Pride

19 Apr 2023

20 Questions With Fever Ray: Loving Cyndi Lauper, Being ‘Too Shy to Karaoke’ & Celebrating Latest Album With a ‘Queer Reunion’

In March, Fever Ray released their first new album in over five years, Radical Romantics. The project arrived as a welcome return for the artist, also known as Swedish singer Karin Dreijer (half of the sibling duo The Knife), as they explore the idea of love by questioning, deconstructing and rebuilding the concept in their own intriguing way.

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Filled with 10 metallic synth-pop tracks, which see-saw between atmospheric and industrial, Radical Romantics follows Fever Ray’s 2017 album, the acclaimed Plunge. In support of the new set’s release, Fever Ray will set out on the There’s No Place I’d Rather Be Tour, their first trek since 2018. The U.S. leg kicks off May 1 in Washington, D.C.

In the latest edition of Billboard’s 20 questions, Fever Ray discusses their most memorable recent show at “a wonderful punk venue,” how they celebrated the album’s release (and who they dressed up as… spoiler: it’s from one of their music videos) and much more.

1. What’s the first piece of music you bought for yourself, and what was the medium?

The first record I bought was a 7” with Cyndi Lauper’s “All Through the Night.” I thought it was the best thing I’ve ever heard. I still like it.

2.  What was the first concert you saw?

I don’t remember — my dad took me to some, I guess. But I went to my first festival when I was 15, Hultsfredsfestivalen, in 1990. 22 Pistepirkko I remember [them playing]. That was a great show.

3.  Who made you realize you could be an artist full-time?

I guess I realized it myself when I started to make money out of it. I’ve done it the past 20 years now. Before that I had other jobs as well.

4. What was your first job?

I was cleaning hotel rooms.

5.  Whose career path continues to inspire you most?

I think I get inspired by people who are passionate about what they do, who keep on learning new things, who understand how to combine work with relationships, friends, family and manages to take care of themselves. It can be in any profession.

6. How did your hometown shape who you are?

I lived in the same place from 6 to 18 — it was sort of out in nowhere, outside Gothenburg. There were small streets with the same exact houses in straight rows. Only houses and a lot of forest around. There was a tennis hall, too, so everybody played tennis. Except our family, although my sister started to do that later. I guess music was a way to find a space where I could be me, a way to understand that there’s something else than this.

7. If you could see any artist in concert, dead or alive, who would it be?

I would have loved to see Eurythmics around the Savage album. And Cyndi Lauper when she released “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.”

8. What’s the best or favorite concert you have seen so far this year, why?

I haven’t seen so many unfortunately, cause I’ve been working too much with the tour. But I saw Sarah Parkman a few weeks ago in Gothenburg. She has an incredible voice, it was a great show.

9. What’s the last album you listened to in one sitting?

Bendik Giske’s Cracks, I love it.

10. What’s your favorite album of all time?

Around the World in a Day with Prince.

11. How did you celebrate the release of your third album, Radical Romantics?

We had a big party in Stockholm with many great DJs and performances — people said afterwards it was like a queer reunion after the pandemics. I was there as Demonalisa from the “Even It Out” video.

12. What song on the album was particularly challenging to write?

I think writing is always a mix of easy and light — some days everything is clear and some days everything’s a struggle. I work office hours, mostly. I think routines are the best way to get things done, even though routines also van be a struggle. Days when you don’t get ideas, you just practice — practice a new instrument, practice vocals, practice a new plug-in. You just have to stay in it.

13. You’ve long worked with your brother, and he’s a co-writer on several tracks here. What’s the key to working with family?

I have no idea. I’ve never thought of it like that. I don’t think of family as something blood-related either; family are the people you keep close. It’s six years between Olof and I, so we didn’t share much as kids. I had a strong urge quite early to break out from there, I moved out when I was 18. So it was later we started to do things together — he had started making music by the computer and we played around with it one summer. That’s how it started.

14. If you had to pick one lyric that you have thought about or revisited most since the album released, which one would it be and why?

I think they all mean a lot to me. It’s interesting to perform them live now — you have to learn to live with them. When you write them and record them, you just think about how to tell this specific story, once. But now, you have to make friends with them in another way.

15. What’s your karaoke go-to?

I am too shy to karaoke.

16. What show of yours stands out as being particularly moving or memorable?

My recent one was den Atelier in Luxemburg. We didn’t have any expectations — it’s a bit of a strange city, very clean and a lot of money. Then we played at a wonderful punk venue and the audience was just amazing, we had such a good time.

