6 stars who aren't afraid to make statements with their music

The One Direction boys have been conquering a lot of territory since going their separate ways (still sad about it? SAME!), but one territory Liam Payne isn't quite ready to conquer is that of socially charged lyrics.

Talking all things Taylor Swift and her shade-throwing single, Look What You Made Me Do, Liam told the Press Association that he won't be making socially charged music any time soon because he "...just [doesn't] have the statements to make at the moment."

While it's an artists prerogative to make statements with their sound, it seems as though 2K17 has been the year that a lot of musicians have made a conscious effort to do so.

From Troye Sivan to Beyoncé, these six stars on a mission to spread their message...

Beyoncé's music has long been socially conscious and chockablock with worthwhile sentiments (who run the world? GIRLS!) but it was her epic visual album, Lemonade, that made everyone sit up and pay attention to the messages within the music.

From Formation and its references to Hurricane Katrina and police brutality to Freedom, the anthem featuring Kendrick Lamar (marking their first ever collaboration) that references the Black Lives Matter movement and social equality, it's safe to say that Beyoncé's personal politics were heard loud and clear on her 2016 musical masterpiece.

M.I.A. has been putting big issues at the forefront of her music since she came on the scene in the early 2000's. Talking to NME in 2K16, the rapper spoke about the initial pushback about the amalgamation of her sound and her politics:

“It’s like I went through the washing machine on every level you can possibly think as a human. If you say to me, ‘You went through all this... but you need to shut up because you had such an amazing run at the music game,’ it’s like, ‘No, I didn’t.’ Every step of the way they were like, ‘Shut... up about your politics,’ and now it’s super-trendy. I never thought it was gonna be cool, otherwise I would’ve stockpiled my records and started releasing them now.”

Jesus Walks, All Falls Down, Heard 'Em Say, Diamonds From Sierra Leone. Rap music is synonymous with politically-charged messages and Kanye West is no exception.

Never one to shy away from being a provocateur - notably, enlisting body doubles to play the likes of Caitlyn Jenner, Amber Rose, Kim K and Ray J in the music video for Famous - West spoke about the driving force behind his music to the New York Times, way back in 2013:

"...I’m going to use my platform to tell people that they’re not being fair. Anytime I’ve had a big thing that’s ever pierced and cut across the Internet, it was a fight for justice. Justice. And when you say justice, it doesn’t have to be war. Justice could just be clearing a path for people to dream properly. It could be clearing a path to make it fair within the arena that I play."

Chatting to Ryan Seacrest earlier in the year, Katy Perry explained she meant be her recently-coined phrase 'purposeful pop' and how Chained To The Rhythm differed from her earlier bops:

"I think it’s just, like, a song that starts conversations, and I think that’s what we need more than ever… There’s so much divisiveness and people on one side or the other, and I think we just need to listen to each other. I hope this song does that.”

Troye Sivan is a powerful and prominent voice in the music world, championing LGBTQ rights and providing visibility and representation. Chatting to Teen Vogue about his single, Heaven, Troye had a lot to say about the importance of pop music in sharing his story:

"I love pop music. I think that pop should never be a dirty word. To me, [songs are] like living things that grow and change as I do. 'Heaven' was written when I was 19, and it was about my coming-out experience from when I was 15. I felt a little emotional when I was writing it, and I had to think about things I hadn’t felt in a really long time. Then it became about something completely different when I hit the road. When I’m onstage, I’m looking out and I’m seeing all of these other people’s stories. I’m feeling their hardships and successes—I can see it in their faces, in their eyes...

"I’ve realized how, in being a loud voice for myself, there are other people like me who will see that and appreciate it. All I’ve ever wanted growing up was someone I could look at and say, ‘Oh, that person’s like me.’"

Landing on our screens and airwaves in an array of disco ball regalia and imploring us all to 'just dance', Lady Gaga's music has always been underscored with socially charged sensibility but, over time, Mother Monster has become more forthright with her sentiments.

From her inclusive anthem, Born This Way - 'No matter gay, straight or bi, Lesbian, transgender life, I'm on the right track, baby, I was born to survive' - to 2015's Til It Happens To You - a ballad highlighting sexual assault - Gaga has never shied away from being tackling heavy-hitting issues with her songs and letting those messages reach far and wide.

“None of the records I make are ever a deliberate construction – they’re always an expression of who I am at the time and where I am in my life,” Gaga told NME in 2016. “My intention was to, you know, connect with people that would not normally connect with someone like me.”