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Sam Smith got to show off a different side of their performing skills on Saturday (March 2), when they stomped down the runway for Paris Fashion Week. Serving as one of the models for the Vivienne Westwood Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025, Smith modeled two distinct, punk-inspired looks in the iconic fashion brand’s latest collection. In one […]
With Leap Day officially behind us, let’s use the extra time we’ve been given to jam out to some new songs from our 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.
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See latest videos, charts and news
From St. Vincent’s furious new rock song to Fletcher’s latest pop confessional, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
St. Vincent, “Broken Man”
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“What’re you looking at? Who the hell do you think I am?” When you hear St. Vincent snarl those lyrics on the chorus of her bombastic new single “Broken Man,” you understand that there’s no “character” here — it’s Annie Clark, in all her glory. But the star’s scornful lyrics are just one piece of the puzzle that is “Broken Man,” as the self-produced track gradually ramps up its industrial furor with each passing moment. Guitar chords become blown out sirens, drums invade like an approaching phalanx of soldiers (thanks to all-star assists from Mark Guiliana and Dave Grohl) and Clark’s voice growls with intensity as she asks again; what are you looking at? The answer, it turns out, is an artist at the pinnacle of her craft.
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Fletcher, “Doing Better”
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What happens in the aftermath of releasing a much-discussed breakthrough hit? Fletcher would like you to know exactly what goes down on “Doing Better,” her latest pop banger dedicated to the fallout from her last pop banger, “Becky’s So Hot.” Written in the form of a letter to her ex, Fletcher immediately establishes the myriad ways Fletcher’s been doing better since “making [your girlfriend] go viral” — new cars, “bougie IVs,” performing with Miley Cyrus — before declaring that, at the end of the day, it didn’t change as much as she’d have liked. “My tummy still hurts,” she opines. “Why does better feel worse?”
Olly Alexander, “Dizzy”
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Eurovision is about to get flipped on its head thanks to Olly Alexander’s new single. Shedding the Years & Years label and moving forward as a solo artist, Alexander’s new single “Dizzy” — which will serve as the United Kingdom’s entry in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest — spins his established electropop sound up to new heights. The It’s a Sin star’s remarkable voice remains as clear as ever, while the production from Danny L Harle elevates the song into vertiginous reverie, mimicking the lyrics’ giddy passion in flowing scales that keep the song in a state of perpetual, blissful motion.
Mannequin Pussy, I Got Heaven
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Where desire and defiance meet, you’ll find Mannequin Pussy’s ridiculously good new album I Got Heaven. Equal parts protest and proposition, I Got Heaven sees the Philadelphia punk rockers hosting a carnival of raw emotion, between telling bigots to sit and spin on the album’s raucous title track and demanding nothing short of pleasure on the raging “Aching.” It’s that rare punk record that keeps juking right when you think there’s a left turn coming, perhaps best encapsulated by Marisa Dabice’s insistent affirmation on “Loud Bark”; “I want to be a danger,” she croons. “I want to be adored.”
Cat Burns, “Alone”
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Stuck in a dating rut? Cat Burns feels your pain on “Alone,” the UK singer-songwriter’s stunning new song detailing her struggle with loneliness. Diaristic lyrics detail Burns’ lack of dating experience, and her frustration with trying to catch up to her peers while still looking for love for the right reasons. With each passing lyric, her voice grows more emotive as she declares that “I don’t wanna be a pessimist, but I’m getting kind of pissed at this” — a feeling anyone in the dating scene can understand to their core.
Isaac Dunbar, “Backseat Girl”
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While he’s made a name for himself for his theatrical output, Isaac Dunbar is a performer of many different faces. On “Backseat Girl,” the singer takes on the persona of the titular background character, perennially pushed to the margins of the story, yearning for their moment in the spotlight. For fans of Dunbar, though, there’s still plenty of his signature flair in “Backseat Girl” — between an instantly-catchy ’70s rock melody and his campy vocal choices, the singer delivers plenty of drama through this tenderly written ballad.
Jade LeMac, Confessions (Deluxe Version)
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Jade LeMac would like to take a well-deserved victory lap. Following the release of her applauded EP Confessions, the singer’s new deluxe version of the project gives fans just enough new content to properly recontextualize the music they already love. Whether she’s literally critiquing her lover’s technique (“Bad Kisser”) or responding in kind to unwanted negging (“Pick a Fight”), LeMac leaves it all on the page as she proves yet again why she’s the name to watch in the pop space.
Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below:
Over the last year, Reneé Rapp quickly became one of the internet’s favorite celebrities thanks to her phenomenal singing voice and her trenchant humor. Now, the Mean Girls star would like to get real for a second.
In an interview for the cover of The Hollywood Reporter, Rapp spoke candidly about her song “Snow Angel,” the lead single off her 2023 album of the same name, and how it was inspired by an “incredibly traumatic” event involving sexual assault. “I still feel like I’m sorting through those feelings … and it feels weird to talk about because I don’t remember it,” she said. “I recently was like, ‘I actually don’t want to follow this person on Instagram anymore because they left me at a club to get drugged’ … I woke up on a bathroom stall, face up in The Beverly Hilton with blood on my pants. And had been left alone at that point for, like, seven hours.”
That specific scenario not only inspired the lyrics of the song, but also Rapp’s viral performance of the track on Saturday Night Live. “I was like, ‘OK, well, when we do SNL, if I’m doing this [song], I am doing this,’” she said. “I will be on a red floor and I need to start laying down because that’s how I woke up. And there should be red underneath me and I should be in all white.”
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Since releasing the song, fans have praised Rapp’s candor and celebrated the track for its depiction of trauma, which is a discussion the singer says she had hoped to spark. “Ultimately, I’m not making music to just make music. I’m making music to start conversations. My idols make culture, my idols start conversation,” she said, adding that plenty of fans have brought their own perceptions of the song to the table. “I wanted to have ‘Snow Angel’ come out and it be confusing and left up to interpretation. And I still see so many funny takes now that are like, ‘Well, this song is clearly about when she was doing heroin.’ And I’m like, ‘You’re amazing, and I love your creativity.’”
Elsewhere in her wide-ranging interview, Rapp spoke about pitching herself to her label as “the bisexual Justin Bieber.” (Rapp now identifies as a lesbian.) “That boy is still cute to me, sorry. And he also, I think, has a similar [love] of R&B,” she explained. “He reminds me of a really sexy lesbian. Just the way he walks around and moves onstage and always has this demeanor that’s chill, sings his a– off, dresses really cool.”
The singer added that her role as Leighton on the hit Max series The Sex Lives of College Girls profoundly impacted the way she came out publicly. “Being celebrated for being out because of a TV show or celebrity or success or something was really interesting because I think it forced a lot of people in my life and my family to have to accept me in a weird way,” she explained. “That [show] was the most parallel experience in my life, and I remember doing that specific coming-out scene and not acting at all. At all. I was just sobbing.”
Rapp is currently closing out the final dates of her Snow Hard Feelings world tour in the U.K. During a recent show in Paris, Rapp performed a cover of Beyoncé’s 2016 country track “Daddy Lessons” in celebration of the superstar’s return to the genre — which prompted Queen Bey to send the “Poison Poison” singer a bouquet of flowers as a thank you gift.
If you or anyone you know needs support, you can reach out to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). The organization provides free, confidential support to sexual assault victims. Call RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) or visit the anti-sexual violence organization’s website for more information.
With the ball challenge, a design challenge, an acting challenge and the Rusical under its belt, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 still had a major staple to give fans — the Snatch Game.
On Friday’s episode (aired Feb. 23), the nine remaining queens were put through the classic Drag Race gauntlet, as Ru charged them with crafting their best celebrity impressions in a Match Game-inspried show with one very simple rule at its center: “Make me laugh.”
Taking to the Snatch Game stage, Sapphira Cristál impressed Ru with their gut-busting take on the Godfather of Soul James Brown, while Plane Jane took off with her second challenge win for an uproarious impersonation of Serbian pop phenomenon Jelena Karleuša. Meanwhile, Morphine Love Dion couldn’t steal a laugh as fraudster Anna Delvey, while Xunami Muse’s original character the Gold Tooth Fairy found nothing but crickets under Ru’s pillow.
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Lip synching to Whitney Houston’s perennial classic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” Morphine and Xunami worked together to make a memorable moment of reality television. Dancing with (rather than against) one another, the pair made good on the promise of Houston’s hit song. But when the song was over, only one could remain — Ru relieved Morphine’s pain by keeping her for one more week, while Xunami’s wave crashed into the shore for the final time.
Below, Billboard chats with Xunami about her Snatch Game performance, her collaborative lip sync, and why she refused to be bothered about constant “safe” placements.
