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In need of some new tunes from your favorite queer artists? We’ve got you covered; 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 Kim Petras’s “Unholy” follow-up to Christine and the Queens’ long-awaited new album, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
Christine and the Queens Presents Redcar, Redcar Les Adorables Étoiles (Prologue)
Christine and the Queens is dead — long live Redcar. On the new project from the enigmatic French performer, Chris establishes a brand new persona and a brand new musical world that he’s ready to play in for the forseeable future. Redcar Les Adorable Étoiles (translated to mean “Redcar the Adorable Stars”) bears the kind of sonic flourishes fans of Christine and the Queens have come to love; namely, chunky synth patterns and lyrical themes of romantic yearning. But the performance of the songs (almost entirely sung in Chris’s native French) marks a new level of pure theatricality for the star, as Chris births an entire musical universe out of the longing feeling suffusing this album. If Redcar does nothing else (trust us, it will do plenty), it will assuredly make you interested to know more about the mysterious performer at its center.
Perfume Genius, Live at Electric Lady
Avant-pop auteur Perfume Genius is something of an innovator when it comes to live performance — even amidst the pandemic, Mike Hadreas found a way to create a one-of-a-kind concert-going experience that fans gleefully tuned into. But for those who were unable to, no need to fret — the performer’s new Live at Electric Lady EP offers just a taste of what his live show can sound like. Delivering haunting versions of tracks off of his two latest albums, Hadreas spares no instrumentation — pianos, drums, guitars, horns, violins, everything is right there with him as he offers up raw vocal performances to the audience at home. If you stick around long enough, you’ll get to hear the highlight, as Hadreas offers up an otherworldly rendition of Radiohead’s “4 Minute Warning,” translating the relatively sparse In Rainbows-era bonus cut into a serotonin-boosting symphony.
Kim Petras, “If Jesus Was A Rockstar”
It’s been a good year to be Kim Petras; along with debuting her slinky EP Slut Pop, she went No. 1 on the Hot 100 thanks to an assist on Sam Smith’s “Unholy,” becoming the first transgender solo artist to do so. Now, with her latest single, the singer is ready to bask in that spotlight just a little bit longer. On “If Jesus Was A Rockstar,” Kim keeps the the tongue-in-cheek humor that’s pervaded much of her past releases intact as she poses the titular question and delivers some soft-rock-adjacent melodies to keep the theme of the song intact.
Brockhampton, “The Ending”
As Brockhampton’s final album The Family inches closer and closer, the group is leaving nothing unsaid. On “The Ending,” the latest single off the album (due out next week), Kevin Abstract actually takes fans all the way back to the start of the group, reminiscing on days spent with his fellow bandmates before they “made it.” The soulful, looping interpolation of Willie Hutch’s “Let Me Be the One” adds a sense of melancholic nostalgia as Abstract, once again going solo on the new Brockhampton track, addresses how the band changed — money, fame and a fervid fanbase all come up as examples of the collective’s decision to call it quits. It’s a moving portrayal of a person grieving in real time with the ending of an era.
Chelsea Cutler, “Men on the Moon”
With her latest single, singer-songwriter Chelsea Cutler is leaning into her folkier side to nail the feeling of longing. “Men on the Moon” charts a path from isolation to anger, as Cutler contends with life after romance — her skills with a pen remain as first-class as ever, with lines like “It’s only war if there’s a winner” cutting straight to the crux of her pain. Her voice, meanwhile, sounds better than ever, especially as she flexes her higher range on the haunting chorus. If you’re looking to get misty-eyed this afternoon, press play on “Men on the Moon.”
The Blessed Madonna, “Serotonin Moonbeams”
Despite being 30+ years old, Suzane Vega’s classic track “Tom’s Diner” always manages to find new ways to reintegrate itself into modern pop music. The latest track to employ the song’s iconic melody also happens to be the return of a much-beloved dance icon. The Blessed Madonna’s first solo track in 5 years, “Serotonin Moonbeams” effortlessly lifts the hook’s phrasing and seamlessly weaves it into an expression of pure house euphoria. It’s the kind of sound that has made Blessed Madonna one of the most sought-after DJs currently making music, and it’s no wonder why — even with just one listen to “Moonbeams,” you’ll be hitting the replay button in no time.
