Pride
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During Pride Month 2023, La Cruz went from an independent artist trying to make his mark to an empowering gay voice in reggaeton music. The rising Venezuelan star went viral among the online LGBTQ+ community thanks to his sexy music video “Quítate La Ropa,” which showed guys perreando, or twerking, for him in a locker room. La Cruz has since manifested that gay fantasy into a blossoming music career with co-signs from giants in the genre like Karol G, Young Miko and Danny Ocean.
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“I feel [Pride Month] is necessary to see how far we’ve come and where we can go next,” La Cruz tells Billboard over Zoom. “Honestly, I’m proud of who I am all year long. I talk openly about my sexuality all year long because for me that’s normal.”
Puerto Rican trap artist Kevin Fret pioneered representation for gay men in música urbana before his murder in January 2019. Since then, there has been a notable increase of LGBTQ people in reggaeton, with women like Young Miko and Villano Antillano leading the way. Now, La Cruz is becoming a leading gay artist in reggaeton. Growing up as Alfonso La Cruz in La Guaira, Venezuela, he listened to the music of reggaeton pioneers like Ivy Queen and Arcángel. La Cruz sings a bit of the latter’s love song “Mujer Maravillosa” while noting the lack of gay perspective in the genre back then.
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“That song is for a woman but when I was in love with my first boyfriend and I listened to it, I felt I could relate,” he says. “I would have loved to hear a song that expressed exactly how I felt. Within a genre that I’ve listened to all my life, I had never heard a song where I could say, ‘Wow! I experienced what happened in that song.’”
Due to the ongoing economic crisis in Venezuela, La Cruz decided to move to Madrid to pursue his dreams of a music career. In 2018, he became known throughout Spain for competing on the reality singing competition Operación Triunfo. After the show, La Cruz was courted by a few record labels. One was ready to sign him under the condition that he would not mention gender in his songs. La Cruz instead went the independent route and rounded up a small team who believed in his vision.
“I didn’t sign any contract that would make me unhappy or that I couldn’t relate with,” he recalls. “I’ve had obstacles in my career, and they’ve been more on the industry level musically speaking with A&Rs, labels and music streaming platforms. I’ve seen myself in uncomfortable situations, but I’ve taken all that as a sign to keep going.”
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In 2022, La Cruz started pushing the boundaries of reggaeton with his music videos for “Desnudx,” “Boulevard,” and “Te Conocí Bailando,” which showed him in love with (or lusting after) other men. Throughout his debut album Hawaira, which is named after his Venezuelan hometown, his objects of affections are clearly identified with male pronouns. The album’s songs have collectively registered 2.5 million official on-demand U.S. streams, per Luminate.
“Sometimes as gay people we limit ourselves a lot from achieving our dreams because we believe they won’t happen on the basis of being gay,” he says. “That’s something that we need to get out of our heads. I love being a reference for those kids who want to make music but don’t do it because they’re afraid. The fear only stops you. You have to go for it.”
In June 2023, La Cruz made the jump into international stardom thanks to his follow-up single “Quítate La Ropa.” In the sultry reggaeton romp, he sang about wanting to lose his clothes with a lover. In the music video, La Cruz was surrounded by hunky, shirtless men that were perreando in a gym locker room. The song went viral on TikTok during Pride Month with gay men embracing a reggaeton anthem they could twerk to in videos of their own.
“The idea for the ‘Quítate La Ropa’ video came to me in a gym,” he says with a laugh. “I knew it had to involve some twerking. It’s something that a gay boy sometimes imagines in a locker room. That was me showing the world that other things exist. That song basically changed my life.”
La Cruz’s “regayton,” which is what his fans playfully call his music, has caught the attention of artists like Omar Apollo, Young Miko, Villano Antillano and Venezuela’s top reggaeton artist Danny Ocean. The latter recently featured La Cruz in his music video for “Cero Condiciones,” which talks about “coming out of the closet” to live a free and truthful life. After DMing for several months with Colombian superstar Karol G on Instagram, she invited La Cruz to meet her at her concert in Caracas last March.
“I told her I was very nervous because I’m a big fan of hers,” he recalls. “She told me, ‘No! I’m also a big fan of yours!’ That was a beautiful moment because she’s one of my idols. Knowing that she listens to me and likes what I do, that’s incredible. She supports my message and my concept and told me, ‘Keep it up.’ I feel like I made a spiritual connection with her.”
