Happy Pride, everybody! What better way to celebrate the reason for the season than with a cornucopia of new tracks from your favorite queer artists? 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 Tove Lo’s Y2K dance anthem to Adam Lambert’s appropriate new Pride cover, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
Tove Lo, “I Like U”
That’s right, we’re kicking off Pride with one hell of a new dance song. Tove Lo’s “I Like U” doesn’t need to be anything other than what it is — a feel good, fire-up-the-smoke-machine single about the revelry of newfound love. With production courtesy of frequent collaborator Timfromthehouse, Tove’s new song is a perfect party banger to kick off your Pride Month, as she wails “I li-li-li-like you/ I want you tonight.”
Adam Lambert feat. Sigala, “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” (Sylvester cover)
When you think of “Pride anthems,” a handful of tracks immediately come to mind — one such song is Sylvester’s classic 1978 hit “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real).” Now, 35 years after the disco icon’s death, Adam Lambert is ready to pay tribute to a great that paved the way. Teaming up with Sigala for a dance-fueled remix of the track, Lambert’s falsetto stylings fit perfectly with the song, nailing each note of the track, but never aiming to emulate the late star — rather, he honors his legacy with this dedicated cover.
Paris Hilton feat. Kim Petras, “Stars Are Blind (Paris’ Version)”
Say it with me — “that’s so hot.” Paris Hilton is, in fact, back with a re-release of her beloved single “Stars Are Blind.” (Note Taylor Swift’s impact, with Hilton dubbing her new rendition “Paris’ Version”). This time, though, Hilton is bringing along her friend and past collaborator Kim Petras to amp up the newest version of the track, with a pitch perfect second verse.
The Aces, I’ve Loved You For So Long
You shouldn’t mistake The Aces’ new album, I’ve Loved You For So Long, as nostalgia; while much of the 11-track project does deal with delving into the past, not all of it is done fondly. Throughout this expansive LP, the group retrods everything from teenage self-loathing (“Miserable” and “Always Get This Way”) to co-dependency (“Girls Make Me Wanna Die”), all done with their signature indie-pop sound and top-shelf songwriting completely intact.
Claud, “Wet”
Ever had that one person in your life who just refused to commit? If so, Claud has a song for you. The alt-pop star’s latest offering “Wet” deals with this exact dilemma, as Claud chastises a could-be partner for their refusal to just go for it. The thrumming, synth-focused production only adds to the drama, as the singer passively tells the song’s subject, “That’s not an apology/ But I’ll take what I can get/ Dip your feet but not too wet.”
Jake Shears, Last Man Dancing
It bears repeating that in dark times, it feels good to unplug and dance for a little while. Jake Shears’ phenomenal new album Last Man Dancing provides exactly that opportunity, while also offering something of a history lesson in queer music. Revisiting the chaotic electroclash that defined the late ’90s and early 2000s (especially on album standout “Really Big Deal”) and diving headfirst into gorgeous disco-tinged dance songs (the Kylie Minogue-assisted “Voices”), Last Man Dancing is a triumphant call to joy from Shears for the queer community. Sure, the world’s turning into a dystopia, but when has that ever stopped us from making our own good time?
CHIKA, “Requiem For A Dream”
When it comes to penning lyrics that make you sit back in your chair and exhale loudly, CHIKA is nearly unmatched. Her return single “Requiem for a Dream” is a perfect example — throughout this woozy track, the rapper dives deep into her own mind, plucking out insecurities, fears and self-scrutinizations and laying them out for the listener. But after shooting off a veritable laundry list of the problems she’s dealing with, CHIKA comes to a gorgeously-sung resolution on the song’s chorus: “I’m alright with pretending that all’s well …We’ll be okay,” she sings, before hampering her own thought. “F–k, I’m delusional.”
Zolita, “Grave”
As fun as it is to be petty, sometimes you just have to suck it up and be the adult in a relationship. For all of the angst she’s sung about thus far in her career, Zolita’s ready to be the grown-up on “Grave.” This chilling new track sees the rising pop singer living through the aftermath of a breakup, and instead of going scorched earth on her ex (see past single “20 Questions” for that particular tirade), Zolita decided to just take it in stride. “You said things you never thought you’d say,” she offers, spitefully. “You’re lucky I’ll take that s–t to my grave.”
Dorian Electra, “Sodom & Gomorrah”
If right-wing politicians want to use the Bible like a cudgel, Dorian Electra says “let them.” On “Sodom & Gomorrah,” the hyperpop star takes a look back at that “ancient story” where “two cities got super horny,” and turns it into a metaphor for what they’d like to see their lover do to them. With some cheeky wordplay and a lot of thinly-veiled innuendo, Electra gets their point across with ease in this sexed-up single.
Trixie Mattel, “Looking Good, Feeling Gorgeous” (RuPaul cover)
Her Snatch Game impression of RuPaul might have been a bit rough, but Trixie Mattel’s new cover of a RuPaul classic is, as she put it, a “winner winner chicken dinner.” Taking the (frankly underrated) RuPaul track “Looking Good, Feeling Gorgeous” and giving it a modern facelift, Mattel leans into the unbridled camp of the dance single, pouring every ounce of faux-sincerity into the song’s central question of “How do I look?” Considering the fact that the music video is also raising money for the Drag Isn’t Dangerous fund, and you simply have no reason not to press play.
Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below:
