Pride
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Country singer Travis Tritt is removing the King of Beers from his own royal retinue. On Wednesday night (April 5), Tritt released a series of tweets announcing that he would no longer be working with Anheuser-Busch, the company that produces Budweiser and Bud Light, among other beers.
“I will be deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider,” the singer wrote, referring to the list of requests — including food and drink — an artist will submit to a live venue they’re scheduled to perform at. “I know many other artists who are doing the same.”
The announcement came after significant online backlash against the brand for partnering with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney in a March Madness campaign. One of the most vocal protestors of the announcement was Kid Rock, who posted a video of himself opening fire on three cases of Bud Light with an assault rifle, declaring, “f–k Bud Light and f–k Anheuser-Busch.”
When some commenters began asking which other stars Tritt knew would be removing Anheuser-Busch products from their tour riders, the “T-R-O-U-B-L-E” singer chose not to name names. “Other artists who are deleting Anheuser-Busch products from their hospitality rider might not say so in public for fear of being ridiculed and cancelled,” he wrote. “I have no such fear.”
The singer also added that he had worked directly with the beer manufacturer in the past, but had no plans to do so again. “In full disclosure, I was on a tour sponsored by Budweiser in the 90’s. That was when Anheuser-Busch was American owned,” he wrote. “A great American company that later sold out to the Europeans and became unrecognizable to the American consumer. Such a shame.”
While Tritt never directly referred to Mulvaney or Anheuser-Busch’s partnership with the TikTok star, the “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)” singer did post an advertisement from Jack Daniel’s featuring RuPaul’s Drag Race stars BeBe Zahara Benet, Trinity Taylor and Manila Luzon, telling his followers that they “should take note.”
In a statement to Billboard, Jack Daniel’s stood by its Drag Queen Summer Glamp campaign, as well as its ongoing support for the queer and trans communities. “Jack Daniel’s is made with everyone in mind, including the LGBTQ+ community,” a spokesperson said. “As a longtime champion of the LGBTQ+ community, Jack Daniel’s celebrates individuality and living life boldly on your own terms.”
Anheuser-Busch has not yet responded to a request for comment regarding Tritt’s tweets, but in a previous statement shared with Billboard, the brand stood firm in its stance. “Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics,” a spokesperson said.
The whiskey brand is not the only one to fire back at the online outrage. Country star Jason Isbell openly mocked Kid Rock for his violent response to the Bud Light advertisement, encouraging other beer brands to follow suit. “This is finally how we get him,” Isbell said. “Leave no bigoted beers to drink.”
Billboard has reached out to Tritt comment. See his tweets below:
I will be deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider. I know many other artists who are doing the same.— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) April 5, 2023
Other artists who are deleting Anheuser-Busch products from their hospitality rider might not say so in public for fear of being ridiculed and cancelled. I have no such fear. https://t.co/YgjO9P03tR— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) April 6, 2023
In full disclosure, I was on a tour sponsored by Budweiser in the 90’s. That was when Anheuser-Busch was American owned. A great American company that later sold out to the Europeans and became unrecognizable to the American consumer. Such a shame.— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) April 6, 2023
Pretty soon, Kid Rock might be a devil without a case… of beer. After the conservative rapper-turned-country crooner posted a video earlier this week in which he blasted three cases of Bud Light using a semi-automatic AR-15-style rifle while intoning, “f– Bud Light and f–k Anheuser-Busch,” Jason Isbell had some bad news for the MAGA hat-wearing Bullgod.
“This is finally how we get him,” Isbell wrote. “Leave no bigoted beers to drink.” The comment came above a re-tweet of a post in which a user noted that Robert Ritchie’s beer of choice — Coors Light — is “guilty too!” The post featured an infographic noting that Coors “has had an anti-discrimination policy including sexual orientation since 1978, one of the first American corporations to do so.”
The image also said that the company “has financially supported its GLBT employees group since 1993,” while listing a number of LGBTQ-friendly bars where you can enjoy the brew that Rock promoted in a 2003 Super Bowl ad.
