Queer Jams of the Week: New Music From Empress Of, Rina Sawayama, LP & More

Need some new tunes from your favorite queer artists? We’ve got you covered; Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ artists.

From Empress Of and Rina Sawayama’s delectable new team-up to LP’s gorgeous new album, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:

Empress Of feat. Rina Sawayama, “Kiss Me”

After spending a few months on the road together, it makes perfect sense that indie-pop darlings Empress Of and Rina Sawayama would team up for a new single together. On “Kiss Me,” the pair fuse their respective R&B and pop-adjacent sounds to make a harmonious new track about finding that special connection with your significant other. Sawayama and Lorely Rodriguez’s voices are a match made in heave (as evidenced by their new music video), making “Kiss Me” the exact kind of sonic euphoria designed to kick off your weekend the right way.

LP, Love Lines

As long as you’re feeling the love, you may as well tap into LP’s newest record, Love Lines. This sweeping, cinematic new project sees the singer-songwriter leaning into the romance of it all, whether that means basking in your lover’s sparkling personality (“Dayglow”) or bidding a bittersweet farewell to the ending of a relationship (“Long Goodbye”). With each passing song, their voice only gets stronger, showing what a powerhouse vocalist like LP can accomplish with a simple concept album.

Maddie Zahm, “Dani”

Most queer people can relate to the idea of looking back on a “friendship” you had before coming out, only to realize that you were falling hard for that other person. Maddie Zahm takes that perspective and put it to gorgeous effect on “Dani.” Throughout this emotionally brutal ballad, Zahm revisits her infatuation with the titular Dani, only to realize that she was deeply in love with her, thus bringing an end to their friendship. Her voice sends bolts of electricity through you with just the mention of her old crush’s name, proving yet again the power of a good vocal and great songwriting.

Gia Woods, “Somebody Else’s Baby”

Realizing that you were the bad guy in a past relationship is never particularly fun — so Gia Woods would like to know what she can do to make up for it. On “Somebody Else’s Baby,” the up-and-coming pop singer owns her mistakes and begs for forgiveness, as an unyielding bass line underscores each of her words. After all, as she sings, “Maybe if I tried to, I could learn to undo/ All the ways I broke us, never meant to hurt you.”

Liza Anne, “Internet Depression”

Doomscrolling is a worldwide epidemic, and Liza Anne is here to let you know that she’s succumbed to it just as much as anyone else. “Internet Depression,” the art-rock artist’s newest single, sees Anne speaking directly to the toxic, algorithmic nature of online communication, and how truly isolating and dissociating that experience can be. There’s no fancy bells or whistles — just Anne’s excellent, slowly-distorting voice paired with a piano, telling you all of the intrusive thoughts that keep plaguing her mind — which makes “Internet Depression” that much more effective.

Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below:

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