10 Songs About Loving Yourself to Build Your Confidence
We all lose a little confidence at times, and whenever that happens, I find that it’s always a wise idea to throw on some songs about loving yourself to build back up your self esteem. So without further ado, here are our picks for the best songs that are all about self love.
Best Songs About Loving Yourself
Let’s begin with Colbie Caillat song.
10) “Try” by Colbie Caillat (2014)
This song was stuck in my head for months after I heard it for the first time. It is a soft, beautiful ballad about not needing to wear makeup or do your hair to be beautiful; you should love yourself exactly the way that you are.
The song itself is not particularly overbearing or loud, but it gets the point across regardless. Caillat’s gentle, melodic voice was the perfect tone to say what she needed to say, raise women up, and inspire young girls to love themselves without all of the additional add ons that society tells them they need.
9) “I Love Me” by Meghan Trainor (2016)
In this track, Trainor talks about all of the things she loves about herself, and why you should love all of those things about yourself too. It emphasizes the importance of loving yourself when no one else will.
With lines like “I’m sexy and it ain’t my fault” and “I love all y’all but I love me the most,” Trainor’s feelings toward herself are clear. This is one of those songs where she pushes the idea of self-love so hard that you can’t help but feel the same way about yourself.
I remember looking in the mirror after hearing this song for the first time and thinking “maybe she’s right, maybe I should love all of these things about myself”. This song is truly a force to be reckoned with when it comes to promoting self love.
8) “If You Don’t Love Yourself” by The Script (2019)
It is a common idea that you cannot love someone else until you love yourself first. Whether or not you believe that is true, this song is the personification of that saying. The Script addresses the fact that we are all so quick to be nice to others and care for others, but never give a second thought about doing that to ourselves. It is a harsh reality, and is definitely something a lot of us needed to hear.
In my opinion, I think The Script is known for their slower ballads, and this song is no exception. It starts off gentle and builds up as the course of the song goes on. Something about the rhythm of this song is so catchy and addicting to me. I find myself tapping my foot along to the beat even when I am not listening to the song. The message of this track is important, and the way the band delivers it makes it all that much better.
7) “Perfect to Me” by Anne-Marie (2021)
On this track, Anne-Marie celebrates her own imperfections and encourages others to do the same. She lets us know that it is okay to not be completely flawless, and that in many ways, our imperfections are what makes us that much better. I personally think imperfections make humans much more real and approachable. I would be much more likely to want to talk to someone who has some sort of imperfection rather than those that looking like a walking Photoshop picture.
Anne-Marie is a pop artist through-and-through, but she was able to slow it down a little with this song where necessary. It never gets quite as fast paced as some of her other tracks, like Friends (which she is very well-known for), but I think that makes it all the better. I appreciate when songs with important meanings like this tend to be on the slower side, because it feels like the message gets across better that way (instead of the listener being distracted by a quick beat or something else). Overall I think this song is very elegant, and I enjoy that it celebrates the existence of imperfections.
6) “Pushover” by Etta James (1963)
Etta James has a powerful voice that demands to be heard, especially with her famous track At Last. I could not imagine a better artist to release a song promoting self-love and strength. In this track, James talks about never settling for less when it comes to a romantic partner, because you know you deserve better. You’re not someone that’s just going to lay down and accept what gets handed to you; you are going to push for something better until you get it.
The instrumentals backing this track have a funky feel to them, almost a little jazzy. This is a song that anyone can dance to. Not quite slow like the other tracks on this list so far, but that is understandable given that this song is about rejecting a guy that you know isn’t good enough for you. It’s hyper, it’s heartfelt, and it’s a whole lot of fun. I could not have imagined anything less coming out of Etta James’ incredible mind.
5) “Love Myself” by Hailee Steinfeld (2015)
I love Hailee Steinfeld as an actress, but I think I love her as a musician even more. I immensely enjoy a lot of her songs, and this one is no exception. This track advocates for loving yourself and talks about how much power there truly is in being able to do so. It is a beautiful thing to be able to care so deeply for yourself, and it often takes a lot of strength. This song is an amazing ode to that.
This track is very pop, with a fast-tempo and an addicting chorus as Steinfeld harmonizes with herself perfectly. Just like Pushover, this song is very fun and will make you want to jump around and scream the lyrics whenever you listen to it. This was the first song Steinfeld released, and it made her name well-known in the music industry. It is a staple in my playlist, and is often a song that I turn to when I’m not feeling too hot about myself.
