My Top 10 Favorite Songs of All Time with Female Vocalists

Ever noticed how I don’t talk about many female vocalists on my blog? Well, that’s because nowadays, I mostly listen to bands with male vocalists. It’s not that I don’t like female vocalists; I used to listen to a lot of female vocalists as a kid. But my music taste changed dramatically in my freshman/sophomore year of college when I made the switch to rock ‘n’ roll. Maybe it’s because I was listening to the wrong songs by female vocalists, but the ones I used to love were starting to have negative effects on my mental health. Either because they brought out my insecurities or they brought up painful past experiences.

Now that I’m a little over a year out of college, I’m in a better place where I can actually enjoy listening to my old favorite songs with female vocals. Therefore, I thought it’d be fun to share my top 10 favorite songs of all time with female vocalists, just to show you guys that I don’t only listen to songs sung by dudes! This episode was inspired by a relatively recent episode of Sea of Tranquility titled, “Our Top 10 Favorite Songs of All Time with Female Vocals (w/Martin Popoff).” With that said, let’s get on with the music!

10. ”You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon

If you’ve been following my blog for a while now, you’d know that I am a huge American Idol fan (from seasons 1-11, at least). On season seven, during the top 10 girls round, Brooke White sang Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” and the judges jokingly thought that she dedicated the performance to Simon Cowell. I mean, if you listen to the lyrics, then you’d get where they were coming from. The song has such a laid-back vibe, yet the lyrics are so direct and in-your-face. In fact, the first line of the song is “son of a gun.” Enough said!

9. ”Can’t Fight the Moonlight” by LeAnn Rimes

I was torn between two LeAnn Rimes songs: “How Do I Live” and “Can’t Fight the Moonlight.” Both songs were sung on American Idol (shocker), but because I’ve heard “How Do I Live” so many times throughout my life, I went with “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” for this list. The latter has a bit of sass to it and the chorus is insanely catchy. On the second season of Idol, Carmen Rasmusen’s rendition of “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” wasn’t the greatest, but I like that she sped up the tempo. Unfortunately, she was so young at the time and her nerves got the best of her. It’s one of those “what if” scenarios, where I wonder how different her performance would’ve turned out if she was a few years older and had more experience.

8. ”I Hate Myself for Loving You” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

The first time I heard “I Hate Myself for Loving You” was on American Idol and it was sung by Amanda Overmyer on season seven, during the top eight girls round. I still feel like she was eliminated too early from the show, but at the same time, I also get why she was eliminated in the first place. I’ve only heard this song once on the show, but I think because I replayed the semi-finals episodes from season seven over and over again as a kid, the song forever became engraved in my brain. Does Joan Jett have the greatest voice in the world? No, but she had attitude and wore a lot of black! “I Hate Myself for Loving You” was the first real bada** song I got into, which is why it holds a special place in my heart.

7. “48 Crash” by Suzi Quatro

It’s funny going from Joan Jett to Suzi Quatro because Jett was inspired by Quatro, musically and appearance-wise. Around 2018-2019, I sang Quatro’s songs a lot around the house and my mom hated that because Quatro had a habit of screaming in her songs, haha. Like I mentioned in my review of Quatro’s The Rock Box, after I got over my obsession with her, I still kept “48 Crash” on my Spotify playlist because I love that song so much! Everything about that song is so cool: the intro, Quatro’s vocals, the drum parts, the lyrics, and of course, Quatro’s famous scream during the bridge. I’ll admit, I’m not a fan of Quatro’s current live rendition of the song with the lower key, the backup singers, and the horn section because they take away the bada** feeling that got me into the song in the first place. The studio recording of “48 Crash” is still great, though.

6. ”Anytime” by Kelly Clarkson

Who remembers that infamous film, From Justin to Kelly (2003)? Well, “Anytime” was featured in the movie and it was released on Kelly Clarkson’s debut album. This is where the list gets serious because from here and moving forward, I’ve sung all these songs religiously throughout my life. It’s probably because I had a lot of boy troubles in middle school and high school, so music was a way for me to deal with the pain. I was also considering “Since U Been Gone” and “My Life Would Suck Without You,” but when it comes to Clarkson’s music, I prefer singing the ballads. Especially this one because according to Clarkson, “Anytime” has a Celine Dion vibe to it, which I’m perfectly fine with. 

5. ”I’ll Always Remember You” from Hannah Montana, sung by Miley Cyrus

To be honest, I’ve sung “Wherever I Go” way more than “I’ll Always Remember You,” but the former isn’t on Spotify yet and both songs have similar themes, so it doesn’t really matter which one I choose at this point. I almost didn’t include “I’ll Always Remember You,” but I decided to add it at the last minute because of how the lyrics resonate with me now as I’m doing the Disney College Program. My life in Florida is temporary, but I’ll look back on the memories with a smile on my face, for the most part, and go “wow, I did all of that!” I also included that song on my high school graduation slideshow presentation. It’s a beautiful song and I think many people can relate to it, especially if they’re closing one chapter of their life and opening up a new one.

4. ”Too Young” by Sabrina Carpenter

In high school, I was a huge Sabrina Carpenter fan. She was around my age, she had a beautiful voice, she starred on the only decent Disney Channel show left at the time, and she was my height, haha. However, I don’t really care for her dance-pop and electro pop stuff she does nowadays, and I’ve pretty much lost interest in her music since I got into rock music. I’m mostly into Carpenter’s first album, especially the song “Too Young” because the lyrics pretty much sum up my boy troubles in high school. I liked an older boy, but he didn’t like me back, and I was putting a lot of effort into our friendship, but he wasn’t doing the same. “Too Young” is such a beautiful ballad and it showcases Carpenter’s powerful vocals; her current songs don’t do her voice justice, for the most part. 

3. ”It’s Not Too Late” from Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010), sung by Demi Lovato

I mentioned “It’s Not Too Late” in a previous post titled My Top 10 Disney Channel Original Movie Songs, and I’ll talk about it again! I sang this song so much in high school because I was such a mess back then. From middle school through the first couple years of college, I felt like everything I touched fell apart. Music was my escape from reality, and “It’s Not Too Late” gave me a sense of hope that my problems would work out in the end. Demi Lovato was also going through a rough time during the Camp Rock 2 era, so if you watch live versions of this song, you can definitely feel her pain. 

2. ”When There Was Me and You” from High School Musical (2006), sung by Vanessa Hudgens

Man, half of these songs on the list are about boy troubles. I’m sorry, haha! But come on, I’d be kidding myself if I said I didn’t sing “When There Was Me and You” over and over again as a kid. The song is barely three minutes long, so it’s short. But that means the lyrics are easy to memorize and the song is easy for me to sing along with. Plus, Vanessa Hudgens had pipes, man!

1. ”Hopelessly Devoted to You” from Grease (1978), sung by Olivia Newton-John

Grease (1978) is one of my favorite movies of all time, so I’m not surprised “Hopelessly Devoted to You” made it to number one on my list. I knew about this song before it was performed on American Idol during season seven; that’s because I practically grew up with Grease. Just like “When There Was Me and You,” the song is barely three minutes long, so the lyrics are easy to memorize and the song is easy to sing along with. If there was one song that best sums up unrequited love, “Hopelessly Devoted to You” would be it! The song wasn’t even in the original musical; it was one of the few songs written specifically for the film. 

There you have it, people! Those are my top 10 favorite songs of all time with female vocalists. Some of my other honorable mentions include Everlife’s “Find Yourself in You,” Ashley Tisdale’s “It’s Alright, It’s OK,” Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All,” Ariana Grande’s “Honeymoon Avenue,” Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” and Selena’s “I Could Fall in Love.” Notice how most of my picks consisted of pop songs? That’s because I don’t know many female rock vocalists, so if you have any suggestions, leave them down in the comments below!

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Take care and see ya real soon!

Lana