djfrosty

28 Jun 2023

Madonna Tour on ‘Pause’ After Bacterial Infection Leads to Hospitalization

Madonna’s hotly anticipated Celebration Tour is on pause after the Queen of Pop spent several days in the hospital following a “serious bacterial infection,” according to manager Guy Oseary on social media.

The new came on Wednesday (June 28) afternoon, with Oseary revealing on Instagram that Madge had spent several days in the ICU after developing an infection on Saturday, June 24. “Her health is improving, however she is still under medical care,” Oseary wrote. “A full recovery is expected.” A source close to the situation says that Madonna is already out of the ICU and currently recovering. Billboard reached out to reps for Madonna for further comment, who had nothing to add beyond Oseary’s post.

Unfortunately for fans (and the notoriously hard-working icon herself), the hospitalization is forcing Madonna to put her massive, career-spanning tour on pause for the moment.

“At this time we will need to pause all commitments, which includes the tour,” Oseary wrote. “We will share more details with you soon as we have them, including a new start date for the tour and for rescheduled shows.”

The Celebration Tour was set to launch in Vancouver, B.C. on July 15 at the Rogers Arena. According to Billboard Boxscore, the trek — which would boast a set list featuring four decades of hits from a catalog that includes 12 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s and 38 top 10 hits on that chart — was set to net her more than $100 million.

Over the course of her globe-trotting and culture-dominating career, Madonna has grossed a reported $1.376 billion and sold 11.7 million tickets across 575 shows, according to Billboard Boxscore. She is the most successful female act in Boxscore history.

28 Jun 2023

It’s a ‘Barbie World’ for Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice and Aqua on Streaming This Week

Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. 
 
This week: The Barbieverse continues to take over the music world, while Kylie Minogue’s fan-favorite latest continues to grow and a British singer-songwriter’s tribute to the artist known as Mama Africa goes global a second time.

Come on Barbies, Let’s Go Party: Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice Boost Aqua’s Pop Classic

With the highly anticipated Barbie movie featuring a star-studded soundtrack — boasting new songs from Dua Lipa, Lizzo, Charli XCX and PinkPantheress, among many others — it made all too much sense for the original Barbie anthem, Aqua’s “Barbie Girl,” to have some presence within the upcoming film. And indeed, the Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group’s 1997 hit was revived on Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s contribution to the soundtrack, “Barbie World,” which samples “Barbie Girl” and credits Aqua as a featured artist on the track.

Since the release of “Barbie World” last Friday (June 23), streams for Aqua’s original have ticked up, gaining plays from those who want to fully relive its Eurodance glory or bask in it for the first time. While Minaj and Ice Spice’s “Barbie World” bowed with 3.33 million U.S. on-demand streams (and nearly 14,000 in sales) last Friday, according to Luminate, Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” earned 222,000 streams that day, a nearly 22% increase from the previous day’s streaming total.

And while “Barbie Girl” is unlikely to ever approach its No. 7 Hot 100 peak during its original run in the late ‘90s, Aqua will no doubt enjoy a healthy streaming resurgence in the coming weeks, ahead of the July 21 release of the Barbie film. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

“Padam Padam” Beats Its Way to Virality

Australian pop legend Kylie Minogue has already called her 2023 single “Padam Padam” the biggest musical moment of her career since 2001’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” – no small designation for an artist who’s scored eight top 10 hits in her home country (and 14 on the UK Official Singles Chart) since that classic release. But the Darenote/BMG-released “Padam Padam” is indeed her most viral song of the streaming era, climbing to No. 19 in Australia and No. 8 on the Official Singles Chart – her highest peaks on both charts in over a decade. 

Mingoue’s chart success in the U.S. has always been a bit more limited than it has overseas: “Head” peaked at No. 7 on the Hot 100 in 2002, but that’s been her lone top 10 appearance on the chart since her initial late-’80s breakout. And so the Billboard rise of “Padam” has been much slower and gradual than it has in those other markets – though you wouldn’t necessarily know it from the song’s internet presence, where it has become an obvious favorite (both as a song and as a meme for its unusual title, meant to approximate a heartbeat) among stateside pop fans on social media. 

