Kid-safe music sung by ladies

[jedusor]

I realized when I was thirteen or fourteen that I had a strong preference for male vocalists. Female singers tended to get on my nerves, especially the ones with higher-pitched voices and styles incorporating vocal fry. At that point this was just an observation, but over time I got more uncomfortable with it and started actively trying to change my preferences. That's a tough thing to do, but I stuck with it, and after a few years there's a lot more female representation in my current rotation.

I don't know exactly why it happened in the first place, but I do know there were a lot of male voices in the music I heard when I was little. Ben Folds, They Might Be Giants, Moxy Fruvous, Queen, the Beatles, Weird Al... I guess once in a while Loreena McKennitt and Ani DiFranco got a turn, but the vast majority of the music playing in the background of my childhood had dudes in it.

So I made a playlist of profanity-free songs by women to put on while I babysit. While I was putting it together, I decided to go full feminist agenda and exclude songs that are explicitly about men as well. Except the Diana Vickers one, because it just straight-up belongs here. God, that song is great. Anyway, there are some dudes on instrumentals and a few male writers involved, but mostly I tried to keep this lady-centric.

(These are in no particular order; I usually listen to playlists on shuffle.)

Family Jewels - Marina and the Diamonds
Afterlife - Ingrid Michaelson
New Soul - Yael Naim
Falling - greedydancer (cover of Florence and the Machine, but I like GD's version better)
Brave - Sara Bareilles
99 Red Balloons - Nena
Royals - Lorde
Itsumo Nando Demo - Yumi Kimura
Applause - Lady Gaga
The Christians & The Pagans - Dar Williams
It's Not Your Day To Shine - Smoosh
Ya Soshla S Uma - tATu
Genius - The Murmurs
Invite Me - Sofia Allard
Extraordinary Machine - Fiona Apple
June Gloom - The Like
Anything But Ordinary - Avril Lavigne
Let Go - Frou Frou
Ribs - Lorde
Le petit voisin - Jeanne Cherhal
Eyes - Monsoon
I Love It (clean edit) - Icona Pop
Zingaro - Golden Bough
Some Velvet Morning - Primal Scream (cover of Nancy Sinatra)
Science Genius Girl - Freezepop
Music To Make The Boys Cry - Diana Vickers
The Mother We Share - Chvrches
Get Over - Dream
What's In The Middle - The Bird & The Bee
Wandering Star - Portishead
Not A Pretty Girl - Ani DiFranco
Bury My Troubles - Imelda May
Against the Wind - Máire Brennan