It’s been an undeniably huge year for women in music. Taylor Swift surprised us with her eighth album “Folklore.” “WAP” was the summer anthem of 2020 and, in an alternate universe, would be a No. 1 karaoke song at The District Lounge. Yet rather than give more digital space to Swift, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, here are three albums by other female artists that came out this year and are certainly worth a listen. Although they all have distinctly different sounds, they all sound modern and immediate.

The Chicks – “Gaslighter”

The Dixie Chicks’ triumphant return and rebranding presents a unique musical achievement, and “Gaslighter” is about one thing: lead vocalist Natalie Maines’ divorce. The album explores the experience of a spouse cheating and all the emotional responses to that. “Sleep At Night,” “Gaslighter” and “Tights On My Boat” show their tough, powerful side with cutting lyrics like, “I hope you die, peacefully in your sleep; just kidding, I hope it hurts like it hurt me,” while “Texas Man” dreams of a world with a stable, confident partner. “Everybody Loves You,” meanwhile, is a devastating slow song about when someone hurts you, but you’re the only one who knows and cares. 

The album is a show of strength; it is a deliberate, thoughtful representation of a person working through a difficult emotional moment with her closest collaborators by her side. It’s about a person who has been hit with one of the worst things imaginable, and about how she responds to it. Maines and the rest of The Chicks respond with strength and empowerment, something that’s clear from the bellowing harmonies in the first few seconds of the first track.

Dua Lipa – “Future Nostalgia” 

The coronavirus makes me mad for a lot of reasons, one of which is that I have still not had the opportunity to dance to “Future Nostalgia” at a party or bar. Lipa’s self-titled first album was a seminal part of my freshman year. I had high hopes for her return; “Future Nostalgia” did not disappoint. The 11-track album kicks off with an eponymous song that starts with a whisper of the word “future” and then some strange off-beat synths. Then the chorus kicks in and it's the start of a 37-minute dance party. 

One of the components I loved about Lipa’s first release was the empowered, confidence of songs like “IDGAF,” and this follow-up album is that same Dua, with lyrics like, “I’m all good already, so moved on it’s scary, I’m not where you left me at all” (“Don’t Start Now”). Lipa is a liberated popstar who has cracked the Top 100 multiple times, but has done it making music she clearly loves. Listen to “Levitating” and try to tell me it was made by a person who wasn’t enjoying themselves.

HAIM – “Women in Music Pt. III”

The album’s release date is June 26, but essentially the songs have been released track-by-track since July 2019.  HAIM, made up of multi-instrumental sisters Alana, Este and Danielle Haim, released the track “Summer Girl” July 31, 2019, after playing it at a few live shows. Every couple months after that, they released one song at a time, with no promise of an album. First came “Summer Girl,” then “Now I’m In It,” then “Hallelujah,” then more and more. On March 2, they announced “Women In Music Pt. III,” initially to be released April 24 but pushed back because of the pandemic. This album is undervalued because the six singles are some of the best songs on the album, so on the actual release date there were few new favorites, but make no mistake: “Women in Music Pt. III” is their fiercest album and one of the strongest indie rock albums in recent memory.

These three albums are all delivered by empowered, powerful women; they all have attitude, strength, a point of view and a demand to be heard. As consumers of music, we have the power to control the market. More brilliant female musicians like The Chicks, Dua Lipa and HAIM will emerge and become successful if we just pay attention. In the words of another singer, Lizzo, “If I’m shining, everybody gonna shine.”