Beautiful Inside and Out: 56 Songs About Beauty

Oh, what women put themselves through in the name of beauty! There are dangerous diets, expensive cosmetic surgery, hair extensions, and false eyelashes. We beat ourselves up with negative self-talk, high heels that hurt, undergarments that pull it all in and push it up. Is this what it takes to feel good about ourselves?

When is the last time you heard a guy fret, "Do these pants make my butt look fat?" Most don't spend an excessive amount of time obsessing over balding heads, potbellies, or being too short. They just roll with with it. And as women, so should we.

That's because beauty doesn't come in the form of a jar or a pair of expensive pair of designer jeans. It emmanates from within. Rejoice in being imperfect, original, and authenitically flawed.

For those of us who need a reminder that we're beautiful inside and out, here are pop, rock, country, and R&B songs. Make yourself a playlist or give it to someone you care about who needs a confidence boost. And be sure to tell them they're beautiful.

There's a powerful, positive message imparted in this 2016 pop hit: you are valid, worthy, beautiful and enough—just the way you are. The woman profiled in the song is one who seeks a flawless covergirl image, but her quest for outer perfection inflicts wounds on both her body and spirit.

The narrator encourages her to look deeper to the lasting beauty that imminates within:

But there's a hope that's waiting for you in the dark
You should know you're beautiful just the way you are
And you don't have to change a thing
The world could change its heart
No scars to your beautiful; we're stars, and we're beautiful.

Christina Aguilera inspires self-confidence in this 2002 song of hope and self-love. Addressing anyone who feels shame and doubt about their beauty, the song's narrator encourages others to reach deep within for what makes them beautiful:

You are beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring you down ... oh, no
You are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring you down, oh, no.

This fun, upbeat 2007 song cheers on big girls by letting them know they have curves in all the right places. It was written as a shout out to both larger women and The Butterfly Lounge, the first size acceptance nightclub in the United States. Ironically, the song never charted in the U.S., but it reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom and other countries.

Don't be afraid to be uniquely you. That's the message behind this 2009 pop song. Instead of trying to become the plasticized, anorexic, airbrushed beauties you see in magazines, embrace your flaws.

Don't try for an unachievable body image. Instead, live, smile, and have fun:

I don’t fit the mold
I am real
Too colorful to conceal
Imperfect is the new perfect.

Although the girl he loves can't take a compliment, this 2010 rock song's narrator showers her with them. He describes how amazingly beautiful she is and pleads with her not to change a thing.

Named one of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone magazine, this 1964 hit is about a guy who passes a gorgeous woman on the street. He flirts with her, wondering if she might be as lonely as he is. As she is walks away, the pretty woman decides to turn around and walk back towards the narrator who summoned her.

She squeezes into her jeans and dislikes both her freckles and eye crinkles. She also hates her stomach and her thighs. The girl in this 2012 song concentrates on the negative, but the narrator appreciates that all of these things add up to what makes her uniquely beautiful.

The narrator of this 2004 pop song knows there is something exceptional about his girlfriend's beauty. She isn't just a pretty face; she's gorgeous right down to the fabric of her soul. (That's a guy worth keeping.)

If you are overly concerned about your outward appearance, perhaps you might step back and see yourself through the eyes of those who love you best. This R&B song from 2014 describes a man's admiration for his lover as she fusses with her makeup and changes outfits for a night out. He sees the beauty that emmanates from within .. because isn't that what really counts?

Ah, self-acceptance is such a beautiful thing! In this 2010 pop song, the narrator feels perfectly lovely just the way she is. She wants that to be enough for the other people in her life as well:

I know you want the best
Yeah, only good things for me
But you have to realize
I can't be all these things you project on me
Cause I'm beautiful to me
Doesn't that mean a thing?

Women so often feel the pressure to "pageant the pain away," as Queen Bey puts it in this 2014 pop hit. At any physical or emotional cost we strive for perfection: Barbie figures, longer and lighter hair, blemish-free skin and teeth.

But beauty exacts a price, and Queen Bey wants you to be truly happy with yourself. She knows that it's what's inside that really counts.

This 2011 pop hit's message is clear, uplifting, and in your face: all of us can be beautiful. Each of us are born superstars, so don't be timid, hiding what makes you fabulous.

While the song is generally praised for its message, Lady Gaga received some negative blowback from Latino and Asian communities for using outdated and insensitive racial terms.

Think of the time and effort that goes into your daily beauty routine, from hair, skin and nails, to calorie counting and worrying about your wardrobe. The narrator in this 2014 pop song proclaims that you don't have to try so hard to impress other people because the one who matters is the one who's looking back at you in the mirror.

"Do you like you?" she asks.

Although Pink was a high profile CoverGirl spokesmodel, hawking cosmetics to accentuate outer beauty, in this earlier 2010 rock hit she champions the value of what's inside. Pink's real name is Alecia Beth Moore, and she's know for her edgy beauty.

In the song, she pleads with you to change the negative soundtrack about yourself that you have on autoreplay. Push down the fear and doubt and believe that you're perfect the way you are.

The narrator in this 2005 British pop song shoots down the haters who want to destroy your confidence and make you feel ugly. Don't let others' judgments of your physical appearance impact your confidence and love of yourself. Realize that their criticism comes from their own insecurities:

People are all the same
And we only get judged by what we do
My personality reflects me
And if I'm ugly, then
So are you.

Every beautiful woman enjoys her youth and assumes it will last forever. But then age begins to creep in, taking its toll. She no longer garners the attention she did. She questions what the ravages of time will do, whether her lover will value her for her mind and heart.

This haunting 2013 ballad was part of the soundtrack for The Great Gatsby.

Completely smitten with his lover, the narrator in this 2015 ballad describes her as wearing a protective armor to shield herself from the world. She is fragile, scarred and imperfect, but he sees her beauty and the light within.

Beautiful people don't always feel convinced that they are attractive. In this 2011 boy band single, the narrator gushes about how gorgeous his crush is. She's shy and insecure and doesn't see it.

Keep singing, buddy. You're making progress.

This 2008 country song features a narrator who speaks to girls and women at various stages of their life who need to hear the message that they are beautiful.

She reaches out to the 15-year-old who covets the impossibly airbrushed images of fashion magazines, the homecoming queen who is being pressured to give in to lust in the backseat of a parked car, and the middle aged woman whose husband left her for a younger woman. Each one of them needs a reminder that they are beautiful (as well as strong and have a choice in their fates).

Trying to look perfect and project a flawless image, the narrator internally beats herself up for a tiny error. She stops and tells herself to quit that. This 2011 pop song encourages women everywhere to be themselves, perfectly imperfect and beautiful:

Don't lose who you are, in the blur of the stars
Seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing
It's okay not to be okay.