17. What’s your favorite book?

My oldest kid made me re-read Kathy Acker lately, who I love.

18. What’s your favorite film or TV show?

I love so many films. Those by John Waters are new favorites.

19.. What’s one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?

You have to make friends with yourself. Treat yourself like your own best friend.

20. What remains at the top of your professional bucket list?

I am very grateful of everything that’s happened already. When finishing an album I always think of the last album I’ve made like the very last I will make, that I might do something completely different next time. I don’t have a professional bucket list. I’d like to keep working and collaborate with fun people, there’s a lot of things that needs to be widened and explored.

19 Apr 2023

Ariana Grande Congratulates ‘Drag Race’ Winner Sasha Colby on Her Crowning

After a star-making turn on season 15 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Sasha Colby took home the crown and $200,000 on the April 14 finale episode. Now, she’s getting her flowers from none other than Ariana Grande.

In a post to her Instagram Stories on Tuesday (April 18), Grande shared Colby’s interview with Vogue, which led America’s Next Drag Superstar to repost the “Positions” singer’s support on her own stories. Grande reposted Colby, this time adding a sweet message for the winner: “I love you so.”

Grande has a storied history with Drag Race. Earlier this year, the singer served as the first guest judge on season 15, where she watched as the queens put on a talent show before the bottom two lip-synched to her hit song “7 Rings.” It’s far from the first time that Grande’s music has been used on the show; in fact, her songs have been featured nine times throughout the show’s run, putting her just below Britney Spears and RuPaul herself for the most times lip-synched in the series.

Meanwhile, Colby is settling into her reign nicely. In her interview with Billboard shortly after her crowning, the drag superstar said that she wanted her win to be a signal to those currently working to erode LGBTQ rights around the world. “To me, this is why I waited [to be on Drag Race], because I was supposed to be here right now, to be the face of exactly what these people are trying to eradicate,” she said.

Check out Ariana’s message to Sasha Colby here before it expires.

18 Apr 2023

These Are the 10 Most Popular Artists for ‘Drag Race’ Lip Syncs

While many formats have come and gone throughout the storied history of RuPaul’s Drag Race, one fundamental tradition on the show has remained since the very beginning — the lip sync.

Whether it’s a lip sync for your life, a lip sync for your legacy, a lip sync for the crown or another variation, the lip sync has become the most inextricable cornerstone of the reality show’s brand. Watching two (or occasionally more) queens battling it out while dancing and mouthing the words to some of our favorite songs is part of the reason why Drag Race has essentially become the unofficial sporting league of the LGBTQ community.

Debates have long been held in the Drag Race fan community as to what constitutes a great lip sync; is it the high-octane dance moves, death drops, duck walks and various other stunts that boost performances to success? Is it the number of reveals — either in costumes or wigs — that a queen can successfully pull off? Is it as simple as how well a queen can convey the spirit of a song?

As valid as all these points are, there is one factor to a successful lip sync that doesn’t often get its due — song choice. Picking the right track for staging a no-holds-barred battle is crucial to the ultimate success of a lip sync. So, the question remains: which recording artist’s songs have soundtracked the most lip syncs on Drag Race?

Below, Billboard breaks down the artists whose songs have been featured the most times in lip syncs on RuPaul’s Drag Race and RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, and why their music has become an essential part of the Drag Race experience.

18 Apr 2023

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’: Sasha Colby Is Ready to Reign as ‘The Face’ of What Transphobes Fear

After a high-octane season that saw the show’s highest ratings in three years, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 went out with a bang on Friday (April 14).

Anetra and Marcia Marcia Marcia

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’: Every Lip Sync From Season 15, Ranked

In the finale episode, the top four queens (Anetra, Luxx Noir London, Mistress Isabelle Brooks and Sasha Colby) performed in a series of solo lip sync numbers, before getting narrowed down to a top two. With Anetra and Sasha Colby advancing to the final event, the pair performed a dramatic lip sync to Amii Stewart’s “Knock on Wood,” where only one queen emerged victorious — Sasha Colby.

The Hawaiian drag superstar — best known for winning the prestigious drag pageant Miss Continental back in 2011 — humbly accepted her new scepter from RuPaul at the end of the finale, declaring that she was dedicating her win to her community. “This goes to every trans person, past, present and future,” she said. “Because we are not going anywhere.”

Colby came into the finale with the strongest track record of any of her competitors — along with never landing in the bottom in any of the show’s challenges, Sasha also racked up four challenge wins over the course of the season, more than any other queen on the show. Fans favored Sasha for the crown, with 47% of respondents to Billboard‘s pre-finale poll declaring Sasha as their winner (Anetra was the next closest with 44% of the vote).

