“What's a Woman” by Vaya Con Dios

"What's a Woman?" came out in 1990 as the second single from Night Owls, the second album by Belgium's Vaya Con Dios, a lament with soul in its bones and pop polish on its surface. Dani Klein wrote the words and shares the music credit with Dirk Schoufs and Michael Gielen, and the song weighs a woman's worth against the way the man in her life treats her.

It became their biggest hit, a number one in the Netherlands and a three-week stay in the French top five. In 2006 they cut it again as a duet with Aaron Neville for the best-of The Ultimate Collection; Klein picked him after seeing him in Brussels and marvelling at his voice, reckoning that hearing a man sing it would open up the song. It also turns up in the Swedish film Vingar av Glas (Wings of Glass), starring Alexander Skarsgård.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.