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Natalie Bassingthwaighte will deliver an exclusive performance at the 2024 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras — her first since coming out.
The Rogue Traders singer and Australian TV celebrity is locked in for the first-ever Mardi Gras Debutante Ball for First Timers, hosted at Kinsela’s in Darlinghurst.
In addition to being guest of honor at the deb ball, Nat Bass, as she’s affectionately known in these parts, will perform some of her “all-time favorite hits” while “sharing her story,” reps say.
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As singer with Rogue Traders, Bassingthwaighte has landed silverware and international hits. In 2006, two of those Rogue Traders numbers cracked the U.K. top 40, including the club track “Voodoo Child,” which peaked at No. 3 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart.
Also, the dance act won an ARIA Award in 2003 for “One of My Kind” (best dance release) and two APRA Music Awards, for “Way to Go!” in 2006 (most performed dance work) and “In Love Again” in 2008 (dance work of the year).
“Being able to attend my first Mardi Gras as a new member of the queer community, surrounded with so much love, joy and acceptance is so special to me,” Bassingthwaighte says in a statement, “and what’s even more special is knowing that I get to share this memorable experience with other First Timers of diverse queer identities.”
LGBTQIA+ community trailblazers and Mardi Gras custodians will also be watching on, including LGBTQIA+ advocate Robyn Kennedy, who is an original first-timer having attended the first ever Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 1978, plus Making It Australia judge Benja Harney, and trans couture designer couple, Katie Louise Nicol-Ford and Lilian Nicol-Ford.
Johnnie Walker is a sponsor of the 2024 Mardi Gras, and is sponsoring the inaugural Mardi Gras Debutante Ball, which celebrates “those who have, up until now, been unable to attend.” The whisky brand is getting into the spirit of Mardi Gras with a competition, which invites first timers to enter for a chance at an all-expenses paid experience.
The colorful LGBTQI party, march and festival is typically attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and abroad, and is set for Feb. 16 to March 3.
Bassingthwaighte reunited with her Rogue Traders bandmates last year for “To The Disco,” the first release from Rogue Traders in over a decade. The dance act supported the release with a slate of performances.
Lil Nas X is continuing his teasers for his upcoming single, “J CHRIST,” and he took to Instagram on Wednesday (Jan. 10) to unveil a sneak peek of the music video. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In the brief clip, celebrity look-alikes of stars including Taylor […]
After a quiet 2023, Lil Nas X is kicking off 2024 with a brand new song — and he’s dedicating it to the one and only Jesus Christ. On Monday (Jan. 8), the rapper announced that his new gospel song set for release on Friday (Jan. 12) is titled “J CHRIST.” The cover art for […]
Chely Wright, who was brought up in the lede of a Jan. 4 op-ed published by the New York Times that speculated about Taylor Swift‘s sexuality, has shared her thoughts after being named in the piece.
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“I was mentioned in the piece, so I’ll weigh in,” country singer Wright wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, Sunday (Jan. 7). “I think it was awful of @nytimes to publish. Triggering for me to read— not because the writer mentioned my nearly ending my life— but seeing a public person’s sexuality being discussed is upsetting.”
The op-ed is based on NYT opinion editor Anna Marks’ theory that Swift could be a closeted queer woman sending subtextual signals about her sexuality in her work. It weaves in discussion about progress that has been made around the LGBTQ community’s rights in the U.S. since the start of Swift’s career.
The piece references Wright’s memoir Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer. Wright, who came out as gay in 2010, has shared her personal challenges with going public about her personal life. As she wrote in an essay in 2011, “I didn’t know how to be me in this life that I’d carved out — this gay, Christian, farm girl from Kansas who sang country music. I just didn’t know how to make those pieces fit.”
Marks’ NYT article opens with this sentence: “In 2006, the year Taylor Swift released her first single, a closeted country singer named Chely Wright, then 35, held a 9-millimeter pistol to her mouth.”
Marks wrote, “Queer identity was still taboo enough in mainstream America that speaking about her love for another woman would have spelled the end of a country music career. But in suppressing her identity, Ms. Wright had risked her life. The culture in which Ms. Wright picked up that gun — the same culture in which Ms. Swift first became a star — was stunningly different from today’s.“
Since it was published, the NYT 5,000-word piece that goes on to make assumptions at length about Swift’s sexuality has faced criticism across social media for its open speculation about the Midnights singer’s private life and identity.
Wright, who had a No. 1 hit on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart with “Single White Female” in 1999, posted her comment in reply to music writer Chris Willman, agreeing with his take that “this was the least defensible op-ed I can remember ever seeing the NYT run.”
See Wright’s statement below.
Agree w/you, @ChrisWillman.I was mentioned in the piece, so I’ll weigh in. I think it was awful of @nytimes to publish. Triggering for me to read— not because the writer mentioned my nearly ending my life— but seeing a public person’s sexuality being discussed is upsetting. https://t.co/34uBwHwHaY— Chely Wright (@chelywright) January 7, 2024
From Lady Gaga to Bonnie Tyler to a “poop mix,” the show’s latest batch of drag stars break down their favorite songs to perform.
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From queer artists reaching career-highs on the charts to a massive controversy surrounding a can of beer, 2023 proved to be pandemonium for the LGBTQ community.
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After winning over fans’ hearts during her run on RuPaul’s Drag Race season nine and All Stars season four, Farrah Moan is now ready to tell fans the full, unfiltered truth about her journey with her gender identity.
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In the latest episode of fellow Drag Race alum Maddy Morphosis’ interview series Give It to Me Straight, Farrah Moan revealed that she identifies as a transgender woman, and has spent the last four years living as one. “In 2019, unbeknownst to my following, that was when I had made my decision to live my life as a woman,” Moan said.
Speaking with Morphosis, Moan said that she held back on coming out publicly as trans because she feared that doing so would impact her work as a drag queen, or that it could’ve meant that she “would never be on Drag Race,” especially considering that her makeup transformation from “male to female” was part of her brand.
But, Moan revealed that at a certain point in her journey, she knew that something needed to change. “Having a male persona felt more like drag than having to do drag,” she said. “Trying to figure out how to be a cute boy was so much harder for me and came so much more unnaturally, to the point where I was like, ‘I wish I could just go out in drag right now.’ The thought of dressing like a boy was so stressful to me, it stressed me out so much and I resented every masculine feature my whole life.”
Moan says she recognized that she had always felt trans, and that she simply “needed to feel free” when it came to labeling herself. “[Doing drag] was the only time that I could really feel at home in my body.”
After officially coming out as trans to her close friends and family, Moan told Morphosis that, accompanied with all the other changes she’s made in her life — the drag performer recently got sober and started regularly exercising — she feels much better on a regular basis. “My daily anxiety levels are much lower. I don’t feel panicked about it anymore,” she said, before breaking into tears. “I feel proud of who I am, and at 30 years old, I’m actually just so thankful for that, because I really never thought I would.”
Watch Farrah Moan’s full interview with Maddy Morphosis below:
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Olly Alexander will realize a lifelong dream next year when the solo star and Years & Years singer represents the U.K. at the 68th Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden in May 2024. “I’ve loved watching Eurovision ever since I was a little kid and I’m beyond excited to be taking part next year,” Alexander, […]
The end of the year is almost here, which means you have limited time to listen to new music from your favorite queer artists in 2023! 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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From Reneé Rapp’s Mean Girls-inspired Megan Thee Stallion team-up to new single to Anitta’s funk-filled new track, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
Reneé Rapp & Megan Thee Stallion, “Not My Fault”
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When Cady Heron infamously told her friend Janis Ian “it’s not my fault you’re like, in love with me, or something,” Reneé Rapp felt that on a visceral level. So, when it came time for her to write a song for the soundtrack of the forthcoming Mean Girls remake, she decided to use Cady’s words to thrilling effect. “Not My Fault” flaunts a slick, disco-adjacent groove as Rapp — in her best Regina George-inspired affectation — shrugs off everyone else’s obsession with her. Once Megan Thee Stallion jumps in with a fiery rap verse, the song explodes into pure pop exaltation, as Meg and Reneé prove exactly why everyone cannot stop talking about them.
Anitta, Pedro Sampaio & Dennis, “Joga Pra Lua”
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One of the best ways to warm up in this cold weather is by moving your body — and you simply won’t be able to stop doing just that when you listen to Anitta’s latest single. “Joga Pra Lua” is a stunning new Brazilian funk track that sees the star linking up with fellow Brazilian artists Pedro Sampaio and Dennis over a break-neck beat, asking their audience to throw it back at every given opportunity. It’s giving full “leave it all on the dance floor” energy, and we simply love to hear it.
Young M.A, “Open Scars”
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After a tough year that involved health scares and getting clean, Young M.A is ready to let fans know exactly what she’s been going through. “Open Scars” quickly establishes itself as the up-and-coming rapper’s most vulnerable song to date, as she methodically goes through her journey to sobriety, her struggles with her health and her frustration with the music industry, all over a soothing beat. She may claim that she “let my fans down” over the last few years — but if “Open Scars” is any indication, then Young M.A’s fans have a lot more to look forward to in the years to come.
Bruses feat. Pale Waves, “She’s So Cool”
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It’s time to get your angst out. Mexican pop-rocker Bruses brings every bit of her edge to “She’s So Cool,” a thrilling new pop-punk number where the rising star oggles that one girl that everyone can’t help but take notice of. With an airy vocal over a killer hook, Bruses paints the picture in both Spanish and English, before throwing it to Pale Waves’ Heather Barton-Gracie for her own slice of rocked-out yearning. From the moment it starts, “She’s So Cool” manages to grab hold of you and not let go until it comes to a stunning close.
The Veronicas, “Detox”
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Alt-pop superstars The Veronicas are trying to get clean after an addiction to toxic partners. On “Detox,” the duo plug in and rock out to the sound of their own internal struggle, as they desperately try to quit an unhealthy relationship before it consumes them. Energetic guitars and pounding drums only further punctuate the pair’s vocals, as they realize that “you’ve got me under your thumb.”
Saucy Santana, “Walk It Like I Talk It”
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They say that if you can’t take the heat, you should stay out of the kitchen — but Saucy Santana is cooking up a storm on his latest single. “Walk It Like I Talk It” sees the rising rapper doing what he does best; flexing on every last one of his haters, letting them know exactly where they can stick their insults. Over a simple beat and a couple of dreamy chords, Santana spells out exactly how fabulous he is — and how much some folks wish they could even come close to his level.
Check out all of our picks in Billboard’s official Queer Jams of the Week playlist.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6M4y1ZiK61fymRWDv3R9Qt?si=43597ed422084767
With everyone sharing their favorite songs and albums of 2023 (Billboard included), Sir Elton John decided to offer a glimpse at the music he found himself going back to this year. John unveiled his 15 favorite songs from 2023 during his Rocket Hour radio program on Friday (Dec. 15). “I’m looking back and choosing some […]