Speaking to Billboard a few days after her crowning, Sasha Colby talked about what it meant for her to win the crown, how she executed two extremely memorable lip syncs in a single episode, her Beyoncé conspiracy theory and why it’s more important than ever to have a trans woman take home the Drag Race crown.

You must have had a wild weekend, queen. 

It’s really been wonderful, I got to spend some time with some really good friends who always supported my work. I just got to soak it in, let it integrate, you know?

Yes, because nothing big happened, right?

No, no, you know, I watched a little show on Friday, but other than that, it was chill [laughs]. Which is exactly how I felt going into the event on Friday night, I was telling the top four when we were doing our numbers, like, “Girls, it’s just brunch.”

Let’s get into it — congratulations to you, our winner, our current reigning! How are you feeling after clinching the crown?

I feel amazing! As a very competitive pageant girl, it’s nice to accomplish something, and it really feels good to sit back and know that this was a job well done. I did everything I could — I mean, I literally put my whole a– out there. It’s just really lovely to get this from the ultimate drag queen herself. 

This is not your first experience taking home a crown — in your career, where does this particular honor rank amongst your many achievements?

This is the highest honor so far, until my presidency [laughs]. No, this is the pinnacle for me. Doing Miss Continental 11 years ago, Drag Race was, I think, about three seasons in. It was pretty new. When I made a miracle happen by winning Continental, I sort of thought that you get one miracle in your lifetime. But it’s wild to think that we made magic again — and by “we” I do mean my tribe, my family, because it definitely was not just me. 

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Musicians Who’ve Spoken Out Against Recent Anti-LGBTQ Bills: Hayley Williams, Lizzo, Ariana Grande…

Right after winning the crown, you had this beautiful moment where you dedicated your win to your community, to “every trans person, past, present and future, because we’re not going anywhere.” With everything going on in the country right now, why was that an important dedication for you to make?

You know, I was thinking about being funny, being cheeky — no pun intended. But really, what summed it up the entire competition me was the fact that I was getting so nervous. You get very in your head, you start feeling insane, like a drag-zilla, if you will. I had to step back and make the competition where it was not about this dream that I was so happy to have achieved. All that was in the back of my head was, “What’s going on?” You know, it was about traveling, and feeling unsafe where we’re going, and this rhetoric on the news about trans folks. 

So it was a way for me to not make it about, “I need to win Drag Race, this is the end-all-be-all.” No, when you’re trying to achieve something, you have to look at what’s after. Once you know there’s something else you have to do that is greater than this desire you have, the desire immediately gets filled because of the purpose you have. To me, this is why I waited [to be on Drag Race], because I was supposed to be here right now, to be the face of exactly what these people are trying to eradicate. 

Well-said. On a much less serious note, on a scale of 1-10, how certain are you in your conspiracy theory that Beyoncé’s Sasha Fierce moniker was inspired by you?

Girl, that is desperate, desperate ploy for Beyoncé to contact me [laughs]. And you know what? The hive has not come for me yet, because deep down they know that they all would have done the same thing. If it meant mother would talk to them? They would’ve done the exact same. 

They’ve just been sitting quietly saying, “Wait, no, let’s see what happens.” 

Ugh, the doors Gia Gunn and I have opened [giggles]. 

There’s so much to talk about from the finale episode, so let’s start with your performance of the original song “GODDESS” — you were in perfect form for this number. Tell me a little about how you went about staging this, because it looked very meticulous. 

Well, I was definitely thinking Continental 2.0 — I definitely have a formula when it comes to performances. Even if it’s a solo, I do have a formula that my dance director has worked with us all on for years; “When you tell a story, you have to have a beginning, a middle and an end.” 

I like to use my body to write the story of what I see in the music. So if I feel a suspension of breath like there was in “GODDESS,” I want to show that with my body. If I feel tension, I want to show it. I remember Monica Monroe told me the most powerful thing is to understand the silence of the music. Because that takes you on a journey, and it points the viewer in the right direction. And, you know, I like being a little f–gy. 

Then we get to the Lip Sync for the Crown, where you executed not one, but two absolutely wild outfit reveals. How much did you have to practice those before getting on the stage?