Bronze Avery, “Softshell”
Bronze Avery certainly knows how to save the best for last — the final single off of his new album Softmetal (due out next week), “Softshell” is Avery’s best work in years. Melding the earworm pop that got him noticed early on with a slinking R&B-meets-singer-songwriter sensibility, the new song sounds like something fresh in Avery’s sonic universe. Add onto that the supreme songwriting, wherein Avery reconciles with a bitter end to a relationship, and you have a stellar song from a pop artist more folks ought to know about.
The category is Madame Tussauds wax figure realness, and Billy Porter is scoring 10s across the board!
On Thursday (Nov. 10), Madame Tussauds and Porter announced on Instagram that the Pose star’s likeness would be the next addition to the chain’s long-running Times Square location. “Madame Tussauds New York is in the process of making a brand new wax figure, and it just might be the most fabulous one yet,” the company wrote. “Coming in 2023, the category is: BILLY PORTER!”
In the photos, fans can see the “Children” singer standing on a pedestal and posing while a group of artists take his measurements. Fans of Porter will quickly recognize the turquoise jumpsuit he’s wearing — the look famously first appeared at the 2020 Grammy Awards, where Porter paired it with wide-brimmed hat that had a motorized curtain of crystalline fringe to cover his face.
In a statement released with the photos, Porter expressed his excitement at being all dolled-up in perpetuity. “I am humbly honored to be receiving my very own wax figure at Madame Tussauds,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure to work with the artists to make this dream come true and I can’t wait to see my twin in New York!”
Tussauds said that they decided to announce Porter’s figure ahead of World Kindness Day on Nov. 13 as a means of honoring Porter’s “vulnerability and supportive nature to all communities.”
2022 saw plenty of other accomplishments for Porter. Along with returning to his music career with the release of his latest single “Stranger Things,” the star spent much of the year promoting his directorial debut Anything’s Possible, a film following a young woman as she navigates her life as a trans high-schooler.
Check out announcement of Porter’s new wax figure below:
Sailors, rejoice — the official tracklist for Sam Smith‘s long-awaited new album has finally arrived.
After teasing fans about the album one day prior, Smith revealed the titles of all 13 tracks off of their upcoming fourth studio album Gloria on Thursday (Nov. 10). In doing so, Smith also unveiled that the album has a number of featured artists set to join them, including Ed Sheeran, R&B-pop singer Jessie Reyez, Reggae performer Koffee and, of course, pop princess Kim Petras.
Reyez is set to appear on two of the album’s tracks — her name appears next to track four, titled “Perfect,” as well as track nine, titled “Gimme.” Koffee also makes an appearance on “Gimme,” while Sheeran will help close out the album on “Who We Love.”
Fans already know which song Petras is featured on — Smith and Petras made Billboard history when their sultry duet “Unholy” climbed to the summit of the Billboard Hot 100 on the week of Oct. 29, become the first solo non-binary and transgender artists to top the chart, respectively. “I am honestly speechless, overwhelmed, nautious [sic], and extremely happy,” Smith wrote in a statement about the track becoming their first No. 1 single. “This is ours Sailors. I do this for you and you only.”
While their collaborations with Sheeran, Koffee and Petras mark firsts for the singer, Smith and Reyez have worked together in the past — the pair teamed up with Calvin Harris for the DJ’s2018 single “Promises.”
Gloria is out everywhere on Jan. 27. Check out the full official tracklist and announcement below.
Gloria Tracklist:
1. “Love Me More”
2. “No God”
3. “Hurting Interlude”
4. “Lose You”
5. “Perfect” feat. Jessie Reyez
6. “Unholy” feat. Kim Petras
7. “How to Cry”
8. “Six Shots”
9. “Gimme” feat. Koffee & Jessie Reyez
10. “Dorothy’s Interlude”
11. “I’m Not Here To Make Friends”
12. “Gloria”
13. “Who We Love” feat. Ed Sheeran
Racers, start your engines — and may the best world leader win!
In a new trailer for the forthcoming inaugural season of Canada’s Drag Race: Canada Vs. The World, fans of the franchise got a sneak peek of the upcoming competition and just a few of the special guests set to appear on the show. One of them just so happens to be the Right Honorable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada.
This marks the first time in the history of the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise where a world leader has been featured as a guest star on the show. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi appeared on the latest installment of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, where she implored viewers and the contestants to vote in the midterm elections.
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The new trailer also unveils a bevy of other guest stars set to appear on the show — Canada’s Drag Race: Canada Vs. The World will feature guest judges including Anjulie, Gary Janetti, Hollywood Jade, and even past winners from the franchise like Monét X Change and Priyanka.
Much like its predecessor UK Vs. The World, the new season will see queens from across the international iterations of the show coming back to duke it out for the crown. Queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race (Ra’Jah O’Hara & Silky Nutmeg Ganache), Canada’s Drag Race (Icesis Couture, Kendall Gender, Rita Baga & Stephanie Prince), RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (Vanity Milan & Victoria Scone) and RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under (Anita Wigl’it) are set to appear.
Canada’s Drag Race: Canada Vs. The World premieres Friday, Nov. 18 at 9pm ET/6pm PT, on WOW Presents Plus. Check out the full trailer below:
As we head towards the end of the year, take some time to listen to some new tunes from your favorite LGBTQ 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 Brockhampton’s lead single of their final album, to Pabllo Vittar’s victory song, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
Brockhampton, “Big P—y”
With the looming release of Brockhampton’s final album The Family later this month, the group is prepping their fans for what’s to come. “Big P—y,” the first taste of the project, sees Kevin Abstract taking center stage, rapping openly about the fact that, no, this is not a joke — after The Family, Brockhampton is done. With a bombastic beat and some of Abstract’s best flow to date, “Big P—y” promises an explosive finish to a dynamic career from this fan-beloved hip-hop boy band.
Pabllo Vittar feat. Gloria Groove, “AMEIANOITE”
After a contentious election in Brazil over the last few weeks that say right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro get unseated by leftist trade unionist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, drag superstar Pabllo Vittar is ready to celebrate. She’s doing so on “AMEIANOITE” (translated to “ATMIDNIGHT” in English) with fellow Brazilian drag queen Gloria Groove. Taking on the persona of a witch being burned at the stake, Vittar brings a hard-hitting club vibe to the new track, basking in revolutionary ideals and nonconformist messages. It’s a fitting theme song for an important moment in her country’s history.
Cavetown, Worm Food
The cosmic insignificance of the human condition has long been a running theme of art — so it’s fascinating to watch as indie-pop star Cavetown takes the concept and carefully examines it on Worm Food. On what could have been a deeply nihilistic album, Robin Skinner instead looks at life through a semi-hopeful lens, comforted by the understanding that we’re all headed for the same destination (as he spells out on the title track, serving as the album’s thesis). Skinners takes listeners on a journey through love (“Frog”), heartbreak (“Wasabi”), anxiety (“Heart Attack”) and so much more, on an album as sonically diverse as the subject matter being tackled.
Fletcher, “Suckerpunch”
Fletcher may have just gifted her fans with an entire album of heartbreak-to-healing anthems with Girl of My Dreams, but that doesn’t mean that she’s done. “Suckerpunch,” the first song off the upcoming deluxe version of the album, builds on the project’s narrative, this time taking listeners back to the origins of the relationship that inspired the entire album. Walking fans through the emotional euphoria of first love, Fletcher delivers a dance-pop anthem for anyone feeling themselves falling in real time.
Billy Porter, “Stranger Things”
Singer/actor Billy Porter doesn’t hold back, ever — so it’s fitting that his latest single, “Stranger Things,” takes a maximalist approach to its call-to-action. The soulful new anthem sees Porter flexing every inch of his impressive vocal range, while commenting on the state of affairs around the world (in summary: things are looking bad). But in the brassy, exhilarating chorus, Porter makes clear that to despair in the face of hard times is to relinquish control; and he’s not willing to do that. “I’mma make the world see/ And be more than a memory/ ‘Cause stranger things have happened to me,” he wails.
Carlie Hanson, “Illusion”
“We plan, God laughs” may as well be the tagline of Carlie Hanson’s new single “Illusion.” On the revelatory new pop anthem, the singer-songwriter contends with feeling stuck in a life that she didn’t anticipate, despite her best efforts. Putting her pen to good use, and her voice to an even better one, Hanson speaks for anyone who has ever felt lost when she belts on the infectious chorus, “This isn’t what I thought it’d be like/ Just an illusion, doesn’t sit right.”
Bob the Drag Queen feat. Ocean Kelly & Basit, “Black”
On “Black,” Bob the Drag Queens’s pounding anthem to Black pride featuring fellow stars Ocean Kelly and Basit, the Drag Race winner and TikTok phenom laces her stellar bars with gas for her people and venom for anyone who would try and shame her. Not only does Bob flex her lyrical acuity with lines that land (“Cause this Mary is a Mac, and I’m sick of wearing black/ Keep dodging silver bullets, cause they coming for my back” stands out immediately), but her production (courtesy of Kelly and longtime collaborator Mitch Ferrino) is on a whole new level. Bow down, because the queen has arrived yet again.
Happy Halloweekend! If you’re looking for some new tunes to fill your party playlists this weekend, look no further: 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 entry in her new era to Cat Burns’ excellent Estelle cover, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
Dove Cameron, “Bad Idea”
Ever since releasing “Boyfriend,” Dove Cameron’s been hard at work promoting her “villain era” of music. But on her latest song, “Bad Idea,” the villainy takes a back seat to some poor decision-making based purely on lust. Cameron’s voice sounds effortlessly excellent throughout the entire track, while the bouncing, jazzy instrumentation gives us a slightly different flavor of her new sound — it may not be as nefarious as her latest music, but it certainly makes us want to hear more.
Cat Burns, “American Boy (Estelle Cover)”
UK singer-songwriter Cat Burns has been on something of a hot streak lately — and it’s not stopping now. The star’s Spotify Singles session, along with giving fans an acoustic version of her bubbly single “People Pleaser,” delivered a stunning rendition of Estelle’s “American Boy. (Before you ask, in light of recent events, no, she doesn’t include the Kanye verse). This gorgeous, slowed-down version of the iconic track shows off every inch of the rising singer’s voice, as she bathes in the rich sonics of the original song, while giving it her own delicious spin.
Cakes Da Killa, Svengali
If you’ve found yourself in a bit of a house music drought since Renaissance dropped, Cakes Da Killa is here to relieve your tension. Svengali, the sophomore album from the hip-hop innovator, is a tour de force of raw talent for the rapper, as he makes like the titular mesmirizer and hypnotizes listeners with the combined skills of stunning flow (specifically on standout track “Ball and Chain”) as well as some extra-dimensional production flourishes (like on the vibe-fueled single “Drugs Du Jour”). So give in and let Svengali send you down a blissful spiral immediately.
Kaash Paige, “Doubted Me”
If you’re in need of some additional Rihanna vibes after listening to “Life Me Up,” we have just the song for you. Fast-rising R&B singer Kaash Paige’s “Doubted Me” exudes the same breathless confidence and vocal acuity that you’d come to expect from the Bad Gal herself, but does so with a different flavor of unabashed flair. On this psychic, gas-powered anthem, Paige lets her haters know where they can stick their nasty comments — it’s her time to shine, and she takes up every inch of spotlight that she can find on this self-confident track.
Corook, “Smoothie”
Everyone has had plenty of moments of putting off self-worth — up-and-coming pop singer-songwriter Corook wants to remind you that it’s a practice. On “Smoothie,” the singer takes all the parts of her personality, good and bad, and blends them together (get it?) to find that she hasn’t “felt this good since I was 18.” Add into that the fact that the song is a deliciously fun pop-rock genre blend, and you’ve got a verified banger on your hands.
Nakhane feat. Perfume Genius, “Do You Well“
When you put two artists like Nakhane and Perfume Genius together, you’d be forgiven for expecting something slow and tragically beautiful as a result. Instead, the pair pivot in the opposite direction on “Do Me Right,” a bright-eyed, sex-positive anthem of hedonism and wish-fullfillment, backed by a beat that refuses to be denied. Nakhane channels their resonant voice into peak performance, while Perfume Genius’ Mike Hadreas backs them up beautifully. Dip your toe into this joyful noise, and you’ll find yourself diving back in for more in no time.
Charlie Puth may feel turned on like a “Light Switch,” but his latest performance shows him getting downright naughty with an assist from a chart-topping song.
On Thursday (Oct. 27), Puth stopped by the studios of SiriusXM to promote his latest album Charlie, which debuted at No. 10 on last week’s Billboard 200. While at the studio, the singer decided to offer up his own acoustic rendition of “Unholy,” the record-breaking Sam Smith and Kim Petras collab that sits atop this week’s Billboard Hot 100.
Before kicking off his performance, Puth said that he “loves this song,” and that his decision to perform it was pretty spur-of-the-moment. “The first song we’re going to do is something I decided to do on the car ride over here,” he said. “I love the people involved in this song, and I just spoke to Sam this morning and told them that I would be doing this.”
Unlike the clanking, industrial-pop sound of the original, Puth’s version simply paired his voice with an acoustic guitar, as he crooned out the seductive lyrics to the hit track, including Petras’ Balenciaga-flexing verse.
The star also made sure