It’s Women’s History Month, so now’s a good time to let you in on a little secret: While millions of fans might swoon over male pop stars like Bruno Mars and Nick Jonas, it turns out that in the U.S., it’s the female stars who are the best-known, and the best-liked.

MRC Data, the company that provides Billboard with the info it uses to compile its charts, has a new program called Artist + Genre Tracker, and used it to determine that out of the 10 best-known artists in the U.S., eight of them are women. 

In fact, MRC Data says it found that at least 80% of the population knows who Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé are.  Only Justin Bieber and Kanye West come close to those awareness levels, says MRC Data, with Justin at 80% and Kanye, now known as “Ye,” at 77%. 

But tellingly, the women blow the men away when it comes to likeability scores. 52% to 62% of people who are aware of those female artists say they like them, versus just 34% for Justin and 37% for West. 

If you’re looking for Women’s History Month music programming, AXS TV is a good place to start.  On March 12 starting at 2 p.m. it’ll air documentaries on Stevie Nicks, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Dolly Parton, and on March 19, starting at noon ET, AXS TV brings you profiles of female-fronted groups like Blondie, Eurythmics, The Pretenders and The Carpenters.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.