Charli XCX's Top 10 Influential Female Musicians

The quickly rising pop singer lists the women in the industry who inspired her.

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Charli XCX is having a good run. From cowriting and performing with Icona Pop on "I Love It" and Iggy Azalea on "Fancy" to hoarding the airwaves with her own infectious hit "Boom Clap," the 22-year-old British export is riding a wave of excitement all the way to the release of her newest album, Sucker, out next week, which has a pop-punk sheen that's matched by her recent concerts playing with an all-girl group. (You can catch her performing as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live this weekend.) Charli XCX is the first to admit the influences that run deep through her music, as evidenced by this playlist she created for us of the major female musicians who have in some way shaped her sound and attitude. The results, spanning everything from disco to '90s grunge, might surprise you. Check out the list and listen below.

Listen to the playlist on Esquire Spotify

Britney Spears, "...Baby One More Time"

"Just because that was the first I ever heard of her, and I remember seeing the music video for the first time and it just blowing my mind. I literally just saw that video and wanted to dress like her and be like her, just like, 'Whaaat?' It was crazy. And it was definitely when my Britney Spears obsession began. My favorite Britney album is Blackout and yeah, she's great."

Shampoo, "Trouble"

"Because they're like the original Spice Girls, and they have such a sick look as well. It was really intense and I love how crusty they were, you know? It was real pussy power to me. Shampoo is also one of the best band names ever. That song was ahead of its time, and definitely laid the foundation for the Spice Girls."

No Doubt, "Just a Girl"

"That's the first time I really intensely connected with Gwen Stefani. She's a next-level female. She's just kickass. I see her as a superhero, particularly in that song. No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom is my favorite, she's on some mean shit, and 'Just a Girl' is a great girl-power anthem. I remember watching this video of her doing it live and she gets all the guys to sing 'I'm just a girl,' and it's really cool, it's so tongue-in-cheek. I really connect with that style."

t.A.T.u., "All the Things She Said"

"That song to me is just so intense. I was familiar with [producer] Trevor Horn's work, but that whole t.A.T.u thing sounded so futuristic to me, really dark, really emotional, but still so pop. I met Trevor a few months ago, and he was telling me how they really couldn't hardly speak English at all, so he was having to phonetically read to everyone."

The Donnas, "Dancing with Myself"

"I feel like they're a staple for awesome '90s cult classic high-school movies, I swear they're at the end of every one. I think they're just cool as fuck, their whole vibe. And they all have great hair. I feel like whenever I see the Donnas at the end section of the movie, I just automatically love the movie, even if the rest of it was shit, like, 'Oh the Donnas are here, it must be good.'"

Bikini Kill, "White Boy"

"Kathleen Hanna is just The One. She should be a hero for everyone in the world. She's so next-level and that song in particular really speaks to me because of the intro, where it has the recording of the guy talking about how if girls dress in a provocative way they're asking to be raped. It really struck a chord with me because obviously that's total bullshit. It was really cool with Bikini Kill and Kathleen Hanna in general, all of her messages were so to the foreground. There was no sugarcoating of anything, and those subject matters need to be spoken about in such an aggressive way."

Martika, "Toy Soldiers"

"That song was massively inspirational when I began writing. I remember hearing this super-rich, luscious sound and wanting to throw that into what I was doing, you know? All of my first record was really based around Martika, and also the Cure and Britney, but Martika, that song in particular... I really wanted to cover it for a while."

Bjork, "Like Someone in Love"

"Whenever I listen to this song I want to cry. Her voice is so beautiful, it's something that continuously astounds, the way that she makes sounds, it's incredible. This song in particular is just so simple, it's just her and like a harp. I always try to listen to it when I'm on airplanes, it makes me cry even more because of the altitude, and I really enjoy crying to this song."

Siouxsie and the Banshees, "Hong Kong Garden"

"It's such a classic song. I remember meeting Siouxsie once, like five years ago, and she just looked incredible. She's so magical. This song, it's almost super-pop, it still sounds so new to me. It's also a song my dad really likes, and it's a song he used to play a lot."

The Feminine Complex, "I Won't Run"

"It's a kind of sad but dreamy song with loads of incredible layered harmonies, and it just sounds really luscious. I was listening to this song a lot when I began making my second record. I was listening to a lot of old girl groups. This song reminds me of falling in love, and lying in the grass listening to it. I listened to it on repeat while I was getting ideas for my record, and it put me in this really dreamy kind of state. It's a really good song to get stoned to."

Donna Summer, "I Feel Love"

"The bass line is incredible. She's so sexy, and classy, and an incredible musician and singer, and her hair is great. I really only got into Donna Summer recently. I was on a really long flight and I listened to her greatest-hits record on repeat, and then started looking at loads of special Japanese seven-inches that she released that all have this amazing artwork, and my dad had a lot of Donna Summer records, too."

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