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What has your experience been watching yourself on television for the last few weeks?
It’s kind of like an out of body experience, to be honest — I’ve only watched each episode once because I cannot deal, otherwise. It’s interesting to see myself in that world, and living here now with all of the opportunities and all the things I have to do now, and getting to see the fans in all of their different states. It’s really cool!
Throughout this season, you have become the unofficial hostess of Untucked, now and forever known to all of us as Xunami’s Afters.
[Laughs.] Girl, that was my favorite thing on the show, no lie. It felt iconic.
I love that you took your safe placements in stride and let yourself have fun when it came time for Untucked — why do you think you reacted that way, where others got very stressed about it?
It’s definitely a combination of things. Even though it didn’t show, deep down, I was giving the Arthur fist meme, you know what I mean? You always want to excel, and if it was up to any of the girls, they would win every episode, obviously. But, I couldn’t be upset about being safe every time for a few reasons; it didn’t mean I did bad, and it meant that I lived another week to show another look. No matter the situation, I will always focus on the positive side of it. It came from that, and just being genuinely happy to be there.
Was there any challenge in particular where you felt you should have placed higher?
Oh, girl. I felt like I could have been high for the ball, and maybe for the SNL challenge. But really, it was the girl group challenge. I had a genuinely great week that week, and had it been critiqued individually instead of by groups, I feel like I could have been high. So that’s part of it — going through this experience, being safe didn’t mean you did bad. It’s a big cast, and a lot of these girls are crazy talented. As long as I felt like I was showcasing my drag to the best of my abilities and it was being enjoyed, then it was a success. Getting to watch it now, I’m happy with what I gave, completely.
Fans know that you are the adopted drag daughter of season 13 and All Stars 8 contestant Kandy Muse. Did Kandy offer you any advice before you left for filming?
The main thing she told me was to have fun and to make it my own. Obviously, in your mind, you’re going to win that crown and $200,000. But she really said, “Remember to have fun and leave your stamp.” And you know what, I had so much fun on this show. There was a lot that wasn’t shown, but watching what they did show, you can tell I was having a ball the whole time. Every moment, you could not tell me I wasn’t it on Drag Race.
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In this episode, we arrive and the long-awaited — and for some queens, dreaded — Snatch Game. You chose to perform an original character, the Gold Tooth Fairy. What made you decide to go for something original rather than a classic impression?
Let’s get into it. Snatch Game is my least favorite challenge on the show because it is so hard. I cannot stress enough how hard doing Snatch Game is — being quick and in the moment as a completely different character is a tough skill, and that’s why the ones who do well in the game go on to be so successful. But, I wanted to approach it the best way I could. For years, I auditioned for this show and would show Naomi Campbell and Cardi B and people like that, and it never felt like it was giving!
So when I was cast, I was like, “What if I do an original character? That way I’ll stand out.” I was thinking about how Trinity [the Tuck] and Yvie [Oddly] did their versions of fictional characters like the Boogeyman or the Devil [on All Stars 7] and made them completely their own. But it turns out I bit off way more than I could chew, girl!
Did you have any backup characters ready to go in case the Gold Tooth Fairy wasn’t working?
I would have done Celia Cruz — and you know what, I should have done Celia Cruz. For me it would’ve been all about the “azúcar,” girl! Screaming “azúcar” alone would have kept me safe this week!
You and Morphine winding up in the bottom resulted in one of the season’s best lip syncs. When I was done being shocked that Drag Race has never had “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” as a lip sync song, I couldn’t stop watching the two of you turning the performance into a collaborative dance. What was going through your mind when you decided to dance with Morphine instead of against her?
I think it was the familiarity, being in that moment with someone who is actually my friend. Like, we’d done shows together, we were friends, and there’s just something about performing with your girl where you just want to bounce off of each other. There was this really natural thing between us, and it felt right in the moment. Like, I didn’t want to lip sync against my girl — I didn’t want to lip sync period! But, once I was in the bottom with her, it became, “Oh, okay. We’re going to make this a moment.”
Last thing before you go — what music have you been listening to lately?
To be honest, the song I’ve had on repeat is my new track with Kandy Muse, which I will be premiering live at the Love Ball with Shea Couleé, Luxx Noir London, Tayce, Monét X Change and LaLa Ri, hello! It’s called “It’s Giving C–t,” and I believe it should be up for streaming by March 1, and we’re gonna perform it live first. I’m really excited for it, I’ve just really been bumping along to it all day.
