Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish and Willow Smith lead pop-punk revival – women who ‘just want to scream and growl’
- The rise of women artists in pop punk marks an about-face for the genre, which at its mainstream peak in the mid-1990s to early 2000s was dominated by men
- Women have been in punk as far back as the ’70s, but now Gen Z women artists are using the genre to express themselves
Move over, guys. Pop punk has come blaring back, and women are taking centre stage this time around.
Willow Smith’s latest single, Hover Like a Goddess, builds on the brash sound of 2021’s Lately I Feel Everything, which saw the 21-year-old daughter of actors Will and Jada Pinkett Smith exploring pop-punk sonics, including collaborations with Lavigne and Travis Barker, the drummer of US band Blink-182.
“I absolutely love pop-punk and emo music,” Rodrigo told Billboard in February. “People are longing for those super-emotional, less polished moments in music, so the aggressiveness of punk is really enticing.”
The rise of these artists marks an about-face for pop punk, which seemed like a boys’ club at its mainstream peak in the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s. Male-led acts such as Green Day, The Offspring, Blink-182 and Sum 41 dominated the charts and airwaves with their take on the genre.
