4 Confidence-Boosting Hits From 1981 That Feel Like Letting Loose

In a world constantly bombarding us with ads for products that promise to boost our physical and emotional confidence, we often forget that one of the easiest elixirs for self-assurance is music. The right song can turn a bad mood on its head, boosting our self-esteem and helping us feel like we can take on the world. Whether you’re feeling that way now or want a few songs to get you there, these confidence-boosting hits from 1981 should help.

“Hit Me With Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar

Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” is easily one of the most ubiquitous hits of the 1980s, let alone 1981. Given the defiant, challenging lyrics and driving guitar riffs, the fact that this song became a popular single isn’t all that surprising. Indeed, this Benatar classic is perfect for reminding yourself exactly who you are—and how strong, capable, and determined that person can be.

“Another One Bites The Dust” by Queen

The bass line to Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust” is capable of instilling slinky-smooth confidence in anyone who hears it, even decades after it first came out in the early 1980s. Freddie Mercury’s vocal performance is effortlessly self-assured. So much so that it’s easy to adopt that same level of confidence while listening. Just try to walk along to this classic rock track and try not to feel cooler.

“9 To 5” by Dolly Parton

Sometimes, a confidence boost doesn’t look like a change in scenery. It looks like an acknowledgment and denouncing of one’s surroundings. Dolly Parton’s iconic working-woman blues track “9 To 5” gives the listener a chance to rant about lousy bosses while also patting themselves on the back. It’s important to know who really keeps the wheels turning in the professional world. By and large, it’s the worker bees pouring “a cup of ambition” every morning.

“I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross

Finally, of all the hits in 1981, Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out” is arguably the best for boosting confidence. This song is self-assurance in a grooving disco package. “The time has come for me to break out of this shell / I have to shout that I am coming out / I’m coming out, I want the world to know, I got to let it show.” While songwriters Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers originally wrote the song as a way to celebrate Ross’ influence on and adoration by the LGBTQ+ community, this song is universally confidence-boosting.

Photo by Paul Natkin/WireImage

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