Who's Our Next South Asian Barbie?

It has been the year of the women, specifically female musicians who have gone from a sudden rise to breaking records.

Sabrina Carpenter just broke Billboard’s historical record as the first woman with 3 singles in their Top 100 for 5 consecutive weeks ever. Olivia Rodrigo just performed in the Philippines, advocating for women’s healthcare and embracing her Filipino heritage. Brat Summer may be over, but Charli XCX’s SWEAT Tour these past few weeks has left South Asian women dancing to her gujarati side. 

It’s no surprise that women have taken the music industry by a storm.

Barbie’s release in 2023 left trends for their unapologetic brand. The film’s showcase of women across careers and identities also brought economic opportunity as it featured top artists like Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, and Charli herself.

Chappell Roan follows just behind. While Chappell makes her identity to drag a part of her music, these other artists have succeeded without associating themselves with their identities. Yet, did we even know Charli is Indian? In fact, we seem to gloss over the multicultural backgrounds behind each of these artists. While Olivia is half-filipino, Charli’s mother comes from a Gujarati Indian family in Uganda and Tyla is also part Mauritian-Indian. While they are all unapologetic, Sabrina Carpenter is the only one who capitalizes on her blond hair and white skin with an image mirroring Marilyn-like, Americana 1950s women.

Of course, identity in entertainment goes beyond Barbie women from the Crazy Rich Asians’ revolution back in 2018. Since its success in the global box office, there has been an Asian American driven story every year leading up to the Best Picture win for Everything Everywhere All At Once at the Oscars in 2022.

A commercial hit is crucial today in order to influence trust for patterns in art. Sabrina Carpenter carries an iconic blush and Charli chose the odd-color green. Their unapologetic demand for respect (in respect to Arethra Franklin) rolls off when big artists open opportunities to those rising. Sabrina once opened for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, Chappel Roan opened for Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS Tour, and Charli XCX just welcomed Addison Rae’s Diet Pepsi to the SWEAT Tour. 

So, Barbie, Crazy Rich Asians, and individual artists have all opened doors for their communities. Where is our South Asian revolution? Can the next Monkey Man break the box office to make opportunities? Will there be more awareness around South Asian music in the west beyond Diljit Dosanjh and Priyanka Chopra emerging directly from India? 

See 5 South Asian Women changing up New York’s music scene.

I’m curious about who’s the next female-musician with a candidly explicit humor. Will these revolutions around identity and artists actually sustain? If so, what doors will they continue to open?

As Simone Ashley speaks for Glamour UK, inspiring little-brown girls across the west, a confident of beauty and glamor will be the driver to open buried communities to grow economic power and entertain.

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