Girl power on the charts

Girl power of a soulful, intelligent sort is flourishing wonderfully on the hit charts of today. It is not only because of newcomer Leona Lewis’ Bleeding Love or of the new albums by those pop divas from the ‘80s, Mariah Carey E-MC2 and Madonna, Hard Candy. It is also due to the emergence of new, interesting female singer/songwriters, who are able to blend commercial and artistic appeal.

I noticed this after I kept running into titles by girl singers on various hit charts. There was Duffy’s Rockferry becoming No. 1 on  the UK or Sara Bareilles’ Little Voice on the US pop charts or Colbie Caillat’s video of Realize on the MYX hit list. What clinched my observation though was the Top 10 in the Billboard Pop tracks list for the week. Eight of the songs on the chart are by female acts.

Love Song by Bareilles; Bubbly by Caillat; Lost by Michael Bublé; Bleeding Love by Lewis; Apologize by Timbaland featuring OneRepublic; Teardrops on My Guitar by Taylor Swift; Tattoo by Jordin Sparks; Big Girls Don’t Cry by Fergie; Who Knew by Pink; and No One by Alicia Keys.

It is said that credit for this phenomenon goes to the fearless Amy Winehouse. Despite her tumultuous personal life, the British pop diva’s Rehab remains a hot seller. But others aver that Winehouse merely opened the door a bit. She started something like a look-see situation. The one who threw the gates wide open and allowed everybody in, was American Colbie Caillat whose Bubbly is still up there after almost a year in the stores.

Here now are the other wonderful females who came in their wake and who are changing the picture of pop music.

My best bet for longtime stardom is Duffy. She is actually Aimee Duffy and her hit CD is titled Rockferry. Like Winehouse, she is British. But unlike Winehouse, she is more soul than rock. She sounds like the classic girl singer of old. Truth to tell, I hear echoes of Dusty Springfield and Skeeter Davis in the way she sings. And because she is strong in the vocal department, she has no fear of experimenting with her style. One track may have her soaring through thick, lush arrangements while another would have her starkly pared down, almost singing to herself. But no matter what the setting, Duffy sounds sensational.

Included are Rockferry, Warwick Avenue, Serious, Stepping Stone, Syrup and Honey, Hanging on Too Long, Mercy, Delayed Devotion, I’m Scared and Distant Dreamer.

Maria Mena is not really a newcomer. She is already a big star in Europe. Even her album, Apparently Unaffected, which sounds remarkably current, is not. The CD must be three years old. But thanks to those girls who opened the doors, you know Winehouse and company, I am glad listeners are finally taking notice of the lovely, sweet-voiced Maria. I guess the reason for this is that what she did in the past sounds very like what the new girls are doing today. Simply put, she writes and sings songs from the heart. She knows her target. These are all about the joys and pains of young love that we have all been through.

Check out the tale she tells in Apparently Unaffected. The wistful If You’ll Stay in My Past frames the package and around it are Infernal Dialogue, This Bottle of Wine, Miss You Love, Boytoy Baby, He’s Hurting Me, Just Hold Me, Long Time Coming, Nevermind Me, These Shoes, Our Battles and Calm Under the Waves.

Although her big voice and piano playing bring to mind Alicia Keys, what I actually hear in Sarah Bareilles is a mixture of a ‘70s flower child and ‘90s rocker. She is a receptacle of opposites. There is a devil may care quality in how she sings but her compositions are intensely romantic. She also knows how to work commercial hooks into her melodies but these flow smoothly throughout the songs. And best of all Bareilles’ vocals is impeccable, certainly the best among this batch of girls.

The title of her album is Little Voice. Best cut is Love Song and Vegas is a close second. The others are Bottle It Up, One Sweet Love, Come Round Soon, Morningside, Between The Lines, Love on the Rocks, City, Many the Miles, Fairytale and Gravity.