4) “Greatest Love of All” by Whitney Houston (1986)
What more do I need to say about this song other than reciting the lyric, “I found the greatest love of all inside of me.” Seriously, this song is all about how the best love that you can have for anything, is the love you have for yourself. The person that is most able to love you the way you want to be loved, is you. It’s sad to me that this song is not quite as well-known as some of her other tracks, like her cover of I Will Always Love You, especially with how important the message of this track is.
This is another song that starts off slow and picks up the longer it goes, with Houston’s incredible vocals on full display. Like Etta James, Whitney Houston’s voice is powerful. When she talks, the world listens. The song also has a jazzy, kind of classical feel to it with the instrumentals that back up Houston’s voice. It is melodic and eloquent, and exactly what you would expect from this artist. It is an incredible song, and absolutely needs more recognition as compared to her other hits.
3) “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga (2011)
Lady Gaga is absolutely one of the first people I think of when it comes to being fearless to be yourself. Since the beginning of her music career, she has acted the way she wants, released the music she wants, and, of course, dressed the way she wants. Born This Way, fittingly, is all about being who you are without caring what anyone else thinks. It is an unapologetic powerhouse that says “this is me, deal with it.”
Seeing someone be so completely themselves like Gaga does has inspired countless other people around the world to do the same. Born This Way is high energy and loud, with electronic instrumentals to back it up. Especially since the release this track, Gaga has widely been seen as the queen of the LGBTQ community, which I believe is very fitting for her (considering she is bisexual herself).
But being a community that has had to go through their fair share of struggles just to be able to express themselves openly, the woman who fearlessly screams “I am who I am, and I don’t care if you don’t like it” is the perfect leader for them. This song, even more, is the LGBTQ anthem, and will continue to be for years to come.
2) “Be Good to Yourself” by Journey (1986)
Arguably one of the best bands of all time, it would make sense that their song about self-love and empowerment would land on this list. Be Good to Yourself is an exceptional track about how it is important to stay positive even when life gets tough, and to prioritize our health and taking care of ourselves. With the recurring line, “be good to yourself when nobody else will,” this song takes a similar path as Meghan Trainor’s I Love Me, in that it stresses the importance of being there for yourself when no one else is.
Steve Perry, in my opinion, has one of the most recognizable voices of all time. Hearing him sing a song like this almost feels like hearing a familiar father figure tell you that everything is going to be okay, you just have to take care of yourself. This track has a faster tempo and is very high energy, as some of the other songs on this list have also been. It makes you feel like you’re hyped up on five energy drinks and as though you could take on the world. It has a very Journey sound, in that the instrumentals and the tone of the overall song fit well with other tracks the band released in their time.
It is always incredible to see older bands like this making songs that advocate for self-love, since it doesn’t feel like it was as much of a big deal in the years that these bands were making new music as it is now. But when even idols like Steve Perry are telling you to love yourself, you know you have to.
1) “Truth Hurts” by Lizzo (2019)
This song is another on this list that took the world by storm when it was released. It was inescapable for years, regardless of whether you were listening to the radio or listening to a streaming platform like Spotify. It shot Lizzo to fame and basically made her name a household one.
From the first line of the song forward, this track is a self-love and empowerment anthem. The lyrics tell you not to settle for anything less, similarly to Etta James’ Pushover. From the very opening of the song, as soon as you hear those all-too-recognizable instrumentals, you know what this song is.
Lizzo herself said that she wants to make music that make other people feel good, and to inspire self-love. Truth Hurts is almost infuriatingly catchy, truly an earworm. You listen to it once and it’s stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Most of us know every single word, whether we want to or not.
I even have a vivid memory of walking on the beach with a few of my friends, one of them playing this song on their phone, and screaming the lyrics. We didn’t care what anyone else thought, and that’s what Lizzo would have wanted.
This song has arguably made its way into music history. It was the first song that came to my mind when I knew I would be writing this article, and that is why it landed itself at the top of this list. I have a special place in my heart for this song, and I truly think I always will.
Conclusion
The best songs about loving yourself are always incredibly helpful when you’re at your lowest moment. They can build you back up and imbue you with the needed self confidence to get back on your feet and fight another day. And while some people may just prefer to listen to Anthony Robbins or read a Norman Vincent Peale book, if you’re in the mood for some music for the mind and soul, check out a few of the songs on this list.
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