Regardless, the song has begun to rise in the U.S. as well. It’s sold over 1,000 digital copies each of the last five chart weeks (up to the week ending June 23), according to Luminate, and currently sits at a new peak of No. 18 on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales listing, moving over 2,400 copies last week. Streams are also up, with “Padam” gaining from just over 1.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams the week ending May 25 to nearly 2.4 million this past week, a gain of 70%. (June being Pride Month has undoubtedly helped to boost the song’s fortunes, with Minogue long serving as a gay icon and her new song being deemed a Pride anthem.) 

The song still has a long way to go before it really threatens to become Minogue’s first Hot 100 hit since “Slow” in 2004. But its Billboard chart impact is growing: The song sits at No. 7 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs this week, having already become her first top 10 on the chart since its 2013 inception. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Jain’s ‘Makeba’ Could Be Dancing Toward the U.S. Charts Soon

“Makeba,” the whooping dance-pop single from French singer-songwriter Jain, is evolving into a fascinating type of global smash. Originally released in 2015 on Jain’s debut Spookland/Sony/Columbia album Zanaka as a tribute to South African singer-activist Miriam Makeba, the song became a top 10 hit in the pop artist’s native France, a successful follow-up to her No. 1 hit “Come.” Although “Makeba” soundtracked a popular Levi’s ad in the States soon after, the song never made a dent in the charts in North America.

Fast-forward to 2023, and Jain has already released two more albums, including this year’s The Fool — but “Makeba” is becoming a delayed hit in the U.S., thanks in part to a TikTok dance challenge. The song has been resurrected with a simple four-step that combines a heel kick, arm wave and booty shake, among other moves; users put their own spins on the dance, and 740,000 TikTok videos have been created with “Makeba” playing underneath.

As the challenge has been working its way through TikTok over the past month, stateside streams for “Makeba” have exploded, reaching 3.04 million U.S. on-demand streams for the week ending June 23 — nearly 10 times its weekly total from one month before, according to Luminate. Meanwhile, the song has reached No. 1 on Shazam’s Top 200 chart, and rises 34 spots to No. 55 on this week’s Global 200 chart. If people keep dancing to “Makeba” throughout the summer, Jain could score her first Hot 100 entry with an eight-year-old song that was too engaging to be kept out of U.S. pop culture forever. – JL

28 Jun 2023

Will Young Thug Score the Year’s First Hip-Hop No. 1 Album?

The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming charts dated July 8), an unexpected release from an incarcerated rapper leads a week that also includes some familiar names releasing debut albums, and others releasing their first projects in six years.  

Young Thug, Business Is Business (YSL/300): A week after Gunna reached the Billboard 200’s No. 3 spot with his A Gift & A Curse album, his labelmate Young Thug should have a chance of doing even better with his new set, Business Is Business. Much interest in the new set is undoubtedly driven by not only the rapper’s incarceration, while he awaits trial on racketeering charges, but also his possibly strained relationship with Gunna — who was similarly indicted in the RICO trial, but released after taking an Alford Plea (a formal admission of guilt made while also maintaining innocence). 

The alleged drama between the two rappers isn’t the only thing spurring consumption of the set, though. Young Thug has long been one of the most successful rappers on streaming, and Business’ tracklist is filled with appearances from A-listers like Drake, Lil Uzi Vert, Future, 21 Savage & Travis Scott. The 15-track set, which does not yet have a physical release, is also receiving today a deluxe Metro’s Version, named after its executive producer (and longtime Thug collaborator) Metro Boomin, and including two extra bonus tracks, including one with appearances from superstars Nicki Minaj and the late Juice WRLD.

Standing in the album’s way, of course, is Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time – now the longest-reigning album of the last 10 years on the Billboard 200, with its 14 weeks on top. That album is still posting weekly units in the low six figures, so Thug will need to do a little better than the 90,000 first-week units his most recent album (2021’s Punk) notched to claim the top spot. (He would also score the first hip-hop No. 1 album of 2023 on the Billboard 200 in the process.) 