Rock’s rifle video came shortly after trans activist Dylan Mulvaney teamed up with Anheuser-Busch to promote the brand’s Easy Carry Contest, posting a video of herself talking about the campaign and even receiving “possibly the best gift ever” — a commemorative can of Bud Light with her face on it.
Mulvaney’s video immediately sparked outrage from right-wing commentators, who lambasted the brand for working with a transgender influencer. Anheuser-Busch responded to the backlash first in a statement to Fox News, which they reiterated to Billboard, saying the company works with “hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics and passion points,” and adding that Mulvaney’s commemorative can “was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.”
The clip also came just weeks after a mass shooting at a private Nashville elementary school in which an assailant using a semi-automatic military-style rifle murdered three nine-year-old children and three adult staffers. Rock’s beer rant raised the ire of Fred Guttenberg, the father of a child who was killed during the Parkland shooting in Florida in 2018.
Guttenberg — who has turned into an outspoken gun control advocate in the wake of the massacre in which 14 teenagers and three staffers were killed — lambasted Rock for glorifying the kinds of war weapons often employed in mass shootings.
“Hey @kidrock, this dad is ‘feeling a little frisky today,” Guttenberg tweeted, mimicking Rock’s playful tone in a post that showed his late daughter trying to evade the murderous school shooter. “Let me be ‘as clear and concise’ as I can with you. This is my daughter Jaime (under the black oval) and these are the students running over her for safety to avoid getting shot by the AR 15 that killed her. F–K YOU!!!
Billboard has reached out to Kid Rock and Dylan Mulvaney for comment.
Rock’s video — which did not specifically mention Mulvaney or the LGBTQ-friendly Bud campaign — came amid amid a nationwide targeting of transgender people by conservative state legislatures around the U.S. Kentucky became the latest state to pass anti-trans legislation into law last week when lawmakers overrode Gov. Andy Beshear‘s veto of a bill banning gender-affirming care for anyone under the age of 18, while also compelling physicians to cease any ongoing gender-transition care for minors.
See Isbell and Guttenberg’s tweets below.
Hey @KidRock, this dad is “feeling a little frisky today.” Let me be “as clear and concise” as I can with you. This is my daughter Jaime (under the black oval) and these are the students running over her for safety to avoid getting shot by the AR 15 that killed her. FUCK YOU!!! https://t.co/Viv1Jzkuzu pic.twitter.com/OW9PDjETjW— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) April 4, 2023
Kid Rock is taking out his frustration on a few dozen cans of Bud Light.
Late Monday night (April 3), the “Bad Reputation” singer posted a video of himself across his social media accounts, speaking directly to the camera. Wearing a white MAGA hat, the rock-rapper said that “Grandpa’s feeling a bit frisky today,” and promised to be as “clear and concise as possible” with his statement.
The “Devil Without a Cause” singer then lifted up a semi-automatic rifle and opened fire on three cases of Bud Light propped up on a wooden table. Ceasing his fire on the beer cans, Rock looked back into the camera to make his point clear: “F–k Bud Light, and f–k Anheuser-Busch.”
The video came shortly after trans activist Dylan Mulvaney teamed up with Anheuser-Busch to promote the brand’s Easy Carry Contest, posting a video of herself talking about the campaign and even receiving “possibly the best gift ever” — a commemorative can of Bud Light with her face on it.
Mulvaney’s video immediately sparked outrage from right-wing commentators, who lambasted the brand for working with a transgender influencer. Anheuser-Busch responded to the backlash in a statement to Fox News, saying the company works with “hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics and passion points,” and adding that Mulvaney’s commemorative can “was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.”
The ongoing backlash comes at a time when transgender people are being targeted at a steady cadence by state legislatures around the U.S. Kentucky became the latest state to pass anti-trans legislation into law last week when lawmakers overrode Gov. Andy Beshear‘s veto of a bill banning gender-affirming care for anyone under the age of 18, while also compelling physicians to cease any ongoing gender-transition care for minors.