As spring draws near, there’s no better time to freshen up your season playlists with some new tunes 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.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
From Charlotte Day Wilson’s gorgeous new single to Hurray for the Riff Raff’s K, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
Charlotte Day Wilson, “I Don’t Love You”
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Throughout Charlotte Day Wilson’s new single “I Don’t Love You” — the first offering off her upcoming album Cyan Blue — the singer-songwriter presents a sobering meditation on the healing power of heartbreak. Suffused with deconstructed production elements, slow-grooving bass lines and distorted background vocals filling the backend like a chorus of ghostly past lovers, Wilson commands your attention with a wistful vocal, resonating with soul-shaking emotion on every single note. Don’t let the song’s title fool you; you’re going to “Love” Wilson’s moving new single.
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Hurray for the Riff Raff, The Past Is Still Alive
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Leave it to folk purveyor Alynda Segarra — better known as Hurray for the Riff Raff — to release their best album more than 15 years into their career. The Past Is Still Alive, the star’s ninth studio album, stands alone as a triumph in its production, performance and songwriting and practically every other metric. This thoughtful, 11-song opus sees Segarra incorporating folk, rock, Americana and jazz into an elegy of what could have been, a sobering look at the way things are now, and a prayer for that which has yet to come.
Towa Bird, “B.I.L.L.S.”
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The end of the month is coming up fast, which means you’ve likely got some payments to make. If you’re dreading the mere thought of your banks statement, then Towa Bird’s “B.I.L.L.S.” is the song for you. The rollicking new anthem flips a massive middle finger in the face of late capitalism, bemoaning our money-fueled reality. With fiery guitars and a chant-along chorus, Bird will have you declaring that you’re just as “tired of life’s expense” as she is.
King Isis, “MONKI”
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If you’re still in need of an outlet for your inner angst, allow King Isis to help. “MONKI,” the singer’s latest single, is an impactful melodic track that firmly takes up its own space, regardless of whether or not it’s “supposed” to. Defiant, but without overt aggression, King Isis lets her impressive voice do the heavy lifting, as she chants a tongue-in-cheek incantation to her would-be oppressor: “Spare me from those awful sounds/ Oh baby, can he save you now?”
Cavetown, Little Vice
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When figuring out where to go next with his music, Robin Skinner — known to his fans as indie star Cavetown — decided to mix the old and the new. The product of that experiment is Little Vice, a 5-track new EP from the singer-songwriter that sees Cavetown tackling the emotionally resonant topics his fans have come to expect with intriguing sonic twists. While each new track delivers the soft-spoken, carefully-written verses fans have come to expect, they also each come with unique left turns, from distorted guitars (“Alone”) to glitching vocals (“The Back of the Moon”). For 15 minutes, Little Vice asks you to embrace capriciousness — and after listening, you’ll agree that it’s 15 minutes well spent.
Monét X Change, “Body”
With her new single “Body,” Drag Race star Monét X Change is ready to show you the love you’ve been waiting for with a down-tempo R&B jam. Bursting with lush instrumentation (drums, bass and guitars are joined by an entire string section throughout the track), “Body” sees Monét leaning all the way into romance as her sonorous voice declares that she’s done chasing one-night-stands. Based on this fabulous new song, we won’t be looking for a one-night-stand with X Change’s music, either — there’s never been a better time to commit to this drag superstar as a recording artist on the verge of a breakthrough.
Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below:
Musical theater and the art of drag go hand in hand — both involve costumes, wigs, makeup and occasionally over-the-top performances. So it’s no wonder that RuPaul’s Drag Race struck gold when it learned to mash the two together. For nearly a decade, the Rusical challenge ascended beyond its humble origins, becoming a mainstay of […]
Looking forward to a long weekend? Spend it properly by listening to some new tunes 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.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
From Kim Petras’ sexy sequel project to Serpentwithfeet’s club-inspired new album, check out just a few of our favorite new releases from this week below.
Kim Petras, Slut Pop Miami
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After stunning fans in 2022 her surprise, sex-positive EP Slut Pop, Kim Petras is ready to do it again — this time, in some warmer weather. Throughout Slut Pop Miami, the singer returns to raunchy lyrics, club beats and absolutely wild song titles. Whether she’s talking about the various things she’d be interested in riding (“Banana Boat”) or taking on her role as the girlboss of the bedroom (“Head Head Honcho”), Petras spends all 12 tracks of her latest project letting everyone know just how far she’s willing to go.
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Serpentwithfeet, GRIP
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Queer folks know what it means to find both safety and intimacy in the confines of a queer club — so Serpentwithfeet decided to make an album dedicated purely to that feeling. GRIP chronicles as many different iterations of queer-affirming encounters as the singer can, from diving into a full-blown relationship after a one night stand (“Deep End”) to the anxiety of feeling isolated on the dance floor (“Black Air Force”). Tinged throughout with Serpent’s “kinetic R&B” sound, GRIP is here to give you everything you could ask for from a night out on the town.
VINCINT, “Good II Me”
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If there’s one thing you can expect from a VINCINT song, it’s euphoric vocals over thundering dance production. “Good II Me,” the singer’s latest single, delivers just what you were hoping for as VINCINT shimmies off his problems and dances the night away. House pianos, electro drums, and a full choir join his stratospheric voice as the song reaches its climactic chorus — and any chance you had at resisting the urge to dance along disappears right along with it.
PVRIS feat. Tommy Genesis & Alice Longyu Gao, “Burn the Witch”
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If you’re feeling pessimistic about the general progress of our world, then PVRIS has a song for you to rage along to. “Burn the Witch,” Lyndsey Gunnulfsen’s hardcore collaboration with fellow female rockers Tommy Genesis and Alice Longyu Gao, is a pissed-off middle finger to an establishment of men who would rather bring the world crumbling down around them than stop persecuting women. The song’s relentless drums and gothic guitar lines serve as apt punctuation for the trio’s message to the misogynists of the world: “You f–ked the world for power, look who’s got it now.”
Laura Jane Grace, Hole in My Head
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After a lifetime of fighting against the machine, Laura Jane Grace is ready to take a look back. Her new album Hole in My Head serves as a series of reflective entries about the Against Me! frontwoman’s life of sheer punk rock chaos. Reexamining her origins (“Punk Rock in Basements”), her transition (“Dysphoria Hoodie”) and her beliefs (“I’m Not a Cop”), Grace embraces folk-rock to tell her story in the best way she knows how — through utterly excellent music.
Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below:
After watching LGBTQ+ artists dominate at the 2024 Grammy Awards, Ryan Butler — the Recording Academy’s vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion — says he’s finally seeing his team’s hard work pay off. “After those wins, I’m confident that we’ve done the work that was needed,” he tells Billboard.
That work, for the last two and a half years, has involved building out the Academy’s DREAM Initiative (Diversity Reimagined by Engaging All Musicmakers). Through the new network, Butler’s DE&I team created a series of what he calls “membership resource groups” to help “create dialogue and a deeper understanding of what support looks like” for underrepresented groups — including women, the Black community and plenty of others. Now, with their most recent group, the Recording Academy is looking at what they can do to help the LGBTQ+ community.
During Grammy Week, the Recording Academy officially launched Academy Proud, their latest membership resource group aimed at increasing representation and visibility among their voting body. Partnering with LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD and queer entertainment organization OUTLOUD, Academy Proud officially launched during a Grammy House event on Sat., Feb. 3.
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So how will Academy Proud actively benefit the LGBTQ+ music community? Below, Billboard chats with Butler about the new initiative, his goals for driving representation at the Academy forward and the work that still needs to be done for underrepresented communities at the Grammys.
Tell me a little bit about how this initiative got started — when did the concept first come up, and when did you decide to partner with GLAAD and OUTLOUD here?
It’s been in my mind for about two and a half years, when we first started to partner with GLAAD. I wanted to create a network of member resource groups — most companies have ERGs (employee resource groups), but we are so member-focused, that I wanted to be a little innovative in this space and create MRGs. So, I created this network called the DREAM network, and under DREAM we have eight priority demographics, and we proceeded to create MRGs around each one of those demographics. So we have Women in the Mix, the Black Music Collective, Grammys Next Gen, Gold Music Alliance, and now Academy Proud. We also have an MRG for the Latin community, for Indigenous people and for disability and accessibility.
For our readers, can you explain how a member resource group works for the Academy’s membership? What is it that an MRG provides directly to members?
On its highest level, it’s driving representation. This is a way for us to really establish a baseline of how many of our members identify as LGBTQ+, and then [that] helps us figure out what we can do to support that membership, to increase representation in that membership. I feel like inclusion and diversity are often action items — it’s very easy to invite people and include them — but you first really need to create a sense of belonging. So, what the membership resource groups do is create a sense of belonging, and give someone who is maybe Grammy-curious, and who may have joined us at a Grammy House event, to know and understand that the Recording Academy can be their home.
