Ariana Grande; Cardi B; Kelsea Ballerini.Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage; Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Jason Kempin/Getty
Who run the world? Girls.
In honor of International Women’s Day on Monday, Apple Music askedCardi B,Ariana Grande,Kelsea Balleriniand more visionary female artists about the women who inspire them and the music that moves them — and PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at what they said.
Cardi remembered the lateWhitney Houstonand her 1993 hit “I’m Every Woman” for representing “every woman like me: wife, mother, daughter, stripper, provider, sister, boss, mogul.”
“This song is for all those powerful women in the world,” she said. “I just love it. Makes me feel good and smile when it comes on.”
Ballerinimeanwhile thanked fellow country-pop crossover starShania Twainfor inspiring her and “thousands and thousands of women to be bold and be brave and be sassy and do it with grace and do it with authority.”
“You are to me the epitome of a true artist and a girls girl, and I look up to you in every way,” she said. “Getting to know you the last few years has been one of the biggest honors of my career.”
Shania Twain and Kelsea Ballerini at the CMT Artist of the Year Show in 2016.Rick Diamond/Getty Images
Country legendLoretta LynnpraisedCarrie Underwoodsaying that her 2006 anthem “Before He Cheats” “sounds like a Loretta Lynn song to me!”
“Sometimes you gotta teach a man a lesson,” Lynn sad. “I would have done it, then wrote about it. I can get spitting mad at a man just listening to it!”
Lynn also said that she’ll “never forget” the first time she sawTanya Tuckersing “Delta Dawn.”
“She was a little girl and all the sudden this powerful voice came out of her,” she said. “I fell in love with her and forever since then when I think of Tanya, I think of that song.”
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BLACKPINK’s Rosésaid that the lateAmy Winehouseand her 2007 single “Love Is a Losing Game” will always hold a special place in her heart.
“It hurts my heart every time I hear [that song],” she said. “I think that being able to be vulnerable is the most independent thing someone can be at times, and I commend her for her honesty and transparency in this song. We can all relate to her and that’s why we all love her.”
Cara DelevingneapplaudedBeyoncéfor “changing the narrative on being a powerful, female boss,” as did famed songwriterDiane Warren. Warren worked with Beyoncé on the 2011 song “I Was Here,” which she called “one of my favorite songs I have ever written.”
“It is about wanting to truly leave your mark in this life,” Warren said. “It’s about wanting to make a difference, in the world, in someone’s life. Having Beyoncé bring it to life was a dream come true because she has lived every word of it and makes you believe that with every single note she sings. I was here. I lived. I loved.”
Colombian singer-songwriter Karol G put the spotlight on emerging artists Kali Uchis, Yendry and Nathy Peluso for their “strong identity and defined style, [which is] hard to find in other artists.” She added that they’re all “strong women with strong character with whom I identify with” and their their music is a “fusion of innovative sounds, in which each artist presents full freshness compared to what we hear today.”
Rock star St. Vincent rememberedthe late Billie Holidaysaying,“long live the genius spirit of Billie Holiday that will live on forever through her transcendent work.” She also praised Sister Rosetta Tharpe, calling her “an early guitar legend.”
“When people ask me about my favorite guitar players, I say look no further than Sister Rosetta Tharpe,” she said.
Remi Wolf calledErykah Badu"one of the strongest and most creative artistic voices and musicality in the game."
“I put on ‘Didn’t Cha Know’ specifically when I need to be lifted out of a funky mood,” she said. “It never fails to somehow heal a little part of me.”
Apple Music International Women’s Day logo.Apple Music
In addition to talking about the women who inspired them, each of these artists created a new Apple Music playlist filled with the songs that matter most to them. Currently live is Grande’s"Who Runs the World" playlistof 103 handpicked songs from artists likeBritney Spears,Madonna,Nicki Minaj,Mariah Carey,Christina AguileraandRihanna.
“There are so many lenses through which we can explore female empowerment in music: confidence, celebration of self, flexing the way men do, sexual liberaton, healing from heartbreak, uplifting one another, and just all around challenging the definition of what women and girls ‘should’ be,” Grande said. “The women and songs in this playlist (and sooooo many countless others … might need to make a second playlist tbh) have empowered millions of listeners worldwide.”
Ariana Grande.David Crotty/Getty Images
source: people.com