Billboard has reached out to Kid Rock, Dylan Mulvaney and Anheuser-Busch for comment.
Watch the Instagram videos below:
If you feel like you’ve heard Sam Smith and Kim Petras‘ “Unholy” approximately one billion times, new data might show you’re close to being right.
On Monday (April 3), Spotify announced that Smith and Petras were the latest inductees into the company’s Billions Club, after the pair’s viral hit single “Unholy” crossed the 1 billion streams mark. This is Smith’s fifth song to enter the Billions Club (following his tracks “Stay With Me,” “I’m Not the Only One,” “Too Good at Goodbyes” and “Dancing With a Stranger” with Normani, respectively), and Petras’ first.
To celebrate the news, Smith took to their social media to share a compilation video of the song’s success, showing off behind-the-scenes clips from the shoot of the music video, as well as viral dance challenges, beauty tutorials and covers of the track from TikTok. At the conclusion, Smith offered a simple message to their fans: “Thank you,” the text read.
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Along with achieving the milestone, Smith and Petras’ “Unholy” has been added to Spotify’s Billions Club playlist, which was created in 2021 in order to help fans discover songs that had reached the formidable goal. “Spotify has long celebrated artist milestones and we wanted to find a unique way to honor the artists and songs fans can’t stop listening to,” Ashley Graver, the then-global head of creative artist partnerships, told Billboard at the time.
While “Unholy” continues to rack up streams, both Smith and Petras are pursuing new creative endeavors. Smith is currently preparing to embark on their globe-spanning Gloria Tour, which kicks off its European leg on April 12 at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena. Petras, meanwhile, has been teasing new music for the last few weeks, putting out an image of her backside on Tuesday with the caption “all will be revealed on Thursday.”
Check out the video to Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” below:
After taking her hit 2015 song and turning it into a novel, Hayley Kiyoko is ready to bring Girls Like Girls to new life with a little help from some of her LGBTQ friends.
On Tuesday (April 4), Kiyoko announced the official audiobook for her upcoming novel, Girls Like Girls. Along with Kiyoko portraying the main character Coley, the new audiobook will boast an all-queer cast, including voice actor Natalie Naudus as Sonya, 13 Reasons Why‘s Brandon Flynn as Trenton, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin‘s Malia Pyles as SJ, and MUNA frontperson Katie Gavin as Brooke.
“I am so honored and excited to have Natalie Nadus, Brandon Flynn, Malia Pyles, and Katie Gavin join me in voicing the characters from Girls Like Girls for the novel’s official audiobook recording,” Kiyoko said of the casting in a statement. “They have all made such a positive impact on the queer community through their art and by living their authentic truth each and every day. I couldn’t have asked for a better cast to help me tell this story.”
Kiyoko’s debut young adult novel is loosely based on her 2015 single of the same name, telling the story of a girl named Coley, who moves to Oregon and meets Sonya. According to a synopsis of the upcoming novel, “neither girl is sure they are ready to open their heart and accept the love they fear and deserve most.”
Both Girls Like Girls the novel and the audiobook arrive May 30, 2023 — pre-order the new audiobook here, and watch the original video for “Girls Like Girls” (directed by Kiyoko herself) below:
If you thought there was any way Randy Rainbow was not burning the midnight oil coming up with a parody song tackling former president Donald Trump’s historic indictment in a New York last week, well, you just don’t know Randy.
The parody king who mines beloved Broadway tunes and pop hits to make pointed social and political ditties was back at it on Monday (April 3), twisting up Don Raye and Hughie Prince’s WWII jump blues “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” into a hilariously scathing takedown of the twice-impeached former commander in chief.
The 1941 song, popularized by the Andrews Sisters, is flipped on its head to reflect the potential legal pitfalls facing the former reality show host who is slated to be arraigned and fingerprinted in his former New York hometown on Tuesday (April 4). The bit opens with Randy doing a fake interview with Trump, in which The Donald asks if the singer would endorse his third bid for the presidency.
