One of the reasons for the rise of New Wave was the fact that record labels had no idea what the next big thing would be after the Beatles, so they basically took all the spaghetti and threw it up against the wall to see what would stick. That's why there's so much diversity across 1980's music in general and new wave in particular. Many popular bands were fronted by women (Berlin, the Motels, Eurythmics) as well as one-hit wonders with female singers (Toni Basil, Bow Wow Wow, Katrina & the Waves, the Waitresses, Nena).
One of the reasons for the rise of New Wave was the fact that record labels had no idea what the next big thing would be after the Beatles, so they basically took all the spaghetti and threw it up against the wall to see what would stick. That's why there's so much diversity across 1980's music in general and new wave in particular. Many popular bands were fronted by women (Berlin, the Motels, Eurythmics) as well as one-hit wonders with female singers (Toni Basil, Bow Wow Wow, Katrina & the Waves, the Waitresses, Nena).