2013 was quite a year for women in music, and with the veritable cultural revolution behind the fight for marriage equality, queer artists and LGBT themes saturated the music industry. Here are just a few of the lovely lesbian and lady allies that rocked the soundwaves in 2013.
10 - Lady Gaga has always been unwaveringly supportive of the LGBT community, and 2013 was no different. This summer, at New York City’s Pride Festival, the “Applause” singer gave a moving speech about equality, followed by her own rendition of "The National Anthem."
9 - Betty Who, the bubblegum pop Australian artist behind “Somebody Loves You,” released her debut EP in April. Soon after, the song was featured in a gay wedding flash mob proposal in Home Depot that went viral.
8 - Country singer Chely Wright and her wife, music executive Lauren Blitzer Wright, welcomed identical twin boys back in May.
7 - Diana King, who made history last year by becoming the first Jamaican artist to come out as LGBT, proposed to her girlfriend in 2013 after the Supreme Court struck down DOMA. King rocked the Sunday pool party at Dinah Shore back in April.
6 - The Punk Singer, a documentary about Kathleen Hanna, was released domestically this fall. Hanna, of Le Tigre and Bikini Kill fame, was a central figure in the riot grrrl music scene. The film premiered in March at SXSW.
5 - Back in August, pop icon Taylor Swift surprised her fans at the Staples Center when she brought out Tegan and Sara to perform their hit song "Closer" of their album Hearththrob. Swift said the album is "one of my favorites of all time,” adding, “If you've ever had your heart broken, you need to have their album." High praise from the queen of breakup songs herself!
4 - LGBT ally Regina Spektor was personally recruited to write and record the theme song for Netflix’s original seriesOrange is the New Black. The song, “You’ve Got Time,” was love at first listen for OINTB creator, Jenji Kohan. The series broke countless barriers and became wildly successful, even earning a Golden Globe nomination for lead actress, Taylor Schilling.
3 - In March, the incomparable Beyoncé Knowles voiced her support for gay marriage with two Instagram posts, including the phrase, "We will unite 4 marriage equality!" The Queen B rocked the social media world earlier this month by releasing a suprise album titled Beyoncé.
2 - One can’t talk women in music in 2013 without mentioning the phenomenon that is Lorde. At just 16, the talented musician from New Zealand topped the charts with her first EP, The Love Club, featuring the chart topping single “Royals.” The young singer/songwriter is a refreshing respite from other artists of her generation, many of whom focus on penning boy-crazy love songs. “I feel like that isn't maybe the best thing for young girls to be hearing or molding their lives around,” she told The Huffington Post. “Maybe they aren't the best values for young people and that's another thing I hold with importance: come on, it doesn't all have to be about a boy.” We couldn’t agree more!
1 - Despite what you may have heard, the 2013 VMAs weren’t all twerking and whatever the hell that thing was that Robin Thicke had on. During an emotional performance of “Same Love,” with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, openly gay singer/songwriter Mary Lambert was joined on stage by Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson. Lambert and the duo took home the Moonman for “Best Video With a Social Message” earlier that evening.