“I’d rather go skiing with Gwyneth Paltrow,” Randy responds in the music video bearing the proudly “fake news” headline “Donald Trump Indicted AF.” Telling DT, “girl, you need to update your act” after Trump trots out the usual “fake news” tropes, Rainbow offers up a fresh campaign slogan for the one-term leader who is facing multiple criminal indictments from New York to Atlanta and Florida.
“Something catchy, you know, like your chlamydia, but that really also reminds people what you’re all about,” says Rainbow, slipping on pink cat-eye glasses and asking Trump for some pitches. After the usual litany of gripes, Randy informs Trump that he’s afraid this time he’s going down. And then, of course, Randy breaks into song.
“He was a sleazy showbiz phony born in NYC/ Who somehow won the White House over Hillary/ Then after one term got the sack/ When Biden pummeled his ass, but now he wants to come back,” a trio of Randy’s sings over the swinging jazzy arrangement.
“He’s been indicted though/ And so he’s making scenes/ He’s the grumpy Trumpy felon from Jamaica in Queens,” Rainbow sings on the retrofitted chorus. The singer then digs right into the heart of the matter facing Trump: his alleged hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 presidential run to reportedly cover up an extramarital affair.
“He met a lovely lady who performed on screen/ She started yappin’ in two thousand and sixteen/ And so he signed a bunch of checks/ Cuz he’s disgusting and so he had to pay her for sex/ Looks like a butternut squash and his hair is bleached/ He’s the bloated orange lunatic who’s twice been impeached,” Rainbow sings.
Randy then makes it personal, repeatedly calling Trump a “loser” and a cheat, who “makes Melania puke,” as well as a “Cheeto-lookin’, coochie snatchin’ treasonous crook.” You get the picture.
Watch Randy Rainbow’s “Grumpy Trumpy Felon From Jamaica Queens” video below.
When it came time for her performance at the 2023 CMT Music Awards on Sunday night (April 2), Kelsea Ballerini decided to bring a quartet of fabulous drag queens out to help her deliver a poignant message.
Performing her single “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too),” Ballerini was joined by RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni Manila Luzon, Kennedy Davenport, Jan Sport and Olivia Lux. All dressed in their best 1950s southern drag, Ballerini and the queens strutted around the stage — which was decorated like a white picket-fenced front yard — singing about their ride-or-die friendship with one another.
Eventually, the quintet of performers found its way from the stage to a massive catwalk stretching through the audience. As confetti rained down from above, Ballerini cuddled up with the four queens, belting out the final words to the song: “Our bodies are buried and they’re in the same ditch/ So even if I wanted to, I can’t snitch,” she sang. “Thirty to life would go quicker with you/ So if you go down, I’m goin’ down too.”
The performance came as something of a political statement from the country star, especially as drag has become a target for right-wing legislatures around the country. Most recently, after Tennessee passed its widely criticized public-drag ban, a federal judge blocked the law from taking effect for 14 days on Friday (March 31), claiming that the state failed to make a compelling argument as to why the new law was warranted.
Ballerini wasn’t only performing on Sunday night — the singer served as one of the evening’s hosts alongside Kane Brown. Stars including Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Gwen Stefani and Tyler Hubbard also shared performances during the event, while Lainey Wilson led nominees at the event with four nominations. Brown, Jelly Roll and Cody Johnson followed with three each.
Check out the full performance below:
A federal judge on Friday (March 31) temporarily blocked Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law placing strict limits on drag shows just hours before it was set to go into effect, siding with a group that filed a lawsuit claiming the statute violates the First Amendment.
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The decision comes after Memphis-based Friends of George’s, an LGBTQ+ theater company, filed the federal lawsuit Monday against Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy and the state.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker issued the temporary injunction after hearing arguments on both sides Thursday.
Parker wrote that the state has failed to make a compelling argument as to why Tennessee needed the new law, adding that the court also agrees the statute is likely vague and overly broad.