Can I be real with you? Not one time. The outfits weren’t finished and didn’t get delivered until the day before. I couldn’t unwrap that massive coat, because even if I did, there was no space with enough room to practice that reveal! I’ve done the trick with the second dress before (ripping out a chord from the center of the dress until it falls away), it’s an old-school burlesque trick. But it’s hard to execute, and we did end up painting a little purple on it so it would blend it, which made it a little trickier. So no, that was not rehearsed, and I was really on that stage like, “I am going to rip this off on camera.” I also just didn’t want to be that queen saying “I need to rehearse on the stage! I need to this!” It’s just like, it’s a competition, hold your cards close to your chest. 

Do you have any big plans for what you’re going to do with the $200,000 cash prize?

I think I’m gonna try and save, to be honest! I’d love to save it up so I can buy a beautiful home. But, a splurge might be something like … great teeth, honestly. A star smile! Because dental health is very important! It seems like a vanity buy, but ultimately it’s a healthy buy. 

What can fans expect from Sasha Colby’s reign as America’s Next Drag Superstar?

You can expect the same goofy, silly, sexy girl to come to every city. You can expect high energy, mothering love, and probably some groundbreaking things that are already in the works as we speak. I mean, I’m not gonna stop now! In the eternal words of RuPaul herself, “This is the beginning.”

14 Apr 2023

Here’s Who Won Season 15 of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’

After an extremely competitive few weeks that saw 16 queens contend for the crown, season 15 of RuPaul’s Drag Race finally came to an end on Friday night (April 14) when one queen walked away with the crown.

Filmed live on April 1 at The Theatre at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles, the finale gave all of the eliminated queens a chance to return to the stage and show off their fabulous fashion, before the top four — Anetra, Luxx Noir London, Mistress Isabelle Brooks and Sasha Colby — began their official fight for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar.

Taking to the stage in a series of solo performances, the top four rewrote their narratives for an eager audience: Anetra blossomed into a “Lotus” with her EDM-tinged single; Luxx declared that “It’s Giving Fashion” with her couture single; Mistress psychoanalyzed the “Delusion” of the season with a mesmerizing song; and Sasha Colby ascended to become a “Goddess” with her dance-pop anthem.

With only two queens able to move forward to the final showdown, RuPaul selected Anetra and Sasha Colby as the season’s top two thanks to their stellar performances. Advancing to the famous Lip Sync for the Crown, Anetra and Sasha put it all on the line to the tune of Amii Stewart’s 1979 classic “Knock on Wood.”

Anetra showed off her superior dance skills with a (literally) bleeding heart on her chest that she then removed during the performance. Meanwhile, Sasha Colby gave fans not one but two stunning outfit reveals, all while tearing up the stage and performing her signature hair flips along the way. With the lip-sync over, and the audience at home waiting, RuPaul announced that the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 was…

…Sasha Colby! Your favorite drag queen’s favorite drag queen clutched her face as she accepted the crown and scepter from RuPaul. As the crowd roared with applause, Colby dedicated her award to her community with an empowering statement. “This goes to every trans person — past, present and future,” she proclaimed. “Because we are not going anywhere.”

See the full moment when Sasha Colby clinched the crown below:

14 Apr 2023

Katy Perry Says She’s ‘Due’ for a Tour

While Katy Perry spent a good portion of 2022 dazzling The Theatre at Resorts World for her Las Vegas residency, it’s been six years since her last world tour in support of her fifth studio album, Witness.

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In a new interview with Out, Perry said that it’s about time she hits the road again. “I still love making music. I still love spreading light and love,” she told the publication. “I know there’s a lot of people who couldn’t make it to Vegas. The last time I was on tour was in 2018. I’m… due. How about that? I’m due to go out and see the kids that couldn’t make it to Vegas.”

As for her extravagant Vegas residency, titled Play, the 38-year-old superstar looks back on the experience fondly and with empowerment. “I’m just so proud of the show that we created and we put on. It is such a spectacular show that we love so much,” she shared. “It’s almost like the greatest hits show! I call it all thriller, no filler. I wish I could bring it to the rest of the world, but it’s just not technically possible to cart around OTT toilets and bathtubs. Closing a chapter on Play allows me to start a new chapter. I’m so excited for the potential of my story to continue.”

The power-packed set list kicked off with “ET,” “Chained to the Rhythm,” “Dark Horse” and “It’s Not the End of the World,” and included hits like “California Gurls,” “Hot N’ Cold/Last Friday Night,” “Waking up in Vegas,” “Bon Appetit,” “Daisies,” “I Kissed a Girl,” “Lost/Part of Me/Wide Awake,” “Swish Swish,” “When I’m Gone/Walking on Air!,” “Never Really Over,” “Teenage Dream,” “Smile” and Roar.”