Peso Pluma, Génesis (Double P/Prajin/The Orchard): No star around the globe has risen as quickly or as dramatically this year as Mexican corridos singer-songwriter Peso Pluma. He’s already made such an impact on the Billboard Hot 100 this year – reaching the chart 11 times, including with the top 5 hit “Ella Baila Sola,” alongside Eslabon Armado – that it’s pretty hard to believe that last week’s 14-track set Génesis is actually his debut album. 

The album – which technically debuted last Thursday (June 22), bowing at No. 35 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart with less than a full day of consumption– does not load up on those aforementioned Hot 100 hits, with only closer “Bye” having reached the chart. That should change next week, with the album dotting the daily charts of DSPs, led by likely breakout hit “Lady Gaga” with Gabito Ballesteros and Junior H. It’ll have to do most of its damage on streaming, as the album is also not yet for sale in any physical formats.  

Kelly Clarkson, Chemistry (Atlantic): While veteran pop/rock hitmaker Kelly Clarkson isn’t the streaming force that Young Thug and Peso Pluma are, her Chemistry album will probably have much more of a sales impact. The LP, her first since 2017’s Meaning of Life is available in at least six different vinyl variants, including some retail-exclusive editions – along with a signed CD sold in her webstore, and Amazon- and Target-exclusive versions with a poster and alternate cover, respectively. It may be enough to help Chemistry became Clarkson’s eighth consecutive top five-charting original album, a streak that stretches all the way back to 2003 debut Thankful. 

IN THE MIX 

Kim Petras, Feed the Beast (Amigo/Republic): Though cult pop favorite Kim Petras has been releasing acclaimed singles, EPs and mixtapes for six years now, June’s Feed the Beast is her official debut album. It arrives after her breakthrough success with the Hot 100-topping “Unholy” — which is featured here, along with the Nicki Minaj-featuring “Alone” – and is being sold as a signed CD in her webstore. 

Portugal. The Man, Chris Black Changed My Life (Atlantic): Portugal. The Man a very personally and collectively trying half-decade following their 2017 breakout smash “Feel It Still,” as chronicled in the group’s recent Billboard digital cover story. Their new set – named after PTM’s longtime friend and touring hypeman, who died in 2019 – doesn’t feature a single like that, but it does have a top 10 Rock & Alternative Airplay hit with “Dummy.” It’s also available as a cassette, as a signed CD, and in multiple vinyl variants.  

28 Jun 2023

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony To Be Honored With Cleveland Street Renaming

HipHopWired Featured Video

High Hopes Concert At Toyota Arena

Source: Scott Dudelson / Getty

The intersection of East 99th Street and St. Clair Avenue which was featured prominently on the cover of the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony album, Creepin On Ah Come Up, will soon be renamed after the legendary Cleveland group. 

HipHopDX is reporting that the ceremony will take place on August 11, the day that has been established as the 50th anniversary of the founding of Hip-Hop music. The event will be held from noon to 2 p.m. 

The effort is the result of a fan-driven campaign. They created a petition in February 2022. “There’s nothing here that pays homage to that or to the group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony,” said Felicia C. Haney, owner of Beach Street Publicity told News 5 Cleveland. 

Haney and Juan Goodwin went door-to-door gathering signatures. They needed 70% of the street, and that’s what they got within a span of two hours in the cold. The Cleveland City Council was reportedly shocked by how quickly the signatures were gathered. 

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is one of the only rap groups who made music with hip-hop legends while they were still alive including 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Eazy-E and Big Pun. 

Cormega of C-N-N has been praising his fellow hip-hop artists on social media. He took some time out earlier this month to salute the Cleveland icons. 

“Before Eazy E left this world he gave us a reminder of his savvy as a music executive. Bone Thugs N Harmony was and is one of the most unique rap groups ever,” Cormega captioned a photograph of the group minus Flesh, who spent several years of the group’s career in prison. “They harmonize like a choir while simultaneously lyrically staying aligned with rap group precision and verbally switching tempos perfectly.”

