This article originally appears in the June 2017 issue of ELLE.
For our tenth annual Women in Music Issue, we present 19 women on the verge of star status, from master emcees and polished pop ingenues to country upstarts and R&B risk-takers. Prep your playlist accordingly.
HAILEE STEINFELD (left)
Sure, the indie film darling (see last year's The Edge of Seventeen) has been nominated for an Oscar (for True Grit, at age 14), but her legion of fans—and a fickle pop industry—adore her for her relatable, chart-churning singles, especially "Starving," "Love Myself," and, now, "Most Girls," in which she declares, "If you wanna make me feel hot / Don't tell me I'm not like most girls." Oh, and let's not forget December's Pitch Perfect 3, in which she'll blend her talents for the second time."Pitch Perfect 2 was my way to show the world that I can sing and be taken seriously as a musician. This has been my dream since I was seven."
BEBE REXHA (right)
The Brooklyn native cowrote smash hits for David Guetta ("Hey Mama"), G-Eazy ("Me, Myself & I"), and Rihanna and Eminem ("The Monster") before hitting radio pay dirt with her own single, the grinding, feel-good "I Got You"—which topped the Billboard Dance chart—from her critically acclaimed 2017 debut, All Your Fault.
YOUNG M.A
Long admired for her fierce and fluid freestyle skills, the 25-year-old Brooklynite went from local hero to worldwide phenom with last summer's double-platinum single, "Ooouuu," the hard-hitting track that proved this openly gay emcee can go head-to-head with the best in the rap game on boys'-club business like drinking ("It's M.A, you don't know…? / We got liquor by the boatload"), chasing women, money, and power. It also made her the first solo female artist of 2016 to appear on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart—without the help of a major label. Still independent, Young M.A has opened for Beyoncé and counts Nicki Minaj—who, among a handful of other marquee emcees, remixed "Ooouuu"—as a fan. Young M.A continues to bring summertime heat with her first EP, Her Story, but also plans to show fans a more intimate, personal side with her fall debut album, Her Story in the Making. "I make music for all types of people," Young M.A says. "I don't like to be put in a box or labeled. I don't bite my tongue when I rap because I'm speaking about my experiences. I want people to know that this is me. I'm just being Me, Always—it's in my name."
KACY HILL (left)
Kanye West signed Hill, a former Yeezus tour dancer, to his label, G.O.O.D. Music, after hearing her 2014 psychedelic-pop track, "Experience." Within a year, the former American Apparel model had released her first trip-hoppy EP, Bloo, a blueprint for her forthcoming summer album. "Watching how Kanye performs and being a part of that energy— self-consciousness is gone. You feed off the audience."
BILLIE EILISH (right)
Like Lorde and Tove Lo before her, Eilish—who, at 15, hit 30 million-plus streams on Spotify with her single "Ocean Eyes" (from her upcoming premiere album)—crafts melodic, meditative, yet still explosive pop. "People have so much going on in their heads. I'm like, If you could write a song, you'd feel so much better! And you wouldn't take it all out on me, my dude."
JHENÉ AIKO (left)
With a second album imminent, Aiko is soon to shake up the airwaves once again with her alt-R&B/neo-soul sound, which perfectly complements her vulnerable lyrics and overt sensuality. "All the '90s R&B and rap that I'd listen to growing up—and Alanis Morissette, and Fiona Apple—were the seeds that were planted in me. But I don't reference—that's cheating, to me!"
JULIA MICHAELS (right)
Despite her own debut single, "Issues," having surpassed 160 million streams on Spotify, Michaels is just as invested in the songs she's written for Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Fifth Harmony, among others. "I still cry anytime I hear my songs on the radio." You've heard them, too: She's got nine top 40 hits—like "Sorry," "Good for You," and "Close," by Nick Jonas—and that's just so far. Her first album drops this summer.