The word “drag” doesn’t appear in the new law, which instead changed the definition of adult cabaret in Tennessee to mean “adult-oriented performances that are harmful to minors.” Furthermore, “male or female impersonators” are now classified as a form of adult cabaret, akin to strippers and topless, go-go and exotic dancers.
The law banned adult cabaret performances from public property or anywhere minors might be present. Performers who break the law risk being charged with a misdemeanor or a felony for a repeat offense.
“The law prohibits a drag performer wearing a crop top and mini skirt from dancing where minors might see it, but does not prohibit a Tennessee Titans cheerleader wearing an identical outfit from performing the exact same dance in front of children,” the initial complaint contends.
Parker also listed concerns aligning with the group’s argument that the law was overly broad, questioning the location specifications of a cabaret entertainment venue that might be viewed by a minor.
“Does a citizen’s private residence count? How about a camping ground at a national park?” Parker wrote. “Ultimately, the Statute’s broad language clashes with the First Amendment’s tight constraints.”
The complaint also details the efforts last year to block a drag show at a park in Jackson, west of Nashville, as part of a Pride festival. A legal complaint spearheaded by Republican state Rep. Chris Todd and Republican state Sen. Ed Jackson sought to prevent the show, forcing organizers to reach a settlement to hold the event indoors with an age restriction.
“After abusing the state courts to violate the First Amendment rights of Jackson Pride, Rep. Todd ‘was asked to come up with legislation that would make this much more clear’ — that drag performances in front of children are a violation of Tennessee law,” the complaint argues.
Parker referenced Todd’s actions in his Friday decision, saying the state attorney general’s office failed to give a clear answer on the purpose of the new law given Tennessee’s current obscenity laws.
During Thursday’s hearing, Mulroy told the judge that he didn’t object to a temporary restraining order.
“There has been much concern and confusion about the law from the community,” Mulroy said in a statement to The Associated Press. “This will allow the court to clarify the scope, application, and constitutionality of the statute. It’s important to understand the scope of this law so that it doesn’t have a harmful effect on constitutionally protected expression.”
A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Friday.
The Tennessee drag law marks the second major proposal targeting LGBTQ+ people passed by state lawmakers this year. Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed into law GOP-backed legislation banning most gender-affirming care.
Lee has faced criticism for approving the anti-drag show law, particularly since a photo surfaced of him as a high school senior dressed in women’s clothing in 1977.
Lee called comparing the two issues “ridiculous.” When asked for specific examples of inappropriate drag shows taking place in front of children, Lee did not cite any, but said he was concerned about protecting children.
Christina Aguilera embraced her inner “Fighter” on Thursday night when she spoke out at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles.
The “Dirrty” singer was in attendance to receive the organization’s advocate for change award, awarded to “a person who, through their work, has changed the game for LGBTQ people around the world.” Madonna and Bill Clinton previously received the award.
Presented her award by Michael Anderson, one of the survivors of the Club Q shooting in Colorado, Aguilera quickly thanked GLAAD and Anderson for the honor. “You have no idea how much this truly means to me,” she said. “This is the stuff that really matters in life.”
Launching into her speech, Aguilera spoke at length about her “lifelong” relationship with the LGBTQ community. “So much of who I am and what I do is because of each of you, and the shared experience of having to fight for equality and freedom in some capacity,” she said.
The “Genie in a Bottle” singer applauded the community for their continued endurance against an onslaught of attacks, especially from Republican legislators around the U.S. “I am constantly impressed by your examples of the courage it takes to fight for acceptance, respect and safety that every human being deserves,” she said. “When you’ve been a victim of violence, abuse or trauma, it is incredibly hard and scary to find your voice and fight back. Having grown up in a home with domestic violence, it was seeing my mom in a powerless position that first ignited the fire in me to speak up for all of the people whose voices don’t get heard.”
After speaking about her mission to “creatively empower others through my music,” Aguilera closed her speech by calling for queer people to keep up their fight for equality. “We all need to raise our voices if we want to live in a world that is free of discrimination, hate and violence,” she said. “My greater purpose is to use the platform I have to change lives for the better, so thank you GLAAD for this and for all that you do to make every voice in the LGBTQ community heard. We can’t help each other if we can’t hear each other.”
The singer was just one of the celebrities awarded on Thursday evening — Bad Bunny received the annual vanguard award for his allyship towards the community, while out Broadway star Jeremy Pope received the Stephen F. Kolzak award for his work in raising visibility for queer people in media.
Check out Christina Aguilera’s full acceptance speech at the GLAAD Media Awards below.
Despite what some lawmakers may be attempting throughout the U.S. right now, transgender and non-binary people are not going anywhere anytime soon — and they’re more than ready to make their voices heard.
Friday (March 31) marks International Transgender Day of Visibility, an annual commemoration since 2010 that has been honored around the world as “a day to celebrate the lives and contributions of trans people, while also drawing attention to the poverty, discrimination, and violence the community faces,” according to GLAAD.
This year, the world certainly needs a reminder of what exactly trans and gender diverse community is up against — despite being only three months into the calendar year, 2023 has already broken the record for the most anti-trans legislation introduced across the U.S., with states like West Virginia, Iowa and Kentucky all banning gender-affirming care for minors.
In a 2022 interview with Billboard, Human Rights Campaign deputy director of communications Laurel Powell put it simply: “There is a very well-funded, well-organized movement to try and drive a wedge between people and their LGBTQ+ friends, neighbors and family,” she said. “This is being driven by extremist legislators.”
International Transgender Day of Visibility provides allies another opportunity to not just contribute to the many organizations across the U.S. that are fighting to stop this wave of anti-trans hatred, but also to celebrate the myriad contributions trans and gender diverse people have made to society.
Below, Billboard takes a look at 15 artists who are redefining what it means to be openly transgender and non-binary in the music industry today:
Shea Diamond
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Shea Diamond, both an activist and a singer-songwriter, belts out the bold anthem “I Am Her” with soul and strength. “There’s an outcast in everybody’s life / And I am her,” she sings. According to Diamond, the song began as a statement to a world which said she shouldn’t exist and now stands as an anthem “for all those that felt shunned for simply being who they were.”
Find Shea Diamond on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Anohni
Anohni is not afraid of tackling topics often considered controversial. In “Drone Bomb Me,” Anohni sings of a nine-year-old Afghan girl whose family has been killed by a drone bomb. Her latest album, Hopelessness, covers issues from climate change to Guantanamo Bay. “I wanted to do something that was gonna go down fighting,” Anohni told Pitchfork.
Find Anohni on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
SOPHIE
There are few artists who have directly impacted the current sound of pop music more than the late SOPHIE. A pioneer in both the dance and pop fields, the producer pushed the boundaries of her respective genres to their breaking points, eventually giving way to glorious soundscapes that were fueled by the aesthetics of bubblegum pop and the experimentation of the avant-garde dance scene being led by the collective at PC Music. But it was on their magnum opus project Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides where SOPHIE finally took a moment to allow herself to stand in the spotlight, coming out publicly as transgender and fully taking ownership of her trailblazing work in the music industry.
Find SOPHIE on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Peppermint
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Along with being the season 9 runner-up of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Peppermint is also a talented musical artist in her own right. While she flexes her many talents on everything from original ballads to pop diva tributes, it’s on her 2017 anthem “Civil War” where Peppermint gets real about the reality of life as a transgender woman in this day and age. “I’m an army of one, marching alone/ Fighting for my life,” she sings, stirring up emotions.
Find Peppermint on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Skylar Kergil
Skylar Kergil, an American activist, singer-songwriter and YouTube personality, has a folk sound that sends a statement. “Strangers stare and they want to be the first to/ Ask for my life in one word/ But it’s not that simple,” Kergil sings in “Tell Me A Story.”
Find Skylar Kergil on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Left at London
While many people know Left at London for their hilarious Vine and TikTok content, they really ought to know her for her music first. The singer’s eclectic offerings can range from funk-driven, sexy anthems to folksy kiss-offs aimed at transphobes, all while infusing her charismatic persona and expert songwriting into instantly memorable tracks that you’ll find yourself going back for again and again.
