For the first time in history, five leading female artists top the Billboard 200 list. You go girls!

Drum roll, please!

5.  Taylor Swift, Fearless
4.  Mary J. Blige, Stronger with Each Tear
3.  Alicia Keys, The Element of Freedom
2.  Lady Gaga, The Fame
1.  Susan Boyle, I Dreamed a Dream

These five artists certainly represent an interesting mix of genres and personalities.

Let’s start with Taylor Swift, the bubbly young country artist that has taken country music by storm. At 20-years-old Swift’s success is enormous with eight Grammy nominations this year including album and record of the year as well as best country album. Her success at such a young age is remarkable, but is Swift a feminist or a good role model for girls and women?

Opinions are divided. While there are those who believe Swift’s fairytale, princess lyrics are damaging to women because they often center around a woman waiting around for her prince charming or Mr. Right, there are others who believe her business savvy and success (the artist has four Country Music Awards, five American Music Awards, and let’s not forget eight Grammy nominations) as a young female artist should be recognized, especially when she is the one writing and producing her albums in an industry that is heavily male-dominated. She has also stayed clear of the seductive dance moves and provocative dress that other artists have used to sell records. Swift’s records sell because her fans like her music, not her cleavage.

If you ask me, I think it’s too early for a final judgment on Swift. It is clear that she has a long career ahead of herself and it will be interesting to see how her music evolves as she grows up before America.

Mary J. Blige, “The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul,”  is a much more seasoned artist with nine Grammy Awards under her belt and over 65 million records sold worldwide. Her most recent album, Stronger with Each Tear, was released this past December from Matriarch Records/Entertainment, an urban hip-hop/R&B record label and entertainment company founded by the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul” herself. Throughout her nearly 20 year career, Blige has used her music to explore the trials and tribulations of her life (Blige was raised by a single mother after her abusive father abandoned their family and has struggled with addiction and abuse as an adult) and this album is no different revealing her experience with sexual abuse as a child.

I believe that Blige’s candidness about her life through her music has made her a strong role model for women and her success in a genre that caters to men and casts women as sluts and hoes should be admired. Blige has played by her own rules and in doing so has created an impressive career. But she is not one to forget where she started. In fact, Blige recently opened a women’s center in Yonkers, New York to help victims of domestic violence.

Alicia Keys, another R&B phenomenon, has 12 Grammy Awards and over 30 million albums sold worldwide. A singer, songwriter, and producer, Keys has taken control of her musical career and has made a point of emphasizing her role as a composer and pianist as much as that of a singer. Determined to be taken seriously and not be seen as just another pretty face, Keys has made a habit of appearing in pants, which she says are “just as sexy.” For Keys her music career isn’t the be all end all – she also wants to become a playwright, movie producer, Broadway actress, website creator, and talk show host.

What makes Keys a good role model for women? Her reach for the stars, no limits mindset for one. This is a woman with ambition running through her veins and she doesn’t let anyone stand in the way of her next project. Like Blige she too should be noted for her remarkable career without the booty-shaking moves that make other artists so popular. And what’s more? The artist uses her celebrity to help fight HIV/AIDS with her “Keep a Child Alive” organization.
 
In a recent interview with the LA Times Gaga, our Billboard runner-up, causally mentions that she is in fact a feminist:

“I’m getting the sense that you’re a little bit of a feminist, like I am, which is good,” she says in the interview. “I find that men get away with saying a lot in this business, and that women get away with saying very little . . . In my opinion, women need and want someone to look up to that they feel have the full sense of who they are, and says, ‘I’m great.’” (Make sure you check out fellow Care2 blogger Amelia’s post on Lady Gaga)

Gaga’s ownership of the word “feminist” is refreshing and exciting, especially for a young celebrity with such fame. At 23-years-old Gaga has a real opportunity to serve as a role model for young women who feel feminism is dead or doesn’t affect them. Let’s hope she continues to do this as she has explored sexuality, body image, and violence in her music before. (Check out Gaga’s latest video for Bad Romance which she says is about ‘how the entertainment industry can, in a metaphorical way, simulate human trafficking — products being sold, the woman perceived as a commodity.”)

Last, but certainly not least, let us take a look at Susan Boyle, arguably the least likely to be sitting at #1 on the Billboard’s Top 200 list. Boyle’s audition for the show Britain’s Got Talent where she sang I Dreamed a Dream stunned viewers around the world (even Simon Cowell). A middle-aged, single, unemployed woman with wrinkles, graying hair, and an unflattering ensemble, the audience was ready to ridicule Boyle’s performance, but in just the first few notes of her performance the audience breaks into cheers and applause.

Boyle’s faith in her own ability is what, I think, makes her an excellent role model for women. Boyle has defied the stereotypical make of a typical artist, shooting to the top on her talent and work ethic and that is something to be admired.

So there you have it! What do you think of the Billboard’s top 5 women? Are they deserving of their spot? Do these women serve as positive role models for their fans?