14 Apr 2023

Anheuser-Busch CEO Responds to Bud Light Boycott: ‘We Are In the Business of Bringing People Together’

As conservative country stars such as John Rich and Travis Tritt continue their calls for a boycott of Bud Light, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth has responded to the ongoing controversy on Friday (April 14).

In a statement posted to the company’s official Instagram page and Twitter account, Whitworth said that he felt a responsibility toward making sure “every consumer feels proud of the beer we brew,” pointing to Anheuser-Busch’s history of support for “our communities, military, first responders, sports fans and hard-working Americans everywhere.”

In regards to the ongoing backlash, Whitworth clarified the company’s objectives as a brand: “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” he wrote. “We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”

Conservative backlash to the brand began when transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney participated in a branded partnership with Bud Light, advertising its Easy Carry Contest across her social media accounts, in which she thanked the company for sending her a can of the beer with her face emblazoned on the side.

In response to Mulvaney’s video, artists including Kid Rock and Ted Nugent began speaking out against the brand, with Tritt and Rich starting their own respective boycotts of all Anheuser-Busch products.

Whitworth never directly referenced Mulvaney, Tritt, Rich, or the boycotts themselves in his statement. Instead, he focused on “the importance of accountability and the values upon which America was founded: freedom, hard work and respect for one another,” while also adding that he as CEO would focus more on “protecting [Anheuser-Busch’s] remarkable history and heritage.”

Closing his official statement, Whitworth said that he would “continue to work tirelessly to bring great beers to consumers across the nation.”

Check out Brendan Whitworth’s full statement below.

14 Apr 2023

Halsey Announces String of Shows to Benefit LGBTQIA+ Organizations

Halsey is teaming up with Hard Rock live to perform reimagined versions of their songs for a good cause.

“i’m playing a handful of intimate venues with a string ensemble this summer,” she tweeted on Friday (April 14), adding that donations and proceeds for the show will benefit two LGBTQIA+ focused organizations. Outright International advocates for human rights and equality for LGBTQIA+ people, and invests in the community as well as allies around the world to produce cultural, social and legal change. Human Rights Campaign aims to ensure all LGBTQ+ people — and particularly those who are trans, people of color or HIV positive — are treated as equal citizens around the world. In addition, the events will also benefit Hard Rock Heals, which provides assistance to health and wellness, disaster relief, humanitarian causes and more around the world.

The three shows will take place on June 24 in Hollywood, Fla.; June 30 in Gary, Ind.; and on July 2 in Wheatland, Calif.

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Halsey’s exciting announcement comes amid a treacherous time in the music industry, where a few artists have been sharing transphobic responses to trans activist Dylan Mulvaney teaming up with Anheuser-Busch to promote the brand’s Easy Carry Contest, including Kid Rock and Travis Tritt.

Additionally, conservative politicians have been targeting trans people, drag queens and queer culture in recent weeks, leading to a surge in anti-LGBTQ bills surging through Republican-led legislatures, particularly in Tennessee.

13 Apr 2023

Is Kid Rock, Travis Tritt’s Bud Boycott All Froth?

Boycotting Budweiser is like swearing off Google for online searches: You could do it, but it’s pretty hard to go out for a drink and avoid Bud, Bud Light, Busch, Corona, Modelo, Natural Light, Stella Artois, Michelob or one of the many regional and international brands owned by parent company AB Inbev.

That hasn’t stopped Kid Rock, John Rich and Travis Tritt from lashing out at the world’s leading beer company after transgender TikTok star and social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney shared a video on April 1 of herself participating in Bud Light’s Easy Carry Contest for the end of the NCAA’s March Madness. In the clip, she revealed that the company helped her celebrate her “365th day of womanhood” with “possibly the best gift ever” — a commemorative can of Bud Light with Mulvaney’s face on the side.

The can, which was personalized for Mulvaney and is not available for commercial sale, was enough of an affront to the artists that Rock uploaded a video in which he attempted to obliterate 12-packs of Bud Light with a semi-automatic rifle, while yelling “f–k Bud Light, and f–kk Anheuser-Busch” into the camera. The “Devil Without a Cause” rapper-turned-country-rocker did not specifically call out Mulvaney (or mention the word trans), nor did he say that he was calling for a ban of AB products in his video.

On April 5, country singer Tritt announced that he would be “deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider,” adding that there were “many other artists who are doing the same.” Later that day, Rich of country duo Big & Rich tweeted suggesting he would be pulling Bud Light from his Nashville restaurant/bar Redneck Riviera.

