Inspirational female artists who have all written Number 1 hits
We're celebrating International Women's Day
Saturday 8th March 2025 is International Women's Day. To celebrate the day that recognises the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, we've found some very inspirational women in the music world.
Here are some of the biggest names in music, from P!NK to Adele, Beyoncé to Taylor Swift, Jess Glynne to Charli xcx, and of course the record-breaking, BRIT Award-winning RAYE, who won six BRITs at the 2024 ceremony.
All of these amazing women have written their own chart-topping hits!
Take a look at these inspirational female artists who have all achieved success with Number 1 hits they've written:
RAYE
RAYE left her record label in 2021 and since then has released music independently, which has included her Number 1 hit 'Escapism'. If that wasn't enough, the singer won a BRIT Award in 2024 for her song in the Song of the Year category, as well as winning five other awards, making BRIT history, for the most awards won in any one year. RAYE then won another award at the 2025 ceremony, for best R&B Act.
Charli xcx
She's written for a lot of successful artists in the past, but it was 2024 when Charli xcx's songwriting talent really got noticed! After writing her award-winning album 'brat', which featured tracks like 'Apple' and '360', the album unsurprisingly went straight to Number 1 and won an award at the 2025 BRIT Awards. Charli also co-wrote the Number 1 track 'Guess' alongside Billie Eilish.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is a force to be reckoned with. In February 2025, Taylor broke an Official Charts record by becoming the female artist with the most Number 1 albums in UK. She's also had plenty of Top 10 singles too that she's written, including her Number 1 hit 'Look What You Made Me Do'.
Sabrina Carpenter
Although she's been making music for a while, Sabrina Carpenter burst onto the music scene in 2024, co-writing Number 1 tracks 'Espresso', 'Please, Please, Please', and 'Taste'. Her sixth studio album 'Short n' Sweet' also hit Number 1 after it was released in September 2024.
Adele
Adele is a prolific songwriter, having written or co-written nearly all of the songs on her four Number 1 albums. 'Someone like You', 'Hello' and 'Easy on Me' are the three Number 1 singles she's written.
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue has been in the music industry since the 80s, but she's still releasing very successful songs to this day, including her 2023 hit 'Padam Padam'. Although she's had several Number 1s over the years, it was her chart-topper 'Slow' in 2003, which was the first Number 1 she wrote.
P!NK
Having enjoyed two very successful decades in the music business, P!NK has written many of her songs including 'Just Like a Pill', and 'So What' which both went to Number 1 in the UK.
Chappell Roan
Chappell Roan writes her own songs alongside her producer Dan Nigro. Although her popular tracks 'Pink Pony Club' and 'Good Luck Babe' only peaked at Number 2 here in the UK, her debut studio album 'The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess' did reach Number 1 in the Album Chart.
Ariana Grande
With plenty of hits under her belt, it's no surprise that Ariana has penned a number of them, including Number 1 hits like ''Thank u, next', '7 Rings' and 'Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored'. She also co-wrote her 2014 hit with Iggy Azalea, 'Problem'.
Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo wrote or co-wrote all the tracks on her first two albums 'Sour' (2021), and 'Guts' (2023). Both albums hit the Number 1 spot in the UK, as well as tracks such as 'Drivers Licence' and 'Good 4 U'.
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish wrote or co-wrote every song on her three Number 1 albums, 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' (2019), 'Happier Than Ever' (2021), and 'Hit Me Hard and Soft' (2024). She also had chart-topping success with the James Bond theme 'No Time to Die' in 2020.
Dua Lipa
In 2019, Dua Lipa and Calvin Harris picked up a BRIT Award for their massive anthem 'One Kiss'. The song was written by both Dua and Calvin along with Jessie Reyez and reached Number 1 around the world. In 2023, she also had a Number 1 with a song she co-wrote for the Barbie film with Mark Ronson, called 'Dance The Night'. In 2024, Dua released her third studio album 'Radical Optimism', which also hit the top spot in the UK Charts.
Camila Cabello
After leaving Fifth Harmony, Camila Cabello had some big success with her Number 1 hits 'Havana', and 'Señorita', both of which she wrote.
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga has written so many songs, including her debut hit which reached Number 1, 'Just Dance,' followed by 'Poker Face,' 'Bad Romance', and her massive collab with Bradley Cooper, 'Shallow'. Her seventh studio album 'Mayhem' was released in March 2025.
Katy Perry
Katy Perry's massive breakthrough song 'I Kissed A Girl' was the first Number 1 written by the pop star. She followed that success with more Number 1s she'd written including 'California Gurls', 'Part of Me', 'Roar', and her collaboration with Calvin Harris, Big Sean and Pharrell Williams, 'Feels'.
Beyoncé
Beyoncé has had several Number 1s that she has co-written, including 'Crazy in Love', 'Déjà Vu', 'Beautiful Liar' and of course her fantastic collab with Lady Gaga, 'Telephone'. Most recently, Beyoncé has had another Number 1 with her country hit 'Texas Hold 'Em'.
Ella Henderson
Going from X Factor contestant to pop star in her own right, Ella Henderson has had hits like 'Glow', 'Yours', and 'This Is Real', but it was her single 'Ghost' that she co-wrote which reached the top spot in the UK.
Becky Hill
Becky Hill has co-written many of her releases. However, it was her debut hit with Oliver Heldens 'Gecko (Overdrive)' which reached the top spot first in 2014.
Jess Glynne
Jess Glynne sprung to fame on Clean Bandit's hit 'Rather Be', and she's since made history by becoming the first British female solo artist to score seven number ones on the UK Singles Chart. Jess co-wrote tracks such as 'Hold My Hand', 'Don't Be So Hard On Yourself', and 'I'll Be There'.
Ella Eyre
Despite being known for featuring on a number of songs including, Rudimental's Number 1 'Waiting All Night' and Sigala's 'Came Here for Love', Ella Eyre is also a songwriter. Ella co-wrote Sigma's 2014 hit 'Changing' featuring Paloma Faith along with a team of songwriters.
Ava Max
Ava Max burst onto the music scene back in 2018 with her huge hit 'Sweet but Psycho'. The song was written by Ava and featured on her debut album 'Heaven & Hell' released in 2020.
Cheryl
After Girls Aloud split, Cheryl went on to release several hits including five Number 1 singles, two of which she co-wrote, 'I Don't Care' and 'Crazy Stupid Love'.
Little Mix
Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and former member Jesy Nelson truly made their mark when they wrote and released 'Shout Out to My Ex'. Not only did the female anthem get to Number 1, it also won Best British Single at the BRITs in 2017.
Gayle
Gayle, real name Taylor Gayle Rutherford, had huge success with her debut song 'ABCDEFU', which she wrote. The song was a Number 1 hit around the world including the UK.
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