He added, “Their song ‘1st Of The Month’ was a catchy hit that caught my attention and their music afterwards kept my attention,” he wrote. “I’ve never heard a song about death sound sonically beautiful until I heard ‘Cross Roads.’ The video is very thought provoking and brings an added element to the song. A melodramatic emotional experience never surpassed to this very day.

“They became superstars selling over 14 million records to date making them one of the top rap groups of all time if we’re being unbiasedly honest.”

By most accounts, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is one of the best-selling hip-hop groups of all time having sold more than 14 million albums worldwide. 

HipHopWired Radio

Our staff has picked their favorite stations, take a listen…

28 Jun 2023

Chadwick Boseman To Get Star On Hollywood Walk of Fame

HipHopWired Featured Video

33rd Film Independent Spirit Awards, Show, Los Angeles, USA - 03 Mar 2018

Source: Variety / Getty

The late Chadwick Boseman will be among the group of honorees to get their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year, including the iconic producer Dr. Dre.

On Monday (June 26th), the Walk of Fame Selection Panel for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced their Class of 2024 whose members will be honored with a star on the Walk of Fame. Boseman, who succumbed to colon cancer in 2020 at the age of 43, will posthumously receive that honor as part of the group nominated from the Motion Pictures category. Late musical icon Otis Redding will also get a star after being nominated for the Live Theatre/Live Performance category with actress Jane Krakowski.

Dr. Dre will also be receiving a star after being nominated from the Recording category along with Glen Ballard, Toni Braxton, Def Leppard, Charles Fox, Sammy Hagar, Brandy Norwood, Darius Rucker,  and Gwen Stefani. Veteran radio host and media personality Angie Martinez will also get a star as the lone nominee from the Radio category.

“The Selection Committee which is made up of fellow Walk of Famers, carefully hand-picks a group of honorees each year that represent various genres of the entertainment world,” Walk of Fame Chair Ellen K said in the announcement statement. “The Committee did an amazing job choosing these very talented people.” There are no dates announced yet for any ceremonies.

The rest of the honorees from the film category are veteran actress and recent Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Chris Meledandri, Chris Pine, and Christina Ricci along with Gal Gadot and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. The television category nominated Ken Jeong, Eugene Levy, Mario Lopez, Jim Nantz, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Michael Schur, Kerry Washington, and Gordo y La Flaca co-hosts Raúl De Molina and Lili Estefan. Tennis legend Billie Jean King and Carl Weathers will be honored from the Sports Entertainment category.

HipHopWired Radio

Our staff has picked their favorite stations, take a listen…

28 Jun 2023

Taylor Swift Drops ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ Eras Merch Collection & You Have Only 48 Hours to Get It

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Swifties better drop everything now and run over to Taylor Swift‘s online store if they want any hopes of securing items from the pop star’s new, limited Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) Eras merch collection.

The flash sale was announced by Taylor Nation Wednesday (June 28) just an hour ahead of launching on Swift’s site. Featuring hoodies, crewnecks, long-sleeve shirts and tees emblazoned with an illustration of the singer wearing eight of her Speak Now tour looks circa 2011, the collection will be available only for the next 48 hours.

“We’re a flight risk, with a fear of fallin’ head over heels for the new #SpeakNowTaylorsVersion Eras Collection!!!” Taylor Nation captioned a followup announcement heralding the collection’s arrival. “Available for 48 hours at http://store.taylorswift.com, or while supplies last.”

Also available under the new Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) merch line are a lilac tote bag, a plush blanket, a lithograph and magnets. Prices range from $30 to $65.

The new swag comes just over a week before the album, a re-recorded version of Swift’s 2010 project Speak Now, arrives July 7. In addition to all of Speak Now‘s original songs, “Taylor’s Version” will include six previously unreleased tracks, two of which she invited Fall Out Boy and Hayley Williams to collaborate with her on.

