Music is a very cut-throat industry, and is very hard to work in. The competition comes from the need for listens and followers. So when it comes to music, statistics matter a lot. Especially to these relatively small, and mostly unrecognized female artists. 

10. Hayley Williams

Hayley is an artist who started making music in 2003 when she was just 14 years old. The music can be found on Spotify by looking up Hayley Williams, and you can also find her as the lead singer of Paramore. Her genre is indie/alternative and she has 565,319 monthly listeners on Spotify. Her top hits are Simmer, Dead Horse, Cinnamon, Over Those Hills, and Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris. 

9. Kim Petras

Petras is a fairly small musician who began making music in 2008 as a teenager. She can be found on Spotify by looking up her name, Kim Petras on Spotify. Her genre is pop, and she has 4,203,150 monthly listeners on Spotify. Her top hit is Coconuts, but other popular releases include In The Next Life, Unlock it (Lock It), All I Do Is Cry, and Tell Me It’s A Nightmare.

8. Tegan and Sara

This band is a surprisingly unnoticed duo, even having helped make the song Everything Is Awesome from The Lego Movie. The twins started making music in 1995 at the age of 18. They make indie music with only 1,798,206 monthly listeners, being found on Spotify under the name Tegan and Sara. Their top hits Where Does The Good Go, Walking with a Ghost, I Was Married, Are You Ten Years Ago, and Like O, Like H.

7. Amanda Palmer

Amanda is a small singer who has written quite a lot of music, still managing to not have made it big. She started making music in 1999 at the age of 23. She makes alternative/indie music, and has 241,842 monthly listeners. Her most listened to music is Runs in the Family, In My Mind, Ukulele Anthem, Astronaut, and The Killing Type.

6. Orla Gartland

Orla is a solo artist who has made quite a few songs, all with millions of listens besides not many people really listening to her music. She started making music in 2009 at just 14 years old, still making music to this day. She makes pop music with 736,021 monthly listeners. Their hits include More Like You, You’re Not Special, Babe, I Go Crazy, Heavy, and Did It To Myself.

5. Mitski

Mitski is a solo Japanese-American singer who has made quite a few songs, some with a lot of listens, yet they get way more listens than she gets monthly listeners. She started making music in 2012 at 22, releasing her first album. She has 9,465,675 monthly listeners, making alternative/indie music that in contrast to the usual energy of rock music they’re much sadder. Her hits include Washing Machine Heart, First Love/Late Spring, Nobody, Me and My Husband, I Bet on Losing Dogs.

4. Phoebe Bridgers

Phoebe is a singer who has, much like Mitski, made many big songs but doesn’t get many monthly listeners. She started her career in 2014 at 20 years old. She makes alternative/indie music with 6,091,791monthly listeners. Her top songs include Motion Sickness, Kyoto, The Gold, Garden Song, Moon Song.

3. AURORA

Like the other two before her, Aurora is another singer with massive songs but a small fanbase. She started her path to fame at 16, being fairly young. She has 11,404,254 monthly listeners, making pop and folk music. Her top songs are Runaway, Into the Unknown, PARAMOUR, A Temporary High, Running with the Wolves.

2. Billie Marten

Billie is a musician who is the extreme version of the previous three, being almost fifty times smaller than her top song. She started making music at 15, being even younger than Aurora at 15 years old, starting in 2014. She makes alternative/indie music having only 1,747,094 monthly listeners. Billie’s best songs are La Lune, Vanilla Baby, Cursive, Mice, and She Dances.

1. Leanna Firestone

Leanna is an artist who makes music with a small fan base and a small amount of listens. She started making TikToks in 2020 at the age of 19, though she wrote and performed her first song in 8th grade. She makes pop music, having only 516,972 monthly listeners. Her most listened to songs are Least Favorite Only Child, Diet Coke, Strawberry Mentos, Two Week Notice, and Smitten.