No performers incite as much mass hysteria as the female pop star. I'm certainly not immune. I've always held a special place in my heart for Mary J. Blige and Beyoncé feels like a transcendent artist I'm excited to be alive to experience in real time. Standom is real and present and shows no signs of going anywhere for the foreseeable future. Is that a bad thing? I don't think so. In a music industry as sexist and troubling as ever, it is comforting to see so many strong women utilizing their skills to turn all of us into their most impassioned supporters.

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