Music can be used to regulate your mood by easing negative emotions and enhancing positive ones. According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness, our favorite melodies release dopamine, known as the “feel-good hormone.” They also said that fast tempos can psychologically and physiologically arouse us, helping energize us for the day which can have a positive impact on our mental state.
They say these music acts make people feel the most confident.
Within Health, a company that helps with eating disorders recoveries study on how music impacts body image. Part of their study features music acts in several genres that they say make people feel confident.
They used the searches on a digital music streaming service to gather their results. Compiling a total of 2,544 playlists that were found when searching “confidence,” “feel good,” “body positivity,” “body image,” “feeling ugly,” and “bad body image.”
The study found that Lizzo is the top artist to listen to for body confidence. When it comes to the rock genre, it’s the most listened-to genre by fans with positive body image at percent.
Another result from the study found that 28 percent of people think music videos have a negative impact on body image.
Body-positive playlist vs. negative body image playlist.
Meanwhile, the top three songs found on the body-positive playlist include “Confident” by Demi Lovato, “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, and “Kill Bill” by SZA. These and many other songs in this category feature lyrics about strong individuals who reject outdated beauty standards in favor of creating their own.
The top three songs found on the negative body image playlist include “Prom Queen” by Beach Bunny, “Fat Funny Friend” by Maddie Zahm, and “Jealousy, Jealousy” by Olivia Rodrigo. Playlists on the negative end of the body positivity spectrum were more often populated with songs about struggling with beauty standards.
Their research showed specific artists that are linked to making people feel confident. From Luke Combs, Drake, and Nirvana to Daft Punk, Pink Floyd, and Taylor Swift.
See the full study and complete list of top artists who make people feel confident for various genres here.
Here are artists that make people feel confident by genre.