Find Left at London on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Ryan Cassata
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Ryan Cassata has been representing the transgender community in the music industry for over a decade. Whether they’re preaching the importance of community on songs like “We’re the Cool Kids” — which Cassata said is about coming together, battling ignorance “and hopefully beating it” — or getting real about heartbreak on more recent tracks like “If You Ever Leave Long Island,” Cassata always manages to uplift and celebrate his community through song.
Find Ryan Cassata on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Ah-Mer-Ah-Su
Star Amerasu, a self-professed “poptronic princess,” chronicles her complicated encounters with anti-anxiety medicines known as benzodiazepines (or benzos) in the song “Klonopin.” The light lullaby peeks into the taboo topic of prescription pill use and abuse. “I got problems, you got problems, they got problems, we all got problems / Why don’t we just run away, come again another day,” Amerasu sings.
Find Ah-Mer-Ah-Su on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Against Me!
In “Transgender Dysphoria Blues,” Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! tells the tale of gender dysphoria. “You want them to see you / Like they see every other girl,” Grace sings. “They just see a faggot / They’ll hold their breath not to catch the sick.” The punk rock track seeps the pain and frustration that many transgender people feel. Since coming out publicly in 2012, Grace has talked often and openly of her identity. Recently, Grace told SF Weekly that she feels free — a sensation she never had in the first part of the band’s life.
Find Against Me! on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Ethel Cain
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Since her debut in 2019, Ethel Cain — the haunting, righteous persona inhabited by singer-songwriter Hayden Anhedönia — has been crafting her own dark world to mirror the reality we all live in. That universe came into full fruition on 2022’s Preacher’s Daughter, a moving alternative album tracking a story about trying to live up to the impossible expectations of the American Dream, especially as a transgender woman struggling to find acceptance. It’s just one testament to Cain’s staying power as a musical auteur that she can craft a story that simultaneously disquiets your mind, while also never letting your attention stray from her phenomenal music.
Find Ethel Cain on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
The Cliks
Lucas Silveria, known as the front man of The Cliks, was one of the first transgender men to be signed to a major label recording contract. The Cliks released Snakehouse with Warner Music Canada in 2006. After transitioning, Silveria admitted that he needed to take on a new sound. The Motown swing of “Savanna” is something to be swayed by.
Find The Cliks on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Dua Saleh
Non-binary artist Dua Saleh is here to give you honesty. The rising rap-meets-R&B-meets-pop phenomenon out of of Minnesota writes what they feel on the regular, whether it’s pain (“Cat Scratch”), pleasure (“Day to Day”) or anything in between. With a voice you won’t be able to get out of your head and a tendency towards enthralling production, Saleh is an artist more than worthy of listening to ASAP.
Find Dua Saleh on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Cavetown
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For indie artist Robin Skinner, a.k.a. Cavetown, the name of the game is community. Along with crafting instantly-catchy indie-rock tracks, Skinner spent much of his career building their core fanbase through direct interaction — whether that’s on video sharing sites like YouTube or through streaming platforms like Twitch. Using their platform to give back when the opportunity arises, as well as dedicating some of their songs to their community, Cavetown has proven the power of platform time and time again.
Find Cavetown on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
KC Ortiz
“When I was 17 or 18, I wanted to be the next Lil’ Kim,” Chicago-based rapper KC Ortiz told Billboard in an conversation with LCD Soundsystem’s Gavin Rayna Russom about President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender military members. The former Air Force personnel released her second album Church Tapes this July.
Find KC Ortiz on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Nakhane
South African star wants to show you a good time. The pop singer-songwriter spent much of their career blazing their own trail as an openly non-binary African star. It was with their 2018 masterwork You Will Not Die that they captured the attention of veritable stars like Elton John and Madonna. Nakhane’s versatile musical voice lends itself toward change more often than not, meaning you never know what to expect when you press play on their latest work — making it all the more fun to find out what they have in store for you.
Find Nakhane on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube