Pop's Leading Women of 2026: Charli xcx to Katy Perry

If you want to know where mainstream pop is heading in 2026, look at who is releasing it. In one remarkable stretch, five of the genre's most distinctive women all dropped new music — from an avant-garde tastemaker to an arena veteran. Here is what they are up to, and why this is a banner year for women in pop.

Charli xcx: still setting the pace

Charli xcx spent 2024 turning Brat into a genuine cultural phenomenon — its lime-green aesthetic and "brat summer" spilling far beyond music. Her 2026 single Wink Wink, the cheeky third single from her seventh album Music, Fashion, Film, proves the influence is intact: a pop-rock-meets-electropop track produced with longtime collaborator A.G. Cook. No one bends pop to their will quite like she does.

Ava Max: the powerhouse returns

Few singers in pop have a bigger voice than Ava Max, the artist behind "Sweet but Psycho" and "Kings & Queens". In 2026 she put it to dramatic use on FATE, reuniting with Alan Walker to belt over a sample of "O Fortuna". It is a reminder that Ava Max is at her best when the stakes — and the volume — are highest.

Katy Perry: the arena pop veteran

The most decorated name on this list, Katy Perry, brings big, built-for-stadiums pop with Watch It Burn. After more than a decade of chart-topping hits, she remains a benchmark for the kind of shout-it-back chorus that defines a summer.

LP: the cult favourite

LP — Laura Pergolizzi — occupies a unique space: a hit songwriter for Rihanna, Céline Dion and others who became an international star on their own terms with "Lost on You". Their 2026 single Love Is All I Have leans into the soaring, emotive alt-pop that earned LP a devoted global following.

Kelsea Ballerini: pop meets country

And on the country-pop frontier, Kelsea Ballerini teamed with Marshmello for Another Drink, a breezy summer crossover that drops her warm, radio-ready voice into festival-dance production. It is a neat snapshot of how freely pop, country and dance now mix.

The bigger picture

What stands out across these five is range — experimental art-pop, big-voiced EDM, stadium anthems, emotive alt-pop and country crossover, all led by women, all landing at once. For more on how these singles stack up against the rest of the season, see our song of the summer 2026 roundup. Read each track's full lyrics and meaning on its LyricsSol page.