If you’re looking for songs about low self-esteem, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve written a list of 21 insecure lyrics that can help you battle feelings.
Everyone has dark days. Sometimes we can hate ourselves, compare ourselves to others and wonder whether we are good enough.
At such moments it’s normal to question whether you are funny enough, pretty enough, entertaining, worth a person’s love, and such low self-esteem questions.
The bad thing is that they originate from within, ruining your self-worth. Thankfully, many songs can help you build confidence when feeling insecure.
| Nr | Song | Artist | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Things I’ll Never Say | Avril Lavigne | Learn More |
| 2 | Unpretty | TCL | Learn More |
| 3 | Beautiful | Christina Aguilera | Learn More |
| 4 | Scars to Your Beautiful | Alessia Cara | Learn More |
| 5 | I | Kendrick Lamar | Learn More |
| 6 | Get Outta My Way | Kylie Minogue | Learn More |
| 7 | Started from the Bottom | Drake | Learn More |
| 8 | You Say | Lauren Daigle | Learn More |
| 9 | Drew Barrymore | SZA | Learn More |
| 10 | Queen | Jessie J | Learn More |
| 11 | Pretty Hurts | Beyoncé | Learn More |
| 12 | BTS Cypher 4 | BTS | Learn More |
| 13 | Good Enough | Lifehouse | Learn More |
| 14 | Love Myself | Hailee Steinfeld | Learn More |
| 15 | Liability | Lorde | Learn More |
| 16 | Perfect | Anne Marie | Learn More |
| 17 | Pretty Girl | Maggie Lindemann | Learn More |
| 18 | Oh No | Marina | Learn More |
| 19 | Why Don’t You Love Me | Beyoncé | Learn More |
| 20 | Your Type | Carly Rae Jepsen | Learn More |
| 21 | Don’t Let Me Get Me | Pink | Learn More |
21 Popular Songs About Low Self Esteem
Everyone goes through a period of self-hatred, which is why we have written these 21 songs to help you realize your worth.
1. Things I’ll Never Say – Avril Lavigne
“Things I’ll Never Say” is a song about modern society’s standards and how they harm relationships. In this nicely written romantic song, Avril promises to never open her mouth when her crush is around, because she’s scared that she’ll come off as too assertive.
She mentions this fact in the lyrics “Trying to be so perfect / ‘Cause I know you’re worth it”. It’s the perfect song about low self-esteem, however, we should note that more often than not, relationships like these don’t end up well.
Recommended: 21 Songs About Lions.
2. Unpretty – TCL
Society puts pressure on women to remain thin, beautiful, and youthful. That is why the music industry uses such women in their music videos.
The song Unpretty talks about the unrealistic expectation society places on women to change themselves to meet unrealistic beauty standards.
You can see scenes of people trying to compromise their health and principles to meet society’s definition of beautiful. It is one of the best songs about low self esteem because listening to this song will make you love and appreciate yourself even more.
3. Beautiful – Christina Aguilera
Beautiful is a song about self-acceptance released during the internet era of bullying and shaming young people. Christina sings about getting the strength to filter out the voices and overcome your insecurities.
The message is straightforward: we are beautiful in all ways, and words cannot bring us down. The song starts with Christina showing her struggles but still being courageous to encourage those going through the same thing.
Although it’s normal to want to change certain things about yourself, you need to realize some flaws make you unique and what’s important is to live a healthy, joyous lifestyle.
4. Scars to Your Beautiful – Alessia Cara
Scars to Your Beautiful is one song that resonates with many young people. Since its release, people have used it to remind themselves that they are beautiful the way they are.
This song speaks to young girls that aren’t content with their bodies because of social media pressure. It reminds us that beauty is more than what we see on the surface.
The song emphasizes the way women want to be seen as beautiful. As such, they will go to extra lengths to achieve unrealistic beauty standards.
Through this composition, Alessia advises people not to listen to the voices of people out there and to embrace themselves.
5. I – Kendrick Lamar
If you love hip-hop music, you will love listening to this song about self-assurance. Lamar wrote this song from his heart about self-love and self-confidence.
Many people these days don’t have self-love, and they’ve done reckless things that got them in trouble because of this. Some think they can get that love from their family or friends.
But as Kendrick explains, it comes from within. In the song, Lamar seeks to empower listeners to love himself. Although the surrounding forces are so strong, he believes in himself.
The rapper talks about his experience as a black man and how he still loves himself through it. It is one of the best hip-hop songs to listen to if you suffer from low self esteem.
6. Get Outta My Way – Kylie Minogue
Kylie tells us in this song to let go of people that don’t appreciate or respect us. She talks about what she’s going to do if her partner doesn’t stop being boring, that is, she’s going to leave him and move on with a perfect stranger.
It’s a good song to listen to when dealing with esteem issues from people who don’t value you. If you are in a relationship with a partner who doesn’t value you enough, it’s best to let them go.
7. Started from the Bottom – Drake
Sometimes low self-esteem stems from the fact that we don’t seem to have made it when comparing ourselves to other people around us. Drake uses this song to encourage those who think they aren’t successful enough.
If he, a well-known successful superstar, had to stay with his mom to make it, it would encourage us that we can achieve anything we set ourselves to.
Recommended: 15 Best Songs About Being 22.
