Pride
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Drag Race season four star Jiggly Caliente won’t be returning to her position as a judge on Drag Race Philippines after the drag performer had most of her right leg amputated following an infection. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In a post to Caliente’s social media, […]
A rare, celebratory moment of LGBTQ+ representation in the K-pop scene took place in Los Angeles on Tuesday night during the final stop of JUST B’s JUST ODD World Tour, when member Bain took a moment to speak to the crowd while performing a section of the concert solo.
“Before I start the next song, tonight I want to share something with you guys,” he told the audience at the Vermont Hollywood, pausing for a moment before declaring, “I’m f—ing proud to be part of the LGBT community,” with the announcement drawing massive cheers from concertgoers, according to on-the-ground footage.
“Shout-out to my queen Lady Gaga for showing me that being yourself is beautiful,” Bain continued through the supportive shouting. “To everyone out there who’s part of the LGBTQ+ or still figuring it out, this is for you guys. And also, this is for everyone. You’re seen, you’re loved, and you are born this way.” The 24-year-old then broke out into a remixed performance of Gaga’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit and LGBTQ+ anthem “Born This Way.” The star later posted those words on his personal Instagram account with footage from the night.
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Bain and his bandmates Geonu, Lim Jimin, Siwoo, DY and Sangwoo launched the U.S. leg of JUST B’s world tour earlier this month after kicking off in Tokyo in March. Over 10 American dates, the group performed singles like “Medusa,” “TICK TOCK” and “Damage,” with each member also performing solo stages in different cities. Bain’s sets paid homage to 2000s pop divas with covers of Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor,” the Pussycat Dolls’ “Buttons” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and “Judas.”
In a final address to the crowd, Bain swam in even more supporting cheers from the audience and his group members.
“L.A., thank you so much,” he shared, per fan footage. “Today, it means a lot to me — I’m so happy that I can be myself,” before one of his bandmates followed up, saying, “We are happy too,” with another confirming with a supportive “Yeah!” Bain closed out by saying, “Until next time: stay bold, stay fierce, and lastly, always, always be your true self,” as his bandmates pushed him to take in the center-stage spotlight.
JUST B debuted on June 30, 2021, under the agency BLUEDOT Entertainment with their first EP, Just Burn, featuring Bang Yongguk of pioneering K-pop boy band B.A.P producing the lead single “Damage.” The sextet has released five EPs and multiple singles to date, including last year’s English pop-punk crossover cut “Daddy’s Girl,” with 2024 proving to be a major year of opportunities for JUST B.
In January 2024, Bain competed in the Korean singing competition Build Up : Vocal Boy Group Survivor, which saw top male vocalists battling for a spot in a new quartet. In September, JUST B formed a supergroup with fellow rising boy band ATBO called The CrewOne to compete on the popular boy-group series Road to Kingdom: Ace of Ace alongside other next-gen K-pop acts like CRAVITY, ONEUS and 8TURN. The CrewOne placed fifth in the finale, but not before Bain got to show off his vocal chops once again in a special performance of the “Vocal Aces,” where he sang alongside fellow powerhouses.
But while K-pop acts are increasingly courting global audiences, with JUST B earning 6 million on-demand official streams for their songs in the U.S. and 22.6 million for their songs globally to date, according to Luminate, Bain’s announcement has the chance to accelerate conversations about representation and acceptance in the industry — particularly given South Korean society’s traditionally conservative stance on LGBTQ issues.
The moment marks one of the very few times an active artist in the Korean pop scene has come out, with it being all the more rare to come from a boy band arguably at the peak of its career. While individual Korean artists like Holland and Mrshll have been open about their LGBTQ identities from the start of their careers — with former idols like Magolpy and Jiae of girl group WA$$UP opening up soon after their careers began — Bain’s disclosure on a major world-tour stage marks a new moment for queer visibility in K-pop.
Holland, Jiae and K-pop’s first LGBTQ boy band LIONESSES have spoken about facing discrimination and homophobia working in Korean entertainment due to their sexual identities, with the scene boasting a history of celebrities’ careers derailed for publicly coming out. One of the most notable examples came via actor Hong Seokcheon, who came out in an interview in 2000, just six years into his award-winning career, leading him to be fired from his television gigs and forced out of the entertainment business. Despite Korea’s still-conservative culture and society, Hong managed to return to entertainment in TV, hosting, and, eventually, acting with significant support from the younger generation. Today, Hong regularly appears on top Korean programming and features top artists on his own programs — most recently having Tomorrow X Together’s Yeonjun on his Treasure Box series.
While BLUEDOT Entertainment did not reply to Billboard‘s request for comment after Tuesday night’s show, the group’s official Instagram did share Bain’s post with a hashtag #ProudOfBain, proving how these few moments in East Hollywood have the potential to resonate and make change far further than the concert hall.
“Gay pop” star JoJo Siwa might be looking to change the name of her beloved genre to “queer pop” after a recent episode of Celebrity Big Brother UK.
On the April 22 episode of the show, Siwa spoke with fellow contestant and Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard about how her experience in the Big Brother house has helped her come to terms with her evolving sexuality. “It’s made me feel so queer. And I’ve always been afraid of feeling ‘queer,’” she said. “Like, I always said ‘lesbian,’ right? But I feel, like, so queer … I think I’ve always told myself I’m a lesbian, and I think being here I’ve realized, ‘Oh, I’m not a lesbian, I’m queer.’ And I think that’s really cool.”
She continued, saying that she’s “switching letters” before exlcaiming, “F–k the ‘L’, I’m going to the ‘Q’!”
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Siwa first came out publicly in 2021, when she posted a photo of herself wearing a T-shirt that read “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.” In a 2021 interview with People magazine, though, Siwa explained that she was still figuring out which label best fit her. “I want to figure it out … I don’t know — bisexual, pansexual, queer, lesbian, gay, straight. I always just say ‘gay’ because it just kind of covers it, or ‘queer’ because I think the keyword is cool,” she said at the time.
Siwa had also previously been criticized by a fan who claimed that she called the word “lesbian” a “dirty word,” which she vehemently denied. “I never said that ‘lesbian’ was a dirty word and I never, ever would say that it’s a dirty word because it is not. It is not a bad word, it is not a slur and it is especially not a word that I am ashamed of saying or ashamed of identifying as by any means,” she said in a 2023 TikTok.
This also isn’t the first time Siwa’s sexuality has been brought up in the Celebrity Big Brother UK house. In earlier episodes of the season, contestant Mickey Rourke was “warned” about making inappropriate comments to Siwa about her sexuality, including the use of slurs, saying that he would “vote the lesbian out” and claiming that the “Karma” singer wouldn’t “be gay anymore” if he stayed for longer than four days. Rourke later agreed to leave the competition and apologized to Siwa and the other contestants he offended with his comments.
If you’re already missing new episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race on your TV screen, don’t fret. The long-awaited 10th season of the franchise’s All Stars format is coming even sooner than you might think.
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On Wednesday (April 23), Paramount+ announced that RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season 10 is set to debut on Friday, May 6, on the streaming service. To celebrate the show’s expansive history, the newest season of All Stars will feature a whopping 18 contestants from past seasons of the show, each vying for their spot in the Drag Race Hall of Fame.
The queens joining the new season of the franchise are Acid Betty (season eight), Aja (season nine & All Stars 3), Alyssa Hunter (season 14), Bosco (season 14), Cynthia Lee Fontaine (seasons eight and nine), Daya Betty (season 14), Deja Skye (season 14), Denali (season 13), Ginger Minj (season seven, All Stars 2 and All Stars 6), Irene the Alien (season 15), Jorgeous (season 14 and All Stars 9), Kerri Colby (season 14), Lydia B Kollins (season 17), Mistress Isabelle Brooks (season 15), Nicole Paige Brooks (season two), Olivia Lux (season 13), Phoenix (season three) and Tina Burner (season 13).
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With a massive cast of queens for All Stars 10, the show is also switching up its format for the season. Dubbed the “Tournament of All Stars,” the first three episodes of season 10 will see each of the 18 queens split up into three groups of six contestants. Performing in brackets amongst their groups for three episodes, the top three queens from each group will advance to the semifinals, where they will subsequently compete in another bracket for two episodes. The finalists from the semifinal bracket will make their way to the finale — a Lip Sync Smackdown for the Crown — where they’ll duke it out for the grand prize of $200,000.
The announcement comes on the heels of the finale for RuPaul’s Drag Race season 17 on April 19, where — spoiler alert — frontrunner Onya Nurve was crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar after a hotly contested lip sync to Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” against fellow finalist Jewels Sparkles.
Check out the official Meet the Queens livestream for All Stars 10 below:
All Things Go festival will return to New York with Doechii, Lucy Dacus and Clairo headlining. For the second edition of the New York festival, which will run the same weekend as the festival’s D.C.-area event, fans can also catch sets from Djo, Remi Wolf, The Marías, The Last Dinner Party, Lola Young and Gigi […]
When Chappell Roan was asked to name her “gay music video Holy Trinity,” she instantly rose to the challenge.
The pop singer/songwriter recently sat down — or, rather, stood up — for a Gaydar interview with Anania, who asked Roan to pick her big three gay music videos of all time.
“‘Alejandro,’ ‘She Wolf,’ ‘Beautiful Liar,’” Roan rattled off, choosing Lady Gaga’s The Fame Monster visual, plus two separate Shakira music videos: the solo “She Wolf” and her epic Beyoncé team-up “Beautiful Liar.”
Roan and Anania even tried to mimic Shak & Bey’s hypnotic hip motions from the video, but the host had some excuses for why they couldn’t quite match the moves. “I could do it,” Anania says, “but the bones, they chilled up.” Roan laughs, “Your arthritis!” to which Anania responds, “Absolutely, right, it’s acting up today.”
In the Gaydar social series, Anania asks 20 questions of guests to figure out whether they’re “gay, straight or a homophobe.” In the end, Anania concludes, “I can confirm you’re not straight, so I think you’re gay.”
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“Wow! Thank you!” Roan responds with a cheeky smile to end the video.
Roan is currently promoting her latest country/pop single “The Giver,” which has topped the Hot Country Songs chart and has risen as high as No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. There’s no word yet whether “The Giver” will be part of Roan’s next album, the follow-up to her 2023 debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
Watch Roan name her own personal holy trinity and the full interview below:
According to Chappell Roan, Alanis Morrissette gets the job done.
While guesting on the TikTok series Gaydar Friday (April 18), the “Pink Pony Club” singer answered a poignant question posited by host Anania: “What album made you gay?”
Without hesitation, Roan — wearing a dramatic denim look that was somehow a cross between Marie Antoinette and Dolly Parton — replied, “I would say Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette.”
Released in 1995, Jagged Little Pill spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Roan also shared a quick impression of the rock star while performing a snippet of the album’s biggest hit, “You Oughta Know.”
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“And I’m here to remind you,” she sang before cutting herself off, laughing. “That’s, like, so offensive.”
The Missouri native went on to share some of her dating advice, starting with honest communication when it comes to staying friends with former flames. “I know in lesbian relationships, people being friends with their exes, living with their exes, is like a thing,” she told Anania. “If you’re really close with your ex-girlfriend, and we’re dating, let’s just talk about it.”
As for her No. 1 word of wisdom to someone going through their first lesbian breakup? “Don’t try to be friends,” she said frankly.
The interview comes a few weeks after Roan revealed that she’s been in a committed relationship for about half a year. “It’s serious,” the Grammy winner said on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast in March. “I’m very in love.”
“I haven’t dated someone since [my career] really, really blew up,” she added at the time. “I’m dating the same person that I was dating before I got, like, blew up, so I’m not sure how I would date now. I think it would actually be a nightmare. I think I would be so single right now because you’re terrified of their intentions. I’m scared. I don’t trust anyone. I just think in my head, I’m like, any new person that I’m texting, I’m like, ‘I’m assuming they will screenshot this and send it to someone else.’”
Watch Roan on Gaydar below.
Liza Minnelli is a legend, an icon and a superstar, but the one superlative she can’t quite claim is being an EGOT. She has won an Emmy, an Oscar and three Tonys in competition, but has yet to win a Grammy in competition. She may have another chance when the 68th Annual Grammy Awards are presented early next year.
Minnelli co-produced the cast album to the Off-Broadway hit DRAG: The Musical. The album will be released on April 25 via PEG Records/Warner. If it wins a Grammy for best musical theater album, Minnelli will become the 22nd EGOT (unless someone else gets there first).
Minnelli produced the album with co-creator Tomas Costanza, with Nicholas Kaiser as executive producer. (Minnelli is also a co-producer of the live show.)
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“From the moment I got involved with DRAG: The Musical, I knew it was something special — bold … brave … bursting with heart and music that is all about love,” Minnelli said in a statement. “The songs here will make you laugh and cry. This entire experience and adventure helps you find yourself. Producing this exquisite live album with Tomas is a joy, because he’s a genius surrounded by a brilliant cast and company, and because it captures that electric energy you only get in a theater full of love, laughter and lashes. This is a fabulous family show. It celebrates childhood innocence, adult tsuris and gorgeous glitter! Darling, this cast sings their faces off — and I couldn’t be prouder to help bring this art into the world.”
Minnelli has been nominated for Grammys for best traditional pop vocal album twice, for Gently (1997) and Liza’s at the Palace…! (2010). She received a Grammy Legend Award in 1990 (alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber, Smokey Robinson and Willie Nelson, when those awards were presented on a separate broadcast), and a Grammy Hall of Fame induction for the Cabaret soundtrack, but most awards historians don’t count honorary or special awards toward EGOT status. (Barbra Streisand, film and TV producer Frank Marshall and three late greats — James Earl Jones, Harry Belafonte and Quincy Jones — are also EGOTs only if you count honorary or special awards.)
If Minnelli wins a Grammy early next year, she’ll set a new record for the longest span of EGOT-qualifying wins of any EGOT winner (61 years). She won her first EGOT award, a Tony, in 1965 for her leading role in Flora the Red Menace. The current record holder for the longest span of EGOT-qualifying wins is held by Helen Hayes, with a 45-year span. Hayes won her first Oscar in 1932 and her first and only Grammy in 1977.
Minnelli is 79 and will still be 79 when the Grammys are dispensed early next year. Only one person has been that old or older upon clinching EGOT status. That’s John Gielgud (Minnelli’s co-star in the hit 1981 film Arthur), who was 87 when he achieved the feat.
Other people who were 70-plus when they finally became EGOTs (proving there’s always hope!), were Elton John (76), Helen Hayes (76), Mel Brooks (74), Tim Rice (73), Alan Menken (70) and Andrew Lloyd Webber (70).
Minnelli reached a career peak that few performers have ever reached in 1973 when she won both an Oscar for best actress for Cabaret and a Primetime Emmy for outstanding single program − variety and popular music for Liza With a ‘Z’. A Concert for Television. She won her second and third Tony Awards in 1978 for The Act and 2009 for Liza’s at The Palace…!, which won in the competitive category of best special theatrical event. (She also won a special, non-competitive Tony in 1974 for “adding luster to the Broadway season.”)
DRAG: The Musical, written by drag star Alaska Thunderfuck alongside Tomas Costanza and frequent collaborator Ashley Gordon, tells the tale of two rival drag bars coming to blows amid financial struggles. But underneath the glamorous costumes (courtesy of designer Marco Marco) is a story of acceptance, self-identity and the power of community.
The show debuted off-Broadway last October following two runs at Los Angeles’ The Bourbon Room. The show is playing at New World Stages in New York City until April 27.
Including two songs new to the production, “One of the Boys” and “The Showdown”, DRAG: The Musical LIVE (The Cast Recording) features a mix of drag and theater stars including Minnelli, Thunderfuck, Nick Adams, Adam Pascal, Beau Coddou, Dylan Patterson, Eddie Korbich, J. Elaine Marcos, Jan Sport, Jujubee, Lagoona Bloo, Kodiak Thompson, Luxx Noir London, Nicholas Kraft, Nick Laughlin, Peli Naomi Woods, Tamika Lawrence and Teddy Wilson Jr.
The album was engineered by Drew Levy, a two-time Tony-nominee for best sound design of a musical, and mixed by Davey Badiuk.
The show recently won a special recognition award from the GLAAD Media Awards and scored six Lucille Lortel Awards nominations, which tied Our Class and Three Houses for the most nods this year.
Such stars as Chappell Roan, Adam Lambert, Alex Newell, Bob the Drag Queen and Orville Peck have visited the show.
Minnelli is featured on two of the 18 tracks on the album – the opener, “Prologue / Welcome to the Fish Tank,” and the penultimate track, “Two Bitches Are Better Than One / Epilogue.” But that’s not enough for her to qualify for a Grammy as a performer. Her ticket to a Grammy nomination is as an album producer.
Here’s the Recording Academy’s rule for who is nominated in the category of best musical theater album. “For albums containing greater than 51% playing time of new recordings. Award to the principal vocalist(s), and the album producer(s) of 50% or more playing time of the album. The lyricist(s) and composer(s) of 50% or more of a score of a new recording are eligible for an Award if any previous recording of said score has not been nominated in this category.”
Here’s the complete track listing for DRAG: The Musical LIVE (The Cast Recording)
“Prologue / Welcome to the Fish Tank,” Liza Minnelli, Tamika Lawrence, Lagoona Bloo, Luxx Noir London, Nick Adams, Peli Naomi Woods, Nicholas Kraft, Teddy Wilson Jr.
“She’s All That,” Nick Adams, Tamika Lawrence, Lagoona Bloo, Luxx Noir London, Peli Naomi Woods, Nicholas Kraft, Teddy Wilson Jr.
“Cathouse Fever,” Jan Sport, Jujubee, Nick Laughlin, Peli Naomi Woods, Nicholas Kraft, Teddy Wilson Jr.
“Queen Kitty,” Jan Sport, Jujubee, Nick Laughlin, Alaska Thunderfuck, Peli Naomi Woods, Nicholas Kraft, Teddy Wilson Jr.
“Drag Is Expensive,” Nick Adams, Luxx Noir London, Lagoona Bloo, Tamika Lawrence, Adam Pascal
“Wigs,” Jan Sport, Jujubee, Nick Laughlin, Lagoona Bloo, Tamika Lawrence, Luxx Noir London, Alaska Thunderfuck, Nick Adams
“One of the Boys,” Tamika Lawrence
“Gay as Hell,” Eddie Korbich, Nicholas Kraft, Teddy Wilson Jr.
“Gloria Schmidt,” Lagoona Bloo, J. Elaine Marcos, Adam Pascal, Tamika Lawrence
“Rita LaRitz,” J. Elaine Marcos, Alaska Thunderfuck
“It’s a Drag,” Alaska Thunderfuck, Nick Adams, Eddie Korbich
“It’s So Pretty,” Nick Adams, Beau Coddou, Nicholas Kraft, Teddy Wilson Jr., Kodiak Thompson
“I’m Just Brendan,” Beau Coddou
“Straight Man,” Adam Pascal
“The Showdown,” Alaska Thunderfuck, Nick Adams
“Once Upon a Toilet,” Tamika Lawrence, Lagoona Bloo, Luxx Noir London, Nick Adams, Adam Pascal, Beau Coddou, Peli Naomi Woods, Nicholas Kraft, Teddy Wilson Jr.
“Two Bitches Are Better Than One / Epilogue,” Liza Minnelli, Alaska Thunderfuck, Nick Adams
“Real Queens / Brendan is His Name / Welcome to the Catfish,” Luxx Noir London, Jan Sport, Jujubee, Lagoona Bloo, Tamika Lawrence, Nick Laughlin, Dylan Patterson, Adam Pascal, Alaska Thunderfuck, Nick Adams, Peli Naomi Woods, Nicholas Kraft, Teddy Wilson Jr., Kodiak Thompson
For any number of fans who got upset last year at Bowen Yang‘s Saturday Night Live segment parodying both Moo Deng and pop star Chappell Roan, the “Pink Pony Club” artist would ask you to please calm down.
On the Wednesday (April 16) episode of Las Culturistas, Yang and co-host Matt Rogers chatted with Roan about her fans’ reaction to Yang’s appearance on Weekend Update, during which he dressed as the viral baby pygmy hippopotamus and echoed the singer’s sentiments about inappropriate fan behavior. “Do not yell my name or expect a photo just because I’m your parasocial bestie or you appreciate my talent,” his Moo Deng proclaimed before clarifying that the hippo’s talent was “having a slippery body that bounces.”
While some fans felt that Yang was mocking Roan’s boundary-setting statement, the pop singer says she never felt that way. “I wasn’t even mad,” she declared as soon as Rogers brought up the topic. “I did [think it was funny], I didn’t feel anything!”
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As Yang explained that he chatted with Drag Race winner and Roan’s friend Sasha Colby about the public outcry, the singer explained that she wished some of her fans would pump the breaks before jumping to her defense. “People do not have to get mad on my behalf — we are fine. What is there to be mad about?” she said. “It’s comedy! It was so lighthearted. It was, to me, harmless. Even if you were to push it further — harmless! It’s comedy, I just don’t understand … I just don’t know ‘the line’ anymore.”
Rogers explained some fans’ “parasocial” need to “protect this person,” even when the person in question has not asked for protection. Chappell agreed, adding that “even if you didn’t think the Moo Deng sketch was funny, you don’t have to say anything! Like, you can always not say something.”
Elsewhere on the podcast, Roan also chatted with the pair about some disappointed fan reactions to “The Giver” after her viral debut of the track on SNL, referring to their preference as “demo-itis.” “You have attached memories, all of these things to this one version of the song, but it’s actually not as good as the recorded version,” she explains. “But you fall in love with what you hear first, because when you hear a different version, you’re just going to hate it because it’s different.”
Check out Chappell’s full conversation with Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers on Las Culturistas below:
With Pride Month just around the corner and a multitude of queer-focused music festivals kicking off in June, the folks over at LadyLand are here to give you one more headline-making event to consider for your Pride celebrations. On Wednesday (April 16), LadyLand announced that Cardi B and FKA Twigs are the headliners for its […]