While Rock has already pulled AB titles from his Nashville Honky Tonk Rock & Roll Steakhouse and, according to a bartender during a visit on Thursday (April 13), Rich’s Redneck Riviera is in the process of pulling Bud Light, the artists will have a harder time implementing any kind of ban on tour.

According to Chris Bigelow, president of food and beverage consulting giant Bigelow Consulting, “the artist has no say” when it comes to demanding a venue remove AB Inbev products from taps and venue bars during their shows.

“Maybe if it was a bigger star that said, ‘I won’t play your building [if you don’t remove them]’ and everyone wanted that star to play then maybe you’d say, ‘let’s figure this out,’” says Bigelow, whose company has worked with stadiums, arenas and convention centers to stock their food and beverage for more than 40 years in North America and around the world. “But I don’t see Kid Rock at that level and if he’s already booked to play shows I don’t see anything changing…. “Now if it was Beyoncé or Taylor Swift they might consider changing the taps, but I’ve never heard of them doing that.”

Rock currently has a number of U.S. arena shows on the books for this summer at a variety of buildings that currently have AB products on tap. And while they may not accommodate his Bud-cott venue-wide, Bigelow adds, “He can ask for whatever he wants backstage.”

The artists’ call for a boycott — which has been amplified by conservative network Fox News — is likely to make noise, but not change drinking habits much according to Neil Reid, a professor of geography and planning at the University of Toledo who is also known as the “Beer Professor” for his deep knowledge and study of the suds industry, which he has lectured about across the world for more than 25 years.

“I would imagine that these venues [the artists play while on tour] already have contracts with distributors or outside vendors that run their food service and concessions and I’d be surprised if any of these artists could eliminate any particular beer from these venues,” Reid tells Billboard of the standard contracts in which the venue and/or concession company of record decide what brews to serve based on existing contracts with buildings and distributors.

Reid says AB Inbev is the world’s leading beer barreler, with more than 500 brands that make up eight of the top 10 best-selling beers in the United States and nearly 40% of the U.S. market as of 2021 figures and 30% of the global market. He noted that AB has long participated in outreach to the LGBTQ community, including sponsoring pride celebrations, and that calls for a boycott typically make for good headlines but little else.

“These boycotts are typically a strategy to get those 15 minutes of fame and this one has already gotten it, but the news cycle usually runs out and they disappear,” he says. “Because consumers are creatures of habit — one thing in AB Inbev’s favor — and because they own so many different brands, someone might think they’re not buying one of their products and they actually are. It’s about me as a consumer feeling good about taking action, but I don’t see this adding to any significant numbers that will impact AB Inbev.”

–Additional reporting by Jessica Nicholson

13 Apr 2023

Lil Nas X Sends Heartfelt Message to Queer Fans in Saudi Arabia Longing to Be ‘Free in Your Own Home’

With a rising tide of anti-LGBTQ sentiment making its way around the globe, Lil Nas X wants his fans to know that he is there to support them.

On Wednesday night (April 12), the “Old Town Road” rapper retweeted a report from a fan account that said his song “Sun Goes Down” off of Montero had reached No. 1 on the iTunes charts in Saudi Arabia.

In his tweet, the rapper sent a message specifically to his LGBTQ fans in Saudi Arabia, hoping that the song’s message resonated with them. “to my gays [sic] fans from saudi arabia reading this, i hope this song is getting you through whatever you’re going through,” he wrote. “and i hope someday soon the laws against us change and you can be free in your own home.”

The song traces Lil Nas’ personal journey from experiencing suicidal thoughts at a young age to self-acceptance of his queerness later on in life, with many seeing it as a hopeful anthem to coming out. “I know that you want to cry/ But there’s much more to life than dying,” he sings on the final post-chorus. “Over your past mistakes/ And people who threw dirt on your name.”

The rapper’s tweet was specifically referring to the Middle Eastern country’s criminalization of queerness. According to Human Dignity Trust, a U.K.-based legal advocacy group working to challenge same-sex discrimination laws around the globe, Saudi Arabia criminalizes same-sex sexual activity as well as public gender expression for trans people, with “a maximum penalty of death.”

Lil Nas’ touching message comes a few weeks after the rapper received criticism online for a tweet asking “where do the gays be in africa” shortly after Uganda passed a historically broad anti-LGBTQ law.

See Lil Nas X’s sweet message to his LGBTQ fans in Saudi Arabia below: