ELLE honors women in the music industry - from the newly minted bad girl of pop to the reigning R&B queen of soul - who are not afraid to make some noise along with their top-selling records. For the full post on each artist along with photos from their fashion shoots, check out Rock of Angels.
VV Brown: “I was like, ‘I don’t care how many records I sell. I don’t want you to fly me to New York to work with that guy who’s got a new hit. I just want a record that’s me.’ ” Which turned into this year’s Travelling Like the Light, a peppy throwback filled with lush indie soul-pop, surf guitar trills, and doo-wop melodies, no doubt helping her earn a spot on Pink’s UK summer tour. And though she exudes sweet rockabilly charm, you heard it here first—an invitation to the ultimate MC rabble-rouser: “I’m really good,” she says; “I could totally battle against Kanye.”
Elly Jackson: 22-year-old Elly Jackson, front woman of British electro duo La Roux (with publicity-shy partner Ben Langmaid), packs a uniquely keening wail that lavishes melancholy over the top of chirpy ’80s-flashback dance beats, endowing them with an unlikely emotional heft. “I get a lot of bras and pants thrown onstage,” she says with a laugh. “Evidently, my androgyny appeals to both sexes.”
Hayley Williams: “I’m a loud person,” says 21-year-old Hayley Williams, Paramore’s fiery-haired, Lilliputian front woman, whose vocal adrenaline has made the band’s ferocious pop punk more than just a teenage phenomenon.
Kelis: Known for chameleon-like transformations, Kelis is conjuring a look she calls “animalistic and tribal and warrioresque”—fitting for a woman who racked up some defining experiences in her time out of the spotlight.
Christina Aguilera: “It’s great to walk in your flip-flops and sweatpants to work,” the always meticulously attired Christina Aguilera says rather amusingly about making Bionic, her first new album in four years.
The Like: The Like play their ’60s-girl-group-inspired songs with gritty, garage-rock energy while sporting cat eyeliner and updos. Their combo of sassy lyrics and inimitable throwback style has caught the eye of admirers.
Alicia Keys: Piano-soul high priestess Alicia Keys has won 12 Grammys and sold more than 30 million records. But last fall, just before releasing her fourth studio album, The Element of Freedom, Keys also sang the hook on Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind,” nearly upstaging Mr. Carter and solidifying the single as New York City’s definitive anthem of the aughts.
Charlotte Gainsbourg: Among the benefits of being Charlotte Gainsbourg—besides being a French national treasure, an indie film icon, and muse of Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquière (with the innate ability to turn jeans and a T-shirt into the embodiment of “effortless cool”)—is knowing that when you’re ready to record, music’s finest minds will line up to work with you.
Ke$Ha: The daughter of country songwriter Pebe Sebert, Ke$ha wrote most of her debut album, Animal, while she was “broke as hell,” living out of her car in Los Angeles and recording background vocals for artists like Flo Rida. “People give me grief about my lyrics,” she says, “but I try to show the freedom to be yourself, unapologetically and irreverently.”
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