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While RuPaul’s Drag Race‘s set of 16 new racers start their engines, the guest judging panel is ready to declare the best drag queen the winner.
On Monday (Dec. 19), RuPaul’s Drag Race officially unveiled its new slate of celebrity guest judges for the season 15. Alongside previously announced premiere guest judge Ariana Grande, Ru will be joined on the judges panel by stars including Maren Morris, Janelle Monáe, Hayley Kiyoko, Orville Peck, Ali Wong, Amandla Stenberg, Harvey Guillén, Julia Garner and Megan Statler. Meanwhile, beloved past guest judge Ts Madison has been upped to become a rotating member of the permanent judges’ panel, alongside Michelle Visage, Ross Mathews and Carson Kressley.
To celebrate the big announcement, Drag Race also unveiled the first official trailer for season 15, giving fans their long-awaited first look inside the workroom. Throughout the new trailer, the 16 new queens enter the work room and begin to compete in what looks to be a series of fan-favorite challenges (including a photoshoot mini-challenge as well as a talent variety show) before serving their looks on the runway.
The new slate of guest judges and trailer come on the heels of RuPaul’s Drag Race’s move to MTV after spending four years on the Viacom sister channel VH1. Season 15 also boasts more queens on a single season than ever before, now competing for the highest cash prize on a main season of the show — $200,000.
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 premieres Friday, Jan. 6, at 8 p.m. ET on MTV. Check out the official first trailer above.
Songs by queer artists dominated 2022 in every genre, from pop, Latin and indie rock to R&B and hip-hop.
To celebrate the year, we at Billboard have compiled our 25 top songs released by LGBTQ artists in 2022, including star-studded collaborations, musical newcomers, chart mainstays and more.
See the full list here, and let us know your top pick of the year by voting in our poll below.
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No, you’re not “Imagine“-ing things — Ariana Grande is returning to one of her favorite “Positions” as a guest judge on a popular reality TV show.
On Wednesday (Dec. 14), MTV announced that Grande would return to the main stage of RuPaul’s Drag Race to serve as the inaugural guest judge for season 15. In a short clip posted across the Drag Race social media accounts, Grande struts down the runway sporting a pearl-covered cone bra and a long pencil skirt. Blowing a kiss to the camera, she says in a voiceover, “Season 15 is here, and so am I.”
This won’t be Grande’s first time judging on Drag Race. Back in season seven of the show, the pop superstar appeared as a guest judge for the now-infamous “Death Becomes Her” runway, where she watched queens Jaidynn Dior Fierce and Kandy Ho lip sync to her iconic Zedd collaboration “Break Free.”
The news of Grande’s upcoming appearance on the show comes just one day after the show’s 15th season was officially announced, alongside a cast of 16 queens competing for the coveted title of America’s Next Drag Superstar, as well as a doubled cash prize of $200,000. Along with bringing in more queens in one season than ever before, season 15 will also mark RuPaul’s Drag Race‘s first season on MTV, after the show spent its last six seasons on VH1.
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 premieres on MTV Friday, Jan. 6, at 8 p.m. ET. Check out the official teaser for Ariana Grande’s guest judge appearance above.
President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law on the South Lawn of the White House on Tuesday (Dec. 13), protecting same-sex and interracial marriages across the country.
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In a video shared to Twitter from the event, Lady Gaga‘s “Born This Way” begins to play through the speakers once Biden signed the bill. “I’m beautiful in my way, ’cause God makes no mistakes / I’m on the right track, baby, I was born this way,” Gaga’s anthemic chorus is heard as the president stands up to hug his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, and the rest of his team in celebration.
Gaga’s “Born This Way,” off her 2011 album of the same name, has been a powerful LGBTQIA+ anthem since its release. “Born This Way, my song and album, were inspired by Carl Bean, a gay black religious activist who preached, sung and wrote about being ‘Born This Way,’” Gaga wrote in an Instagram post in 2021. “Notably his early work was in 1975, 11 years before I was born. Thank you for decades of relentless love, bravery, and a reason to sing. So we can all feel joy, because we deserve joy. Because we deserve the right to inspire tolerance, acceptance, and freedom for all.”
The new law signed today was passed in the House of Representatives with a vote of 258-169, and 61-36 in the Senate. At the ceremony, Cyndi Lauper sang her iconic hit, “True Colors,” while Sam Smith took the stage to perform their breakthrough 2014 ballad, “Stay With Me.”
President Joe Biden signed the historic Respect for Marriage Act into law on Tuesday (Dec. 13), protecting same-sex and interracial marriages across the country.
The new law also protects against a situation in which the Supreme Court were to overturn the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which legalized same-sex marriages in the U.S, as Associate Justice Clarence Thomas suggested in June. The bill was passed in the House of Representatives with a vote of 258-169, and 61-36 in the Senate.
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“Today, America takes a vital step toward equality, toward liberty and justice, not just for some, but for everyone,” Biden said at the ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. “Toward creating a nation where decency, dignity, and love are recognized, honored and protected.”
At the ceremony, Cyndi Lauper sang her iconic hit, “True Colors,” while Sam Smith took the stage to perform their breakthrough 2014 ballad, “Stay With Me.”
Lauper also gave a speech in the White House briefing room to commemorate the signing of the Respect for Marriage Act. “I came here because I wanted to say thank you to President Biden, Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi, Vice President [Kamala] Harris and all the advocates on his team. For once, our families — mine and a lot of my friends and people you know, sometimes your neighbors — we can rest easy tonight because our families are validated.”
She concluded, “Now, we’re allowed to love who we love, which sounds odd to say, but Americans can now love who we love. Bless Joe Biden and all the people that worked on this for allowing people not to worry and their children not to worry about their future.”
See via Twitter below.
Lauper: We can rest easy tonight because our families are validated and because now we’re now allowed to love who we love which sounds odd to say but Americans can love who we love pic.twitter.com/BRDOo80nrs— Acyn (@Acyn) December 13, 2022
If RuPaul’s Drag Race were an actual, real-life drag race, then its latest announcement would rival the Grand Prix itself.
On Monday (Dec. 12), the long-running franchise announced a “global expansion” of the Drag Race brand, which includes a new deal that will see the flagship show move over from VH1 (its home for the last six years) to MTV for its long-awaited 15th season. On Tuesday (Dec. 13), the franchise unveiled the full cast for season 15, revealing the most queens on one season of the main series than ever before.
In alphabetical order, season 15 of RuPaul’s Drag Race will see Amethyst, Anetra, Aura Mayari, Irene Dubois, Jax, Loosey LaDuca, Luxx Noir London, Malaysia Babydoll Foxx, Marcia Marcia Marcia, Mistress Isabelle Brooks, Princess Poppy, Robin Fierce, Salina EsTitties, Sugar and Spice all compete for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar — as well as a newly increased cash prize of $200,000.
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RuPaul’s Drag Race isn’t the only show benefitting from the franchise’s new development. As part of the expansion, MTV also announced three brand new Drag Race spin-off shows that will be arriving in Brazil, Germany and Mexico via MTV and Paramount+. All of this will also culminate in the first-ever season of Drag Race Global All Stars, in which fan-favorite queens from many of the different Drag Race franchises will come together for a head-to-head battle on Paramount+.
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 will premiere with two back-to-back episodes on Friday, Jan. 6, at 8 p.m. ET. Check out the official “meet the queens” livestream below:
Trying to capture what a “queer song” sounds like in 2022 is a lot like trying to explain what the color yellow is — all in all, it’s not possible. That’s because, simply put, songs by queer artists released throughout 2022 run the gamut of popular music, from thundering electro-pop, to sultry R&B, to funkwave, hip-hop, Latin, indie rock, disco and much more. Gone are the days where openly-LGBTQ people — both artists and listeners — were siloed off into one stereotypical genre landscape, now replaced by an audience who are listening to a vast array of musical genres, and a bevy of artists ready to show off their skills in nearly every musical field.
The result of that evolution is not only a diverse landscape of music created by queer artists, but a new frontier of pathways toward success. Along with showing off the musical flexibility of a community trying to survive amidst less-than-ideal circumstances, 2022 also proved that massive mainstream success is not exclusive to a single queer artist at a time. Whether it’s topping the Billboard Hot 100, charting for the very first time as a solo artist, or even successfully reinventing your sound, 2022 was a year defined by queer artists pushing their limits to discover new avenues toward the promised land of “making it” in the music industry.
But which of these songs managed to stand out from the rest this year? Below, check out Billboard‘s picks for the 25 best songs released by LGBTQ artists in 2022 (listed in alphabetical order).
Pop-rock superstar Adam Lambert knows his way around a good cover. And on Tuesday (Dec. 13), the singer continued the trend with his latest ode to some ’80s rock icons.
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Lambert unveiled his cover of Duran Duran‘s 1993 hit single “Ordinary World,” in which the American Idol alum slows the track down to create am almost eerie version of the grief-stricken original track. Backed up by a smooth piano and some orchestral strings, Lambert carefully croons out the aching lyrics of the track, never going as far as emulating Simon Le Bon’s signature vocal, but paying homage all the same. Lambert is set to debut his live rendition of the song on Wednesday’s season 22 finale of The Voice.
The singer also announced that the new track was just a taste of what fans could expect off of his forthcoming sixth studio album, High Drama. Due out on Feb. 24 via BMG, the album is set to show off Lambert’s skillset as a cover artist, as he delivers his own versions of songs such as Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero,” Sia’s “Chandelier,” Billie Eilish’s “Getting Older” and many more.
