sia

Sias soaring voice on David Guettasdance-pophitTitanium can make even the most timid person feel invincible or, in this case, as impenetrable as titanium. Sias rallying cry of You shoot me down but I wont fall, I am titanium became a unifying theme at the memorial for the Pulse nightclub shooting last year, where Siateared up while performing the song.

?Q.U.E.E.N. JanelleMone&ErykahBadu

BeforeJanelleMonestarred intwoaward-winningfilmsin the same year, she sang and danced alongside legendary soul croonerErykahBaduin her Q.U.E.E.N. video.Monehasstatedin interviews that Q.U.E.E.N. (an acronym for Queer,Untouchables,Emigrants,Excommunicated andNegroid) was writtenfor those whoareostracized and marginalized by the worldwe live in. Its impossible to not feel galvanized byMonesimpassioned closing rapconsistingof quickjabsof wisdomlikeYou can take my wings but Im still gonna fly and Categorize me, I defy every label.

Born This Way Lady Gaga

In one of the loudest love letters to the LGBTQcommunity in music history, Lady Gagaassures all her fansthat no one is excluded from Mother Monsters love. The songs message of unapologetic self-love and self-expression has since become a cornerstone for the contemporary queer rights movement; the song itself has become a stapleof pride parades around the world.

Dont Stop Me Now Queen

When it comes to feeling empowered to live life as proudly as one chooses, no ones attitude can compare tolegendaryQueenfrontmanFreddie Mercury. Thetheme of Dont Stop Me Now is simple enough: Hes having a good time and doesnt want anyone to stop his fun. With rumors running rampant about Mercurys sexuality at the time of the songs release, the song held special significance. The song has come to stand in for Mercurys middle finger to all those who aimed to detract from his happiness.

Stronger Kelly Clarkson

Original American Idolwinner Kelly Clarkson has candidly discussed her mental health struggles as a result of pressure she felt to maintain a certain body image. Stronger, the titular track from her 2011 album, is a manifestation of how she felt after emerging from what she calls a very dark time. Its a simple idea, albeit a powerful one: What doesnt kill you makes you stronger.

No Tiene la Culpa Romeo Santos

Its no secret thatRomeo Santoslives up to his name: Most of the songs in his repertoire tell stories aboutdifferent girls he falls for.No Tienela Culpa differs from anything else Santos has donein that it tells the story of a gay youth struggling to accept himself (at one point even considering suicide) and hisjourney that eventually ends in happiness. In a spokeninterlude toward the end of the song, Santos delivers the statistic that more than 30 percent of young people who commit suicide every year are gay.Little Manuels happy ending serves as an inspiration for queer Latinx youth who may feel like theyll never see the light at the end of the tunnel.

BodakYellow Cardi B

Yes, whether you realize it or not, CardiBs breakout banger is as empowering as it is electrifying. The hook of the song sees Cardi brag about being able to afford multiple pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes a Bronx status symbol that can cost upward of $1,000 for a good pair. Whats more empowering than listening to an exotic dancer-turned-superstar rapper talk about being able to buy her own expensive things?

Just Like Fire P!nk

P!nks career has always been characterized by an underlying f you attitude that runs through lots of her music. Her song for theAlice Through the Looking Glasssoundtrack Just Like Fire carries that same sentiment of not letting anyone else tell you how you should act or live.

Roar Katy Perry

Katy Perrys 2013 hit is a quintessential pop anthem about being knocked down and getting back up even stronger than before: You held me down, but I got up / Get ready cause Ive had enough I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter / Dancing through the fire / Cause I am the champion, and youre gonna hear me roar. Consider it a more empoweringversion of Firework.

Go to Hell Empress Of

Brooklyn-based synthpopsinger Empress Of released Go to Hell earlier this year, and it delivers a message as clear as dayto all those who doubt her: go to hell. Everyone around me thinks Im going to fail, but they can go to hell.Empress Of has never been one to mince words with her music: her previous single Woman is a Word is a feminist slapper, telling belittling men Im only an image of what you see / You dont know me. If you ever feel like people are doubting you and your ability to succeed, give Go to Hell a listen.

Tell Le1f & DonChristian

Queer rapper Le1fsslinky 2015 trackTell is addressed to someone who he sees struggling to come out, and encourages them to find happiness by living their truth. Le1f himself struggled throughout his coming out process, telling Genius hecouldnt imagine living a lie. Le1f sympathizes with all those suffering in the closet, having been there himself: You should show who you want to be / Dont be too hard on yourself.

We R Who We R Kesha

Pop animalKeshasmusic has always been about embracing your inner freak and showing the world that you arent ashamed of that freak at all. We R Who We R is the epitome of that spirit. LikeKeshasbreakout hitTiKToKs idea that the party dont start till I walk in, We R Who We R confidently declares a similar sentiment: Tonight were going hard / Just like the world is our ours / Weretearin it apart / You know were superstars, we are who we are!

Feeling Myself Nicki Minaj & Beyonc

Beyonc is by no means a stranger to the empowering anthem: shes proudly declared that girls Run the World, and thateveryone should go about their livesknowing theyre ***Flawless.Feeling Myselfsees Beyonc delivering a similar message, albeit in a less serious and more entertaining medium: a Nicki Minaj song. Nickis lines about being able to buy whatever she wants and being the object of countless mens affection is enough to make anyone feel even a little bit more empowered.

Confident Demi Lovato

?The titular single to Demi Lovatos 2015 return to pop rock album oozes the confidence that Lovato sings so much about having. Whats wrong with being confident? Lovatoasks with a swagger that many pop stars today could use some of.

Wild Things Alessia Cara

If you dont like our 808s, then leave us alone AlessiaCara tells haters in her smash-hit single Wild Things. The songs themeof living unapologetically and taking pride in who you are can resonate with anyone, and serves as a mission statement of sorts for Caras career.

Sissy That Walk RuPaul

Sissy That Walk is by no meansRuPaulsfirst musical message of self-love and empowerment. Pick myself up, turn the world on its head, the song opens against a dance-ready beat. And for those who may belittle and tear down others, Mama Ru has one thing to say (besides you better work): Unless they paying your bills, pay them bitches no mind.

Brave SaraBareilles

Before she wrote the music behind the hit Broadway musicalWaitress,Sara Bareilleswas encouraging all her fans to be Brave. The message is simple, but it effectively communicates all that Bareilles wants for her fans: Say what you wanna say / And let the words fall out / Honestly, I wanna see you be brave.

Mean Taylor Swift

When we first metTaylor Swift, she was a little-known country singer with dreams of stardom and the big city. Mean, a country twanger from her sophomore album, addresses an unnamed hater for making her feel less than what she is, and for kicking her when shes down. She resolves toachieve her dreams despite how he treats her, and hell live to regret it. What better way to feel empowered than to prove your haters wrong?

Fighter By Christina Aguilera

One of Christina Aguileras earlier hits, Fighter deals with Aguileras rocky breakup with an unfaithful partner. Rather than harbor resentment towards him for his acts, Aguilera instead opts to take the high road, thanking him for what he did: It makes me that much stronger / Makes me work a little bit harder / It makes me that much wiser / So thanks for making me a fighter.

Cant Hold Us Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Macklemoresrapid-fire flow through his verses of his 2011 hit Cant Hold Us is enough to make anyone feel a little bit more awake. The songs chorus, delivered by Seattle singer Roy Dalton, contains the crux of Macklemoresverbose raps: Tonight is the night, well fight till its over / So we put our hands up like the ceiling cant hold us.

Me, Myself, & I G-Eazy& Bebe Rexha

?G-Eazy and BebeRexhastrack about riding solo is enough to make anyone consider never making any friends ever again. Over a relaxed pop beat, Rexha croonsI dont need a hand to hold / Even when the night is cold / I got that fire in my soul. With words like that, how can onenotfeel inspired?

?Radioactive Imagine Dragons

Though Radioactive might not strike most listeners as the most empowering song, it does succeed in making listeners feel a little bit more invincible than they did before. One might say they might even feel radioactive.

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25 Empowerment Anthems: Songs for an Extra Boost of Confidence - Billboard