21 Confidence-Boosting Songs to Make You Feel Invincible
Updated: Feb. 07, 2024
Want to boost your self-esteem? Go out and conquer the world with these songs about confidence.
Music has an undeniable power to move you—physically and emotionally. And we’re not just talking about lifting your spirits or making you want to dance. Music can calm you. It can make your heart flutter. It can inspire you to work out or clean your house (try these motivating tunes for cleaning if you’re in the mood). Music can perk you up when you’re feeling low, either with happy songs or hilarious songs. And if you want to boost your self-esteem, studies have shown that music can help—just try these songs about confidence.
We’ve rounded up some of the most empowering tunes to our confidence-boosting playlist. Some are personal self-reflections written by an artist about overcoming hardship. Other songs of confidence are belt-your-heart-out anthems performed by artists so self-assured, just singing along will help you learn how to be confident. So whether you like new pop hits, throwback anthems or are looking to discover something new, we’ve got you covered with our essential playlist of confidence-boosting songs.
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“Confident” by Demi Lovato
What better song to kick off our playlist of songs about confidence than this pop-banger about emotional strength from Demi Lovato, where she proudly proclaims, “I’m the boss right now/ Not gonna fake it” before challenging her adversary with the whispered question, “What’s wrong with being confident?”
Clearly nothing: The 2015 song helped her like-titled album earn a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album, and it got a revamp this year when Lovato released a rock version of it—the self-confident, take-no-holds lyrics remain the same. Give it a listen.
“Good as Hell” by Lizzo
It seemed like a sleeper hit single when Lizzo’s “Good as Hell” took over the airways in 2019, but the song was actually first released in 2016. And while it took three years to get noticed, Lizzo (Melissa Vivienne Jefferson) always believed in her ode to self-love, where she advised women, “If he don’t love you anymore/ just walk your fine a** out the door.”
“Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” by Shania Twain
With those iconic three little words—”Let’s go, girls”—Shania Twain ensured that the dance floor would be fully packed with women embracing a girls night out. After all, she proudly sings, “The best thing about being a woman/ is the prerogative to have a little fun.” (Sing it with us: Whoa-oh-oh!)
The 1999 smash hit nabbed a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, while the album, Come On Over, holds the Guinness record for the bestselling studio album by a female performer of all time—it sold more than 40 million copies.
“Karma” by Taylor Swift
Long rumored to be a sly ode to her long-standing infamous feud with Kanye West, Taylor Swift’s “Karma” celebrates coming out on the other side a winner—simply because she deserves it for “keeping my side of the street clean.”
In the chorus, Swift proclaims, “Karma is my boyfriend/ Karma is a god/ Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend/ Karma’s a relaxing thought.” The track, which topped Billboard‘s mainstream top 40 chart, takes a darker tone at the end, where Swift crows “Karma is the thunder/ Rattling your ground.”
“Don’t Cha” by the Pussycat Dolls
You have to possess a metric ton of confidence to proudly croon, “Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?” The burlesque troupe turned unstoppable early-2000s girl group, The Pussycat Dolls, released this 2005 smash hit that nearly topped Billboard‘s Hot 100. It featured lead doll Nicole Scherzinger sexily growling her way through the lyrics, while Busta Rhymes (who co-wrote the song with CeeLo Green) bookends the tracks with his signature spitfire raps.
And this confidence-boosting song is also a guilt-free listen: While Scherzinger purrs, “Don’t you wish your girlfriend was a freak like me,” she steps back from enticing the object of her affection to cheat when she says, “If it ain’t love/ It just ain’t enough to leave a happy home.”
“Stronger” by Britney Spears
As she revealed in her new memoir, The Woman in Me, Britney Spears has courage and has bravely faced her fair share of struggles. Which is why it’s poignant that she released this epic ode to overcoming adversity in 2000, when she was right in the middle of a challenging relationship with Justin Timberlake, whom she alleged cheated on her repeatedly. Ironically, in the video for the song, Spears confronts her cheating boyfriend at a club before performing a now-legendary dance on a silver chair, singing, “Here I go, on my own/ I don’t need nobody, better off alone … Stronger than yesterday/ It’s nothing but my way.”
“Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera
No one would ever describe Christina Aguilera as, well, shy. From “Genie in a Bottle,” where she proudly proclaims, “I can make your wish come true,” to “What a Girl Wants,” where she reminds her suitor, “Whatever makes me happy sets you free,” the Mickey Mouse Club alum has kept her confidence high with unstoppable pop anthems. That’s why her 2002 ballad, “Beautiful,” was such a departure. On it, Aguilera tackles overcoming insecurity to step into a place of pride. “You are beautiful/ no matter what they say,” she sings in the song, which has been embraced by the LGBTQ community, in part for its video that portrayed gay and trans people in a positive light.
“Not Afraid” by Eminem
It’s a bit easier to face your fears when you learn that even Eminem has struggled in the past. Bolstered by his signature rapid-fire delivery, Eminem’s self-reflective 2010 single off his seventh album, Recovery, addressed his battle with his own demons—and how he came out on the other side unafraid. But Marshall Mathers is quick to point out that for fans who’ve been with him through his struggles, he’s there to carry them through, rap-singing, “We’ll walk this road together, through the storm/ Whatever weather, cold or warm/ Just lettin’ you know that you’re not alone/ Holla if you feel like you’ve been down the same road.” The track earned him a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance, and when performing it live, he often thanks fans for sticking by him.
“I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross
Those guitars! Those drums! Those horns that are now a hip-hop sample staple! An LGBTQ anthem, of course, its name is synonymous with someone publicly sharing their sexual identity. In fact, its writers, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards from Chic, penned it after seeing drag queens perform as Diana Ross. This 1980 single from Ross’s smash, self-titled album celebrates loving yourself for who you are. And sure, the lyrics undeniably apply to “coming out of the closet,” but they can also address coming into your own, as Ross croons, “The time has come for me to break out of this shell.”
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” by Kelly Clarkson
“Since You’ve Been Gone” is the obvious self-empowerment song from American Idol-winner-turned-pop-diva Kelly Clarkson. However, her 2011 single “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” cannot be overlooked. Not only did it top Billboard‘s Hot 100 (“Since You’ve Been Gone” peaked at No. 2), but it’s also a true ode to self-confidence and rising from the ashes. Belted out as only Clarkson can, the title track from her fifth album celebrates standing tall on her own.
“The Climb” by Miley Cyrus
It’s not always about where you end up. Sometimes, it’s about the journey. That’s the message behind “The Climb,” Miley Cyrus’s sweeping power ballad from Hannah Montana: The Movie, the 2009 box-office smash incarnation of her hit Disney show. In the movie, it’s the song Cyrus performs after her character reveals that she’s been living a double life as a pop superstar. It’s the lead single for the film’s massively successful soundtrack, where Cyrus’s dynamic vocals and lyrics celebrate true grit: “The struggles I’m facing/ The chances I’m taking/ Sometimes might knock me down, but no, I’m not breaking.”
“Roar” by Katy Perry
Its title is a nod to Helen Reddy’s famed 1971 song, “I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar.” For Katy Perry, this 2013 single was her chance for everyone to hear her loudly make some noise. “‘Roar’ was a song I wrote about really standing up for myself, finally, and hopefully people are going to adopt that same message,” she told CapitalFM when debuting the track. They definitely heard her roar: The lead single from her fourth album, Prism, “Roar” topped Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart and helped propel Perry to the center stage as the performer for the Super Bowl in 2015 (where she entered riding a giant gold lion).
“Fight Song” by Rachel Platten
Sometimes, all you need is a little straightforward encouragement to feel confident and go after what you want. Need inspiration to face your fears? Look no further than Rachel Platten’s 2015 breakout “Fight Song.” In the lead single from the former indie songwriter’s major-label debut, Platten celebrates taking charge, singing, “This is my fight song/ Take back my life song/ Prove I’m alright song … I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me.” It’s one of the most encouraging songs about confidence.
“Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (feat. Ray Dalton)
Seattle is proud of native son Macklemore (real name: Benjamin Hammond Haggerty), with the Mariners and Seahawks having used this chart-topping single in celebration at their stadiums. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis definitely couldn’t be held back when they released this single in 2013: Like their first, “Thrift Shop,” it topped Billboard‘s Hot 100. With lyrics like, “We came here to live life like nobody was watching,” “Can’t Hold Us” celebrates living in the moment—and living well, as they say in the oft-repeated chorus, “So we put our hands up/ Like the ceiling can’t hold us.”
“So What” by Pink
When the world was celebrating petite pop icons, Pink was brashly thumbing her nose at them while proudly proclaiming, “I’m having more fun.” In the video for 2008’s “So What,” Pink celebrates her outsider identity in Hollywood, streaking on a red carpet and losing her table at a restaurant to singer-turned-reality-juggernaut Jessica Simpson. The song was written during Pink’s separation from husband Carey Hart—they’ve since reunited, and he appears in the video even though she calls him a “tool.” It’s bawdy, it’s brash and it climbed charts thanks to fans resonating with its self-confident message: Things may get messy, but “So what? I’m still a rock star.”
“Unstoppable” by Sia
Sia’s hit single “Unstoppable” is a relentless backing track bolstered by the Australian singer-songwriter’s sweeping vocals and lyrical wordplay. This song about confidence is a lesson in persistence and being, well, unstoppable.
The track was first released in 2016, but it wasn’t until a 2022 boost from TikTok that “Unstoppable” became a chart-topping single. The track is a great reminder that success may not be immediate (for this song, it took six years), but it’s within grasp if you, like Sia, “put my armor on.”
“Born This Way” by Lady Gaga
One of the most well-known songs about confidence, “Born This Way” was an immediate anthem for the LGBTQ community upon its release, as Lady Gaga urged everyone to “rejoice and love yourself today, ’cause baby, you were born this way.” In the lead single from her second studio album, Born This Way, Gaga growled, “It doesn’t matter if you love him or capital HIM.” She let the world know exactly where she stood on cherishing one’s true identity. And that’s by design. Gaga told Billboard that the song is “very literal” because she didn’t want the message of self-confidence and self-love “hidden in poetic wizardry and metaphors.”
“Coming Out of the Dark” by Gloria Estefan
After a truck rammed her tour bus, breaking her back and nearly killing her, it was uncertain if Gloria Estefan would ever walk again, let alone perform. Known for her high-energy performances and relentless dance tunes like “Get on Your Feet,” the Miami Sound Machine singer underwent surgery and took time off to recover. Nearly one year after the almost-fatal accident, she released this power ballad celebrating her comeback. The 1991 song has lyrics like “Step by step/ I’ll make it through/ I know I can,” making it the ideal song for anyone hoping to overcome a struggle.
“Brave” by Sara Bareilles
If you feel like you need a cheerleader—someone who has your back and roots for you as you face obstacles head-on and get out of your comfort zone—then it’s time to throw on Sara Bareilles’s hit “Brave.” With lyrics like “Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live/ Maybe one of these days you can let the light in/ Show me how big your brave is,” the tune is a lyrical pat on the back and hug of encouragement. Co-written by Bareilles and Jack Antonoff, the track from her 2013 album A Blessed Unrest scored a Best Pop Solo Performance nomination at the Grammys.
“Wings” by Little Mix
Sure, it’s a bubblegum pop track sung by The X Factor UK winners Little Mix, but “Wings” is anything but a throwaway pop confection. This debut song about confidence tackles the haters in a self-respecting way—and reminds people that failure is just a temporary state.
“We don’t let nobody bring us down/ No matter what you say, it won’t hurt me/ Don’t matter if I fall from the sky/ These wings are made to fly,” the quartet sing on the track, which topped the charts in the U.K. and Ireland.
“Run This Town” by Jay-Z (feat. Rihanna and Kanye West)
There’s nothing wrong with a little borrowed confidence, and if you’re going to swipe a little self-esteem, you could do worse than letting the swagger of Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West rub off on you. This 2009 track grabbed two Grammy Awards: Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. And while Jay-Z and West bring the expected lyrical genius to their verses, it’s Rihanna’s chorus that’ll make you feel like a champion. Just sing along as RiRi reminds you, “I break the rules, so I don’t care/ So I keep doin’ my own thing/ Walkin’ tall against the rain.” But after singing along, when she asks, “Who’s gon’ run this town tonight?” you can confidently answer, “Me.”
Sources:
- Procedia, Social and Behavioral Sciences: “The Effect of Playing Music on the Confidence Level”
- CapitalFM: “Katy Perry Gives New Song ‘Roar’ Its First Play on Capital and Talks Song Meaning”
- Billboard: “The Billboard Q&A: Lady Gaga’s Good Romance”
Originally Published: November 30, 2023