MUNA
After meeting as USC undergrads in 2013, this L.A.–based girl band spent four years melding lead singer/songwriter Katie Gavin's (center) classic pop sound with prog-rock/ska–influenced guitarists Josette Maskin (right) and Naomi McPherson (left), to bring forth this year's deliriously catchy, '80s dance hall–inspired debut album, About U. MUNA, as self-identifying queer feminists, avoid gendered pronouns in their songs and have a gender-neutral bathroom policy at their headlining shows; still, McPherson admits, "Because we're women, I've had conversations with young women who connect to the music—but 45-year-old men also come up to us and say, 'Your song made me cry.' If you're going to connect with our music on a deeper level, it's probably because you're doing some inner work."
NOAH CYRUS
The youngest of the six Cyrus siblings released her first track, "Make Me (Cry)," last November with British R&B singer Labrinth. Within just 24 hours, the emo-pop hit (with a country flair, of course) had tallied up 1.4 million YouTube views—and has since topped 65 million. The 17-year-old L.A. native, who learned how to harmonize on dad Billy Ray's tour bus, will follow in Miley's footsteps with her first album, NC-17, this fall. ("There'll be a few songs about heartbreak, and some you just want to sing in the car with friends. Then you'll come across a badass record and be like, Okay, let's be cool for a second.") Just imagine the family sing-alongs: "Now that we're older, we like to stay up and play music," she says. "We'll all harmonize with oohs and aahs. My grandfather was a gospel singer in a quartet, so we'll listen to his old music. And we love begging my dad to play his."
LIZZO (left)
The same rap skills and rafter-rattling voice featured on 2014 tracks from Clean Bandit ("New Eyes") and Prince ("Boy Trouble" with 3rdeyegirl) will be on prominent display in this Detroit-born, Houston-bred, pop-R&B diva's forthcoming debut album. Lizzo embraces what she calls the "uncoolness" expressed in her radiant, self-assured songs of acceptance: "One day I looked in the mirror and said, This is the one chance you get to be in this body and be this person. You can't waste that."
SABRINA CARPENTER (center)
As the sassy sidekick Maya, Carpenter brought the laughs on Disney's Girl Meets World, but as a singer-songwriter, she displays a sultry soprano—as heard on her most recent hit, "Thumbs," from her second studio album, Evolution—and catchy hooks befitting a folk-pop artist well beyond her 18 years.
AUBRIE SELLERS (right)
The daughter of country artists Jason Sellers and the legendary Lee Ann Womack, this garage-rock country girl dropped what Rolling Stone called one of 2016's best country albums in New City Blues, then landed an opening gig for Miranda Lambert's summer tour.
GRACE MITCHELL (far left)
This Portland, Oregon, punk rocker debuted with her irresistibly husky breakup anthem, 2015's "NoLo." This year, her songs "Kids (Ain't All Right)" and "Now" teemed with exuberant teenage ennui. Her forthcoming first album, as yet untitled, will be a modern homage to '70s glam sounds.
BETTY WHO (left)
Her sophomore album, 2017's The Valley, serves up a second helping of excellent pop songs—and a dedication to her unwavering LGBTQ fans. "I wrote 'Beautiful' the day after the Orlando shootings," she says. "I went into the songwriting session feeling totally broken, but I wanted my fans to know that we're allowed to have hope."
ALYNDA SEGARRA (center)
With sounds endemic to both Nashville and Segarra's native Bronx, the haunting, folk-centric concept album, The Navigator, from Segarra's band, Hurray for the Riff Raff, tackles gentrification, feminism, and identity. "As Puerto Rican women, we're taught to be overly humble. So when I feel scared, I'm like, I need to do this for the Puerto Rican girl who doesn't know how she fits in the world."
STARLEY (right)
Her first single, the hip-swaying, electro-chill "Call on Me," garnered 375 million streams worldwide and got the Australia native signed at Epic Records, where she'll soon release her vibrant, dance-heavy debut album.
CHARLOTTE OC (far right)
Rife with house beats, electronica thrills, and a hint of gospel, there's an otherworldly quality to this soul-pop Brit's debut album, Careless People, which combines the emotion of Joni Mitchell with the languorous magic of Lana del Rey.
Portfolio stars Hailee Steinfeld and Lizzo performed at the Billboard Music Awards & ELLE Present Women in Music event held at the YouTube Space LA on May 16, 2017.