La Cruz’s recent singles such as “Easy Boy,” his reggaeton ode to casual sex, are being distributed by Sony Music Entertainment España. He is also hard at work on his second album. With a bigger team and the support of the LGBTQ+ community, La Cruz wants to continue to break down barriers for queer artists like himself.
“To have a community of people that identify with my music and they can relate to those experiences, that’s the most beautiful thing,” he says. “With my music, I want to give visibility and normalize a lot of things on a social level that are looked down upon. It’s the people consuming my music who are making things happen [for me] and I’m having a great time with them.”
Before January 2024, Reneé Rapp publicly identified as bisexual. However, she made a last-minute decision when appearing in a sketch for Saturday Night Live to come out as lesbian — thanks to a sweet introduction from comedian Bowen Yang.
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However, the journey of coming out was a long one. Rapp sat down for a recent interview with Them, where she opened up about accepting her identity as a lesbian. The “Tummy Hurts” singer referred to the viral Tumblr guide, Lesbian Masterdoc, as helping her back in December. “I’m sure for some people it doesn’t feel right,” she explained. “I don’t know all the nuances to the conversation. However, for me, it was really beneficial.”
Rapp also attributed her self-realization to a new group of queer friends. “All of a sudden, I had these people around me who were either nonbinary people, trans friends, or lesbians, and I was like, ‘I feel so happy when I’m with you guys. And I also really want to call myself a lesbian when I’m around you,’” she said.
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The 24-year-old singer continued of the “lesbian” label, “When you’re bisexual, you almost want to prove yourself, so I thought it was kind of that. But it came to be that, no, I’m actually just gay like that.”
When it came time to perform on SNL, Rapp was set to appear in a sketch in which Yang was originally supposed to introduce her as “our little bisexual intern Reneé.” Before the show, Rapp ended up asking one of the show’s writers, Celeste Yim, to change “bisexual” to “gay”. She recalled, “I didn’t want to do it and be like, ‘Oh my God, I’m not using the word ‘bisexual,’ and make bisexual people feel s—ty. I also didn’t want to be like, ‘OK, I’m ‘gay’ and have all the lesbians be like, ‘Say you’re bisexual, then.’ I felt so wrapped up and scared.”
However, “gay” still didn’t feel right. Rapp ended up calling a friend, who told her, “I think it would be really f—ing sick if you came out as a lesbian on SNL.” Ultimately, she was introduced by Yang as “our little lesbian intern,” officially coming out.
“I stayed off my phone for a couple days because I was so f—ing terrified and felt so s—ty but then it was just, like, a thing, and it felt good,” she said.
Read the full interview here.
For the last 40 years, pop icon Madonna has cemented her status as a bonafide gay icon. This year, the Queen of Pop wants to remind her LGBTQ fans that without them, she wouldn’t still be here. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In a touching message […]
With an unprecedented number of openly LGBTQ+ artists making waves in the music industry, a casual observer could argue that representation in the business has reached a new high. But according to workers within it, representation is still severely lacking.
In a new survey published by Queer Capita, in partnership with Billboard and The Orchard, nearly half of LGBTQ+ music industry respondents revealed that they felt insufficiently represented within the industry. The State of the LGBTQ+ Music Industry Professional Survey gathered responses from nearly 300 LGBTQ+-identifying professionals within the music business.
A majority of respondents (77%) said that they felt somewhat or very comfortable being open about their sexuality in the workplace, while 64% of respondents said that the industry fosters a somewhat or very inclusive and supportive environment for LGBTQ+ professionals.
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That outlook changed, though, when professionals were asked about representation across all sectors of the industry. While an overwhelming 92% of respondents referred to LGBTQ+ representation as either “important” or “very important” for the industry, nearly half (48%) said they felt the community is somewhat or very poorly represented across all sectors of the business.
“As a manager, I feel good about my particular company. My concern is that as you get into the different formats and genres, many of them are not welcoming, and do not feel like supportive places as musical industries,” one respondent wrote in the survey’s open-ended response section.
When it comes to active support for LGBTQ+ people in the industry, the survey found that a mere 8% of respondents felt that their companies provided “adequate resources” for LGBTQ+ employees. Meanwhile, 21% said that their companies provided no resources to LGBTQ+ employees.
One respondent took that concern further, saying that the burden of support for the community should not fall solely on queer and trans professionals. “It’s critical to tackle unconscious bias for trans people. This should not fall on your resource groups or LGBTQ+ in addition to full-time jobs,” they wrote. “Many times, I was pigeonholed into DEI work on top of my full-time job. In reality, I don’t want to be in DEI, I want to work in music. We need to stop making our LGBTQ+ colleagues do all the work in addition to smashing glass ceilings.”
Additionally, 64% of those surveyed said that they had personally experienced or witnessed microaggressions relating to LGBTQ+ identities in the music industry. Just over a quarter (28%) of all respondents believed they had been passed over for promotions or raises due to their identity.
“I think we have a lot of LGBTQ+-identifying people in the music industry, but certain areas are still more unsafe than others,” one respondent wrote. “Working on the tech side, there are still a lot of regressive ideas about LGBTQ+ people and offensive comments or ‘jokes’ made during working hours.”
So, what can music companies do to bolster support for the community both during and outside of Pride Month? Respondents said that employee resource groups and diversity and inclusion workshops provided by their companies were “actively helpful” in creating a safe and supportive environment for LGBTQ+ workers. When asked what resources aren’t currently provided by their companies that they would like to see implemented, respondents pointed to mentorship programs (19%) and LGBTQ-specific networking events (17%) as their top choices.
“I feel pretty good about representation in our industry but I will say that I would love to see more LGBTQ+ bosses. Leadership could still use a bit of a shakeup,” wrote one respondent. “I’m very thankful that one of my first mentors was an incredibly badass artist manager. She’s an out lesbian who never shied away from her identity on the job. She showed me what it looks like to be an out, confident boss, and how that can win over clients and business partners. I aspire to the example she set still to this day.”
In a statement shared with Billboard, Queer Capita co-president Dan Iammatteo said that the nonprofit’s aim in publishing the results of the survey was to “utilize data as a tool to help keep the industry progressing on issues valued most by our community.” He added that the organization will use the results of this survey to “expand our collective impact by continuing to partner with industry DEI leaders, organizers, and champions to produce events and programs that remain free and accessible to all LGBTQ+ professionals at every level.”
When she took to the stage during OUTLOUD at WeHo Pride on Saturday (June 1), Sophie Ellis-Bextor certainly did not kill the groove.
In an interview with Billboard News before her set, the “Murder on the Dancefloor” singer spoke about her love for Pride events, saying that she was honored to be included among artists such as Kylie Minogue, Janelle Monáe and plenty of others.
“It’s a very inclusive, supportive, warm audience,” she says. “I know we talk a lot about being your authentic self to the point where we kind of don’t think about what that means. But actually, being able to feel comfortable in your own skin is one of the biggest things you can do for someone … I think the fact you get that in a very pure form at events like Pride is just a really joyous thing.”
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The singer added that after the shutdowns caused by COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, Pride events have felt “particularly moving” for the last few years. “I know how significant that made family is for the community. So, the fact that people might have been at home and unable to see their friends was a really significant loss,” she says.” When we were all back together, and looking at this sea of very young faces, it made me feel quite emotional.”
Ellis-Bextor said that she can trace her journey as an artist through the various Pride events she’s played through her career. “I can kind of credit pretty much everything about how I perform to my relationship with my LGBTQ+ audience,” she says. “Because it’s been those shows that I’ve done that have really kind of crystallized and helped me feel safe on stage, excited and relaxed. My lack of inhibition is completely down to them.”
The singer has already had a massive 2024, thanks to the resurgence of “Murder on the Dancefloor” after the song was featured in Emerald Fennell’s 2023 thriller Saltburn. Climbing to No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 more than 20 years after it was originally released, Ellis-Bextor says she’s grateful to be seen by a whole new audience as a result.
“The whole reason I’m here in L.A. today is because of what happened with ‘Murder’ and Saltburn, because that’s what gave me the opportunity to tour here. It’s been amazing,” she says. “There will be some young people who only remember me as the ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ lady — but to be honest, that’s absolutely fine with me.”
Watch Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s full interview with Billboard News above.