8. You Say – Lauren Daigle
Sometimes we constantly battle voices in our heads that make us feel we are not enough. We sometimes think we are unworthy of love, respect, and all the good things in the world.
But through this song, the vocalist encourages us to fight our voices and believe we are enough. She wants listeners to believe they deserve all the good things despite their thoughts.
9. Drew Barrymore – SZA
SZA doesn’t admit her insecurities that easily. However, in this song, she lets her guard lose and tells us about a lover she feels she doesn’t deserve.
In the song, SZA asks several questions. She wonders whether she’s enough. She tells us of the things she needs to make her man feel she’s worth it.
At some point, SZA apologizes for not being attractive and ladylike and even thinks she needs therapy.
10. Queen – Jessie J
Jessie J is known to write inspiring and beautiful songs that help us love and appreciate ourselves more. In the chorus, she says she loves her body and skin and thinks of herself as a goddess and queen.
Through these sentiments, we realize that we are all beautiful and need to love ourselves regardless of our color, size, or shape. Jessie is one of the artists you can idolize as she shares a deep love with her fans. Her songs are always a great option to listen to when you are hit by low self esteem.
11. Pretty Hurts – Beyoncé
Do you have low self-esteem because of your body? This song is for you. It talks about the unrealistic expectations of a perfect body. The song discusses the pain of being beautiful, showing us the lengths some people are willing to go to conform to society’s beauty standards.
It talks about how young girls are raised to conform to society’s expectations and will go the extremes to achieve that. The vocalist says that surgery is just but a temporary fix, and what matters is the soul.
12. BTS Cypher 4 – BTS
Are you looking for a song to boost your confidence? Here is one. BTS has been successful in breaking language barriers through its powerful music.
This 2016 release is a great tune to make you more confident. It encourages you to love yourself and outgrow the need to prove your worth to people who only want to bring you down.
13. Good Enough – Lifehouse
The tune is about the desire we sometimes have to win respect and love from other people to the point that it becomes overwhelming.
The character here asks what he must do to get the other person to recognize him for who he is. He recalls the times he tried to make this person love or respect him, but it didn’t work.
14. Love Myself – Hailee Steinfeld
This song is for you, whether you are lacking physical or emotional self-love. “Love Myself” encourages you to love every bit of yourself. Most times, we expect other people to love and cherish us, and we often put them before us.
And when they don’t, we are left dealing with low self-esteem. But this release tells us to love and put ourselves first. For if we don’t do that, we will remain disappointed.
Recommended: 21 Best Songs About The One Who Got Away.
15. Liability – Lorde
Liability is a song that talks about the burden of life. The vocalist sings about her relationship with other people.
But instead of thinking she is worthy of the love and respect her partner gives, Lorde believes they are better off without her. She thinks her fame makes her unworthy and pries into her relationship. This is one of the typical songs about low self esteem.
16. Perfect – Anne Marie
Anne Marie is another artist that encourages us to love and adore ourselves. She truly has a great voice and is someone we can connect with in her music.
In this song, Anne describes her personal struggles with depression and body issues. She tells us how she learned to love herself and discovered there is nothing like “being perfect.”
Marie reminds us that we are amazing the way we are, so we should love every part of our body.
17. Pretty Girl – Maggie Lindemann
Maggie explains to us what it means to be in the spotlight. She faces criticism and is often reduced to just a girl with a pretty face. She explains the struggles and contradictions of living in such a society in the lyrics.
Most times, people like to judge others using the information they have. They forget that it doesn’t tell us of their true nature.
The song reminds us there is more to being a girl than external beauty. It takes us through the different directions of being human.
18. Oh No – Marina
This is another track to boost your confidence. The song encourages us not to be afraid of expressing ourselves and our ambitions.
Although there are parts where Marina talks about fear of failing, she also tells us to know who we are and what we want to achieve.
It’s a reminder to remain confident in ourselves regardless of what comes our way.
19. Why Don’t You Love Me – Beyoncé
As stunning as Beyoncé is, you’d be surprised that some people don’t love her. In the song, she talks about a man she loves, but he doesn’t love her right back.
She says the beautiful things she does for him and doesn’t understand why her lover doesn’t see him as good enough. Ultimately, she gets tired of seeking his approval and regards him as stupid.
It’s a good response, considering she tried everything to make it work and her partner still wouldn’t love her. It is one of the good songs about low self esteem.
20. Your Type – Carly Rae Jepsen
Knowing your self-worth and accepting nothing less is one of the most powerful things we can do. Often, we end up equating our self-worth with how much our crush likes us, and it leads us to hate ourselves.
This is the kind of song that “Your Type” by Carly Rae Jepsen is. The lyrics “And if you ever think of me / I bet I’m just a flicker in your head” only make Carly devalue herself, which makes her sing in the end “I’m not the type of girl for you / And I’m not going to pretend”.
21. Don’t Let Me Get Me – Pink
If you are feeling inadequate, you aren’t alone. Pink wrote this song to tell us about the war she fights with her mirror. In the song, she doesn’t feel good enough. Neither has she found her true identity.
Last Words
Everyone suffers from low self-esteem at some point. Thankfully, there are many tools to help you regain your confidence. One of the most powerful tools you can use is music.
By choosing the right song, you can empower yourself and begin to know your self-worth. The above is only a fraction of the songs you can listen to build your confidence. There are many others, but these will be an inspiration.