Since the album announcement, Swift has been gearing up for the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) by previewing special vinyl editions and by singing tracks as surprise songs at her Eras Tour shows. Just a few days ago, she performed an acoustic version of her moving 2010 ballad “Dear John” — which is widely believed to be a scathing lyrical takedown of John Mayer, whom she dated in 2009 — and asked fans not to “defend me on the internet against someone you think I might have written a song about 14 billion years ago.”

See Taylor Nation’s announcement below:

28 Jun 2023

Taylor Swift Invited to Join Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences

Taylor Swift has been invited to join a prestigious group of artists and executives around the globe in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

She’s been invited along with a number of others who have made major contributions to film over the past year, including David Byrne, Austin Butler, Keke Palmer, Ke Huy Quan and many more.

“The Academy is proud to welcome these artists and professionals into our membership,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang said in a joint statement to the publication. “They represent extraordinary global talent across cinematic disciplines and have made a vital impact on the arts and sciences of motion pictures and on movie fans worldwide.”

If all 398 people who were invited this year accept their invitations, the Academy will have a 34 percent female, 18 percent non-white and 20 percent non-American membership.

Swift was shortlisted in 2023 for best original song with “Carolina” from the murder mystery film Where the Crawdads Sing, but she failed to land a nomination, and she’s yet to be nominated for an Oscar.

“Carolina” was nominated for a number of other awards this year, though, including a Golden Globe for best original song, Critic’s Choice Award for best song, Grammy Award for best song written for visual media and more. The track won the MTV Movie & TV Award for best song in May.

28 Jun 2023

How to Stream Idris Elba’s Action-Packed Show ‘Hijack’ on Apple TV+

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Looking to add some thrill to your summer? Apple TV+‘s new show Hijack premiered Wednesday (June 28) with the first two episodes — and they’re filled drama, action and suspense.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

The new show stars Idris Elba (who also executive produced the series) as Sam Nelson, a corporate negotiator whose travels get an unexpected disturbance. When he boards a seven-hour flight from Dubai to London, the plane gets hijacked. It’s then that Elba’s character comes in and attempts to use his negotiating skills to help him and his fellow passengers get home alive.

Other characters include DI Daniel O’Farrel (Max Beesley), First Officer Anna Kovacs (Kaisa Hammarlund), Zahar Gahfoor (Archie Panjabi), Eve Myles (Alice Sinclair) and more.

Those familiar with the show 24 may recognize similarities between the plots, but, with the help of director Jim Field Smith, Apple TV+’s version will be filled with new twists and turns you’ll have to see to believe.

Read on to find out how to stream the series for free.

How to Watch Hijack for Free

Since the series is an Apple Original, you will only be able to watch it on Apple TV+. It will have a total of seven episodes, which will drop every Wednesday.

If you’re not already a subscriber, Apple TV+ is only $6.99 a month, plus a free trial for the first week. You can score a three-month free trial with the purchase of an eligible Apple device, or a free month trial when you sign up for Apple One, which bundles Apple TV+ with up to five other apps. You also have the option to watch an episode for free before deciding if you want to follow the rest of the series.

Apple TV+

$6.99/month after 7-day free trial

Besides Hijack, you’ll also be able to stream popular shows and movies such as Platonic, Ted Lasso, The Last Thing He Told Me, Silo, Severance, High Desert, Shrinking, The Big Door Prize, Bad Sisters, Schmigadoon!, The Problem with John Stewart, The Morning Show, Ghosted, Still, Tetris, Palmer and more.

You can even stream Apple TV+ on the Apple TV app, your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac and popular smart TVs including Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL, Toshiba and others, along with Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV. Apple TV+ is available on PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles as well.

For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of portable phone chargers, the best record players and turntables and TV deals.

Watch the Hijack trailer below.

28 Jun 2023

Post Malone Unveils Upcoming Album’s Tracklist, Shares Snippet of ‘Something Real’: Listen

Post Malone is gearing up for the release his new record, Austin. Leading up to the LP’s arrival, he gave fans a peek at one of the songs, as well as the tracklist on Monday (June 26).