Sophie Ellis-Bexter performed her hit brought back to life “Murder on the Dancefloor” at WeHo Pride 2024. She talks to Billboard about how the LGBTQ+ community has supported her throughout her career, her tour in America, a new album in the making and more! Sophie Ellis-Bextor:I know that there’ll be some young people that will […]
45 years ago, disco icon Sylvester performed what would ultimately become one of his most famous concerts to date at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House. The performance became the basis for his 1979 live album Living Proof, and served as the debut ground for his album Stars. And soon, fans can listen to the Queen of Disco’s performance in full.
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On Wednesday (June 5), Craft Recordings announced the release of Live at the Opera House, a new live album from the late legend that shares the famed concert in full. Today, fans are getting an exclusive sneak peak of what to expect with a new live cut of “Body Strong,” the exuberant disco track that Sylvester debuted during the concert alongside Martha Wash.
The new LP features more than an hour of unreleased music from the live concert, including a brief ceremony in which Sylvester receives the key to the city of San Francisco. The physical editions of the new album — available on both a 3-LP vinyl and 2-CD format — also come with recently discovered photographs from the evening, as well as brand new liner notes from Joshua Gamson, author of the biography The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend, The Music, The Seventies in San Francisco.
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“That Sylvester – an androgynous, openly gay, drag-loving, African American, falsetto-singing, unapologetically flaming man-diva influenced primarily by church women, Black blues singers, drag queens, hippies, and homosexuals – would be the central diva at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House in March of 1979 was as unlikely as it was inevitable,” Gamson writes in his new liner notes. “Aside from a few thousand souls, most of us missed it. It was a lot to miss, too: a peek into the career of an ahead-of-his-time artist, a poignant moment in San Francisco and queer history, a couple of hours of collective effervescence set to music.”
Sylvester’s Live at the Opera House arrives Sept. 6th via Craft Recordings. Listen to the exclusive single “Body Strong” and check out the full tracklist of the new live album below:
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Live at the Opera House tracklist:
Overture (Grateful/You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)/Dance (Disco Heat))
Body Strong
Medley #1: Everything Must Change / You Are My Love
Medley #2: Could This Be Magic / A Song For You
Blackbird / Sylvester Day Proclamation
Happiness
Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be?)
Sharing Something Perfect Between Ourselves
I (Who Have Nothing)
You Are My Friend
Dance (Disco Heat)
You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)
Overture (Reprise)
Never Can Say Goodbye
After touring the world as Madonna’s emcee, drag star Bob the Drag Queen is ready to get back on the road with a show of his own.
On Tuesday (June 4), the Drag Race winner announced his new comedy tour, the This Is Wild! World Tour. Set to take place this fall, Bob’s new show will kick off the 35-date North American leg of the tour in Sacramento, Calif., on Sept. 18, before heading to cities including Seattle, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles, before closing out the show at the Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas on Nov. 15.
The new show will see Bob flexing his skills as a multi-hyphenate, including “stand-up comedy, crowd work and music, all while entertaining his audience with the charisma and flair,” according to a press release. In a statement, Bob made it clear just how much fun he intends to have on the road: “If you’ve ever laughed with me on the internet, wait till you see me in person.”
The new North American dates of Bob’s tour join a suite of previously announced shows in Australia, set to begin in Brisbane on July 18 at the QPAC Concert Hall. The star will perform shows throughout the month in Sydney and Melbourne before closing out at the Astor Theater in Perth on July 24.
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Bob spent the last year on the road with Madonna for her Celebration World Tour, serving as the emcee for her decades-spanning setlist. Speaking to Billboard in 2023 before the tour started, Bob said that working with the pop legend had already proven to be a validating experience. “She respects me in a way that doesn’t feel like a novelty,” he said. “Obviously, what matters most is how I feel about myself, but still, a stamp of approval from Madonna is just like … ‘What?!’”
Check out the full list of dates for the North American leg of Bob the Drag Queen’s This Is Wild! World Tour below:
Bob the Drag Queen
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Among the platitudes that are shared every Pride Month, “accept yourself” is one of the most common — but pop star Kim Petras wants to examine the actual meaning behind that phrase. In a post to her Instagram Stories on Monday (June 3), the pop singer shared a “lil pride message for anyone who needs […]
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. Mariah Carey isn’t just celebrating The Emancipation of Mimi during her Las Vegas residency, she’s also taking a moment to observe […]