20 Top Songs About Power To Get You Pumped

These are the top 20 songs about power in the world.

Songs about power have the ability to make you swoon, strut, pump your fist, or spark a revolution. The best songs about power and strength span genres from hip-hop call to arms to sax-heavy pop songs to uplifting classic-rock choruses, albeit they’re not as prolific as love and heartbreak. But you are sure to feel the power when you listen to any of these tunes.

Here are 21 songs about power:

1. Kanye West’s “Power”

One of Yeezy’s most stirring songs, this rap-rock banger begins with the line, “I guess every superhero needs his theme music.” “Power” is remarkable because its lyrics vary from jaded and conceited, then ambiguous and self-aggrandizing.

West raps in the chorus, ‘The clock is ticking, I simply count the hours,’ saying ‘one man shouldn’t have all that power.’ ‘Power’ is Kanye West at his finest.

2. (Something Inside) So Strong” Laboratory Siffre

After viewing a television program showing white police officers shooting black civilians in Apartheid South Africa, Labi Siffre was inspired to pen this deeply moving gospel tune.

Later, he admitted that the song was also based on his experiences as a gay adolescent. As a tribute to inner strength, the song has been covered by everyone from Kenny Rogers to Rik Waller (yes, really) over the years.

3. ‘Soul Power’ by James Brown

No matter how simple the lyrics are, the song “Soul Power” by James Brown has become an important part of American popular culture. In the years since, several movements have adopted the motto “Soul Power” as their rallying cry.

An instrumental rendition from Brown and Maceo and the Macks takes the rhythm to new heights before bringing things back down, down, down, down, down. The eight-minute cut is the ultimate JB funk fiesta.

4. Patti Smith’s “People Have the Power”

In spite of its publication in 1988 during Smith’s semi-retirement, “People Have the Power” has become an integral part of the punk icon’s live performances.

This rollicking rock anthem’s lyrics have never been more pertinent, and it’s easy to see why. There are many current political issues that can be applied to the lyrics of Smith’s song “People have the ability of redeeming the work done by fools.”

5. Run the World (Girls)” by Beyonce

There’s a lesson in power dynamics in the Queen’s reign, if you ask me. Not only that, but this hymn repeats its thesis about who rules this world no less than two dozen times, just to be sure that the message of female empowerment and world dominance is crystal obvious.

6. Snap’The !’s Power’

Snap! sued Jocelyn Brown for unlicensed sampling of her voice and discovered that the singer in the video, Jackie Harris, was not the girl who actually gave the catchy ‘I’ve got the power!’ hook. ‘The Power’ was actually a highly contentious album when it was launched in 1990.

After all these years, the just-cheesy-enough anthem “The Power” still gets youngsters and grandparents alike pumping their fists in the air, no matter what.

7. Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’

The lyric of K-2013 Pez’s chart-topper even mentions Survivor’s all-time empowerment song ‘Eye of the Tiger,’ proving she knew precisely what she was looking for.

Although ‘Roar,’ like many of her best songs, is as subtle as a Trump tweet, it can’t be denied that it strikes the mark. Even your hippest friend can’t help singing “Roar” during karaoke.

8. Queen’s “We Are the Champions”

Queen isn’t known for their modesty, so you might be surprised to learn that their song “We Are the Champions” isn’t quite as boastful as you might imagine.

A chest-swelling crescendo in the chorus, yet the verses depict an appealingly over-the-top victory in the face of hardship.

9. Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power”

It’s not uncommon for the most uplifting songs to encourage listeners to dethrone the corrupt. That’s what makes Public Enemy’s classic such a potent call to arms, taking everything from the cops to Elvis to task.

We take back control of our lives when we stand up to the tyrants. Try not to clench your hand while you’re listening.

10. John Lennon’s “Power to the People”

Despite the fact that John Lennon eventually distanced himself from this 1970 protest song, admitting ten years later that he felt “it didn’t really come off,” its impressively direct (if little naive) message continues to be inspiring.

This song’s rousing chorus of “power to the people, right on!” is just too irresistible to refuse.

11. David Guetta’s ‘Titanium,’ featuring Sia

With all due respect to the literal meaning of “bulletproof” and “nothing to lose,” Guetta’s “House Thumper” is about inner strength and personal power.

It’s impossible not to be uplifted by the brave bombast of it all as Sia unleashes herself on the chorus.

12. Shampoo’s “Girl Power”

Geraldine Estelle Halliwell took notice of ‘Girl Power,’ which reached at number 25 in 1996, and repurposed the song’s title into the Spice Girls’ renowned motto.

In spite of Shampoo’s song’s obvious feminism, it’s a joyous celebration of ‘coming home intoxicated in the middle of the night’. It’s almost as catchy as the duo’s hallmark hit, ‘Trouble,’ despite its lesser fame.

13. ‘Independent Women by Destiny Child

Pop music’s biggest smash tune by Beyoncé, Kelly and Michelle is a feminist anthem classic. To some extent, it’s a song about the realities of money’s relationship to power. “Try to dominate me boy, you get fired,” Bey sings on the first lyric.

14. Eternal’s “power of a Woman”

Possibly because they were just a few years older than the Spice Girls, British pop-R&B trio Eternal has fallen out of the public eye.

Between 1993 and 1999 they had an incredible 15 Top 20 singles and “Power of a Woman” is one among them.   A delightfully soulful celebration of the female spirit, it begins with a glorious ‘ahhh! do do do do do…’ vocal hook.

15. Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Take the Power Back.’

Rage’s characteristically fiery anthem to demolishing the system is yet another inspirational song about wresting control from the corrupt from Public Enemy’s ‘Fight the Power.’

The message of the song is to challenge authority figures, call out their bluff, and then rise stronger than before. In every respect, Rage is a classic.

16. Little Mix ft. Stormzy, “Power”

Little Mix, the UK’s finest pop group for the last six years, has the ability to deliver this female empowerment anthem.

17. Survivor’s ‘Eye of the Tiger’

‘Eye of the Tiger’ is one of the most cheesy rock tunes ever written. On the other hand, they don’t get any more evocative than that opening riff, which conjures up images of Rocky Balboa sweating and stumbling up steps.

Despite the fact that the song’s lyrics are about resiliency and overcoming adversity, this song has a lot of raw emotional intensity.

18. Marina and the Diamonds’ ‘Power & Control.’

Many expected her to be a major pop star, but Marina Diamandis is a talented songwriter. That perpetual tug-of-war that takes place in any romantic relationship is the subject of this standout track from the 2012 album Electra Heart. It sounds like a lost ‘80s synth-pop classic thanks to the production of Swedish House Mafia’s Steve Angello.

19. Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Backseat Freestyle’

In spite of the fact that “all my life I want money and power” isn’t a song about power in the traditional sense, it has become an anthem for anyone who wants to rise in the ranks. That dream materialized for Kendrick.

20. Huey Lewis and the News’ ‘The Power of Love’

It’s a fascinating thing, the power of love. Huey’s Back to the Future theme may seem idealistic in today’s reality, but it’s a heartwarming message about the power of love, especially when accompanied by some of the iconic 80s sax brilliance of the era’s best music.