In a video posted to Instagram, the rapper shared the back cover of the album — which features a photo of a pickup truck in front of a house, with the vehicle cut out — with the 17 song titles listed next to the album’s name. “My new record AUSTIN has 17 songs and drops July 28th ??,” he wrote. “Here’s a snippet of one of em ? I love you!!!”

The video features a clip of “Something Real,” the second song on the album. On the track, Malone sings, “Give me something, I can feel/ Light a cigarette just so I can breathe/ Give me something, something real/ 700 feet off the coast of Greece/ Give me something, I can feel/ No reservation, pull up 20 deep/ Give me something, something real/ I’d trade it all just to be at peace” with the assistance of a choir.

The other song titles are “Don’t Understand,” “Chemical,” “Novacandy,” “Mourning,” “Too Cool to Die,” “Sign Me Up,” “Socialite,” “Overdrive,” “Speedometer,” “Hold My Breath,” “Enough Is Enough,” “Texas Tea,” “Buyer Beware,” “Landmine,” “Green Thumb” and “Laugh It Off.”

Malone first announced Austin in May, and shed some insight on what recording his fifth body of work was like.

“I wanted to say that I love you guys so very f–king much,” he shared via an Instagram Reel at the time. “I’m here on tour in Europe right now, and I wanted to tell you guys that I have an album coming out this summer on July 28. It’s called Austin. Like my name — that is my name.”

He added, “It’s been some of the funnest music, some of the most challenging and rewarding music for me, at least — trying to really push myself and really do some cool stuff. I played guitar on every song on the record, and it was a really, really fun experience, and I’m super, super excited to share it with you.”

Listen to the snippet of “Something Real” below.

28 Jun 2023

10 Top LGBTQ+ Country/Americana Anthems

While the country music music industry is still working toward equality and inclusion on several fronts, the onslaught of music streaming and maturation of social media have opened doors for artists in the LGBTQIA+ community to connect with music fans and build audiences.

While country music artist Lavender Country was a pioneer in the space, releasing a queer-themed country music album in 1973, it has a been a largely uphill battle for LGBTQIA+ artists in the genre.

Chely Wright, known for her 1997 top 20 Country Airplay hit “Shut Up and Drive” and her 1999 No. 1, “Single White Female,” came out publicly in 2007. Ty Herndon came out as gay in 2014, having previously earned a handful of No. 1 Country Airplay hits in the 1990s, including “What Matters Most” and “Living in a Moment.” That same year, Billy Gilman (who found success in country music as a child with songs including “One Voice”) also came out publicly as gay.

Since then, the country music industry has slowly seen more openly gay artists and songwriters find success. And certainly, there have been and are many within the LGBTQIA+ community who are creatives, songwriters, producers and music industry execs working behind the scenes within the industry.

In the 2000s and 2010s, songwriters Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark, who are both openly gay, began having success as writers. McAnally earned No. 1 Country Airplay hits for artists including Lee Ann Womack (“Last Call”) and Kenny Chesney (“Somewhere With You”), and rose to prominence as a writer and producer working with Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Reba McEntire, Kacey Musgraves and more. Meanwhile, Clark wrote hits including Miranda Lambert’s “Mama’s Broken Heart” and The Band Perry’s “Better Dig Two.”

The year 2014 brought a moment of public recognition, when Kacey Musgraves’ “Follow Your Arrow” — which Musgraves wrote with Clark and McAnally and which famously featured the line “Kiss lots of boys/ or kiss lots of girls, if that’s what your into” — was named song of the year by the Country Music Association’s music industry voters.

Then 2021 saw two more country artists — Brooke Eden and Brothers Osborne’s T.J. Osborne — speak publicly about their sexuality. Additionally, more artists in country and Americana circles have been forthright about their sexual identities, including Lily Rose, Joy Oladokun, Orville Peck, Amythyst Kiah, Adeem the Artist and more.

We take a look at a set of songs from LGBTQIA+ artists and allies — songs which run the gamut from celebratory to reflective, from joyous to mournful — as we continue to celebrate Pride Month.