This is not the first song off of the upcoming project that Lambert has shared. Back in October, he released his rendition of the Noël Coward classic “Mad About the Boy” in tandem with a new documentary about the famed playwright and director, Mad About the Boy — The Noël Coward Story. Lambert’s version will appear as the final track on his new album.
Check out the video for Lambert’s “Ordinary World” cover above, and pre-order his new album High Drama here.
2022 was good for a lot of things — in the music world, artists like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Bad Bunny and more had blockbuster years worthy of recognition. But when it came to the continued fight for LGBTQ rights, 2022 proved to be more of a backslide. In the United States alone, queer and trans folks spent the year working tirelessly against more than 300 anti-LGBTQ bills in state legislatures (including Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill and Arkansas’ ban on gender-affirming care for young people), threats towards gender diverse kids and their families, a fatal shooting at a gay nightclub, and countless more tragedies and setbacks. Around the world, people struggled to support the biggest sporting event in the world being held in a country where being queer is a crime, while anti-LGBTQ sentiment and hate crimes continued to rise around the world.
Despite the onslaught of negative sentiment and oppressive ideals, queer artists showed up to represent and support their community in 2022. The methods they employed through their albums were often varied — some aimed for sheer escapism, creating new sonic worlds for their fans to luxuriate in; others looked their circumstances dead in the eye, using their music to channel the rage they felt at a world that was seemingly set against them. Either way, LGBTQ artists made their voices heard through some of their best works to date in 2022.
So, which of those albums stood out among the rest? Below, check out Billboard‘s picks for the 20 best albums by LGBTQ artists released in 2022:
As you take a look back on some of your favorite tracks of 2022, keep up-to-date with the latest from some of your favorite queer artists. Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of First Out, our weekly roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ artists.
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From Dove Cameron’s latest sultry jam to Phoebe Bridgers’ phenomenal team-up with SZA, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
Dove Cameron, “Girl Like Me”
Dove Cameron’s “Girl Like Me” is a difficult song to place — it’s not quite a cover of Edwyn Collins’s 1994 crossover hit “A Girl Like You,” yet it feels like more than a mere interpolation being employed by Cameron. Instead, “Girl Like Me” draws on the melodies and themes of the original, while crafting entire verses and ideas of her own to paint a picture of taking the driver’s seat of a relationship. She lets her lover know what she’s not looking for as a synth-infused melody blares behind her, making for yet another absolute banger from this upstarting star in the making.
SZA feat. Phoebe Bridgers, “Ghost In The Machine”
The 5-year wait for SZA’s new album S.O.S has proven to be worth it — the 23-track project has been roundly praised by fans and critics alike for its emotional maturity, sonic vibe and beautiful messaging. One of the most beloved tracks on said album happens to be “Ghost in the Machine,” SZA’s haunting reflection on relationships in the time of social media with special guest Phoebe Bridgers. The two turn out to be a perfect fit for each other on this deeply moving, insightful song, as they each wrestle with the person they are in their respective relationships and the self they present to the world; and they do it all over a plinking soundscape that will hypnotize you in seconds.
Rebecca Black, “Look At You”
Usually breakup songs are written from a first-person perspective — an artist details the fallout of dead romance as one of the scorned lovers. That’s what makes it even more fascinating to hear Rebecca Black take on a more omniscient POV with “Look At You.” In the stirring new song, Black softly sings about the end of a relationship as a third party, witnessing a heartbroken friend deal with the weight of life after love. With a tender voice and lighter production than we’ve ever heard from her, Black assures them that everything will turn out okay, even if it doesn’t feel like it in the moment.
Florence + The Machine & Ethel Cain, “Morning Elvis (Live at Denver Ball Arena)”
Dance Fever‘s closing track “Morning Elvis” always felt like Florence + The Machine’s successful attempt at capturing the spirit of Southern Gothic music in a 4-minute track. So it’s fitting that, when coming up with an artist to help them even further exude that aura live, the band selected indie singer-songwriter Ethel Cain. The result is a haunting, echoing new rendition of the track as Florence Welch and Cain bounce off of one another with ease, making you believe every word as they sing, “If I make it to the stage/ I’ll show you what it means to be saved.”
Arca, Kick
It would have been easy for Venezuelan alternative-electronica star Arca to release a “best of” album. Instead, with Kick, Arca not only let her fans select their favorite songs off of her five-album Kick series, but also delivered them three brand new ones, ranging from glitching chaos (“Alto Voltaje”) to vibe-heavy experimental musings (“Ritual”) to stunning electronica ballads (“Sentient Savior”). Christmas must have come early for Arca’s fans, because Kick is nothing short of a gift.