Dr. David Jones and Ryan Butler on Feb. 3, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Unique Nicole/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
So what specific initiatives do you see Academy Proud taking on in the coming months or years to actively court a more diverse LGBTQ+ membership base?
Well, I think the visibility of what we did this Grammys Week is going to be amazing for those who may be outside of the Academy wanting to be a part of it, or determining if they’re going to be able to become members. The visibility of having an official Grammy Week activation is huge — but I really want to make sure that we understand what support looks like for the queer community. It’s going to be different for every community. I identify as a Black, gay man; I know that we often talk about intersectionality, but for me, it’s also about indivisibility. I’m always Black, and I’m always gay, and I don’t really live my life in sections. It’s great for us to have that dialogue and to understand how the queer community feels within the music community, and what we as the Academy can do to support the community year round. So if it’s panels, discussions, surveys, gatherings, I want it to be interest-led by the community itself.
We could make a beautiful deck and say “this is what we’re going to do,” but that may not be what the community needs. It’s really important for us to be listening, and to really have a deep understanding of what support looks like. What is stopping you from joining the Recording Academy, and if you have joined, what’s stopping you from being an active member? What barriers do you see to becoming an elected leader? That’s really how we change — it’s about representation on our board of trustees, in our elected positions, as presidents of our chapters.
I know you’re still in the early stages of the initiative here, but in those early stages, has there been any particular feedback that provided a solid baseline of where to start?
I think the recognition is where we really needed to start. In the queer community, we understand that we are the innovators, we understand that we are on the front end of helping to curate and cultivate what’s happening across the culture. I think the first step was the Recording Academy recognizing that, and recognizing the contribution and the impact that the queer community has on music and other cultural areas; music, fashion, film, etc. For us to actually recognize that, I don’t think there’s many organizations that are really standing on the fact that, but for the contributions of the queer community, we would not be where we are today.
The launch of the initiative happened in tandem with this year’s ceremony, which saw a lot of historic wins for the LGBTQ+ community — alongside having a wide range of LGBTQ nominees, three of the Big Four winners were queer women. To what do you attribute this uptick in queer representation at the Grammys?
It’s really because of the hard work we’ve been doing across all of our verticals. Our philosophy is going from the inside out — we’re just now starting to see the “out” part, but the work has been in progress for years. You really have to build a place where someone feels like they belong. Yes, we could have launched Academy Proud two years ago, but we wanted to make sure the LGBTQ community felt like they belonged at the Academy. From here, we just keep moving forward and increasing the representation on our national board and in our programming, and making sure that representation is not just isolated to the month of June.
With those bigger strides, there are also areas where representation is still coming up short — there has been a noticeable lack of trans and non-binary nominees over the last few years, even as the number of LGBTQ+ nominees grew year-over-year.
We can never celebrate too early, and there’s plenty of work still to be done, but I feel like we are in a much better position now. When DE&I is being attacked in so many spaces, I am proud and honored to know that the Recording Academy stands firm in supporting it, and it’s still a part of our values, and we understand how much better we are when we have the contributions of everyone.
That’s especially true as the political right continues to push anti-LGBTQ bills and laws, including laws that aim to restrict performers’ rights to free speech and expression. How do you look at combatting those restrictions from the perspective of providing DE&I resources for the Academy’s membership?
It’s about creators, and it’s about being there 365 days a year. We’re known for Music’s Biggest Night and the awards show that we do, but we’re working through the rest of the year, not just on Grammys night. Whether it’s our advocacy and public policy team in Washington, D.C. or our DEI team, the Academy is here protecting and advocating on behalf of all creators. Whenever there is a creator in a space facing a barrier, it is our job to make sure that we eliminate that barrier, and allow that creator to be their full self.
I want to go back to talking about the trans community, though, because they are the ones being most directly affected by that legislation. With this lack of trans visibility in the music industry at large, including at the Grammys, how does this initiative specifically aim to uplift the voices not only of trans and non-binary artists, but trans and non-binary workers throughout the industry?
That work is not just isolated to Academy Proud — it’s also part of Women in the Mix, where we made a very conscious decision to not use terms like “women-identifying.” We’re here for all women — if you are a woman, you are a woman. We released our Women in the Mix study, and it was the first study that surveyed gender-diverse people in the industry. Now, we do have a baseline for that, and recommendations surrounding that. It really is about that crossover and overlap between our membership resource groups. We are absolutely dedicated to uplifting the trans community, through both Academy Proud and Women in the Mix.
Folk singer-songwriter Allison Russell made history with her first Grammy win this year for best American roots performance. While her win presents a cause to celebrate for many, some in Tennessee’s statehouse aren’t interested in congratulating the singer.
On Monday (Feb. 12), Tennessee Democratic Rep. Justin Jones criticized the House Republican Caucus Chair Jeremy Faison for blocking a resolution he proposed to honor Russell for her first win at the Grammys. While a similar resolution honoring Paramore for winning two Grammys — for best rock album and best alternative music performance, respectively — passed, Faison objected to the resolution honoring Russell, removing the resolution from the chamber’s consent calendar.
Rep. Jones vented his frustrations on X about his colleagues snubbing Russell. “Tonight my Republican colleagues blocked a resolution honoring Black American Roots artist Allison Russell for her first Grammy win,” he wrote. “[She] has worked tirelessly to foster an inclusive Nashville through her music and continues to make Black History here in Tennessee.”
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In response, Russell thanked the representative, as well as Rep. Gloria Johnson, for standing up to Faison. “That you & [Rep. Johnson] presented this resolution is a high honour,” she wrote. “That the TN GOP blocked it, I take as a compliment. Their bigotry, sadly, is on relentless display. We have a chance this year to make a real change in TN.”
Billboard has reached out to representatives for Russell for additional comment.
Both Russell and Paramore’s Hayley Williams have been outspoken against Tennessee Republicans, specifically calling out a pair of anti-LGBTQ bills that passed in March 2023, which effectively banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth throughout the state and banned public drag performances. While the so-called drag ban has since been deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge, the state’s ban of gender-affirming care was upheld by a federal court in September 2023.
In protest of the Tennessee legislature passing these anti-LGBTQ laws, Russell helped organize Love Rising, a benefit concert for the LGBTQ community that took place at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on March 20. Williams served as one of the headliners for the event, alongside Russell, Maren Morris, Jason Isbell, Sheryl Crow and more.
Speaking to Billboard last year, Russell thanked Williams specifically for participating in Love Rising. “It’s people like Hayley [Williams] taking a red-eye flight to come back from opening for Taylor Swift, because she said she’d rather die than not be there to support the trans and drag community in Tennessee,” she said. “These incredible allies are so important.”
Check out Rep. Jones and Russell’s posts below:
Start warming up your voice with a quick “Do-Re-Mi,” because this week’s epsiode of RuPaul’s Drag Race is bound to be one of your “Favorite Things” — a Rusical challenge!
In an exclusive first look shared with Billboard on Thursday (Feb. 15), the queens of season 16 are gearing up to perform in their very own parody show, The Sound of Rusic. Based around the 1959 Rogers & Hammerstein musical (and its iconic 1964 film adaptation starring Julie Andrews), the annual Rusical immediately begins stirring up tensions between the queens in the new clip.
Tasked by RuPaul to cast themselves in the production, Plasma and Morphine Love Dion both reveal to the audience that they intend to play the lead role of Mariah. “It’s, like, the reason the show has a heartbeat,” Plasma says in her confessional. Morphine quickly jumps in to add that she’s not giving up the part without a fight: “I’m just tired of being safe, so I know from the get-go, ‘B–ch, I need a leading role.’”
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But before we get to see their inevitable confrontation over the lead role, two other queens — Q and Megami — begin squabbling over the part of the “Baroness Braun,” described by Xunami Muse as the show’s villain. As both queens refuse to back down from their first choice, Plane Jane finally breaks the tension by calling for a high-stakes game of rock, paper, scissors for the role. In one round, Q covers Megami’s rock with her paper, earning the nefarious part for herself.
Speaking to Billboard last year, Drag Race executive producer Tom Campbell said that the beloved challenge format was originally intended to be “a one and done challenge” for the queens of season 6, before the producers recognized how fruitful an annual Rusical could be. “This challenge, and Drag Race itself, is like a healthy tree that grew through a crack in the sidewalk — it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t fit the algorithm, but it touches people’s hearts and and that’s what’s important.”
Episode seven of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 premieres Friday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. ET on MTV. Watch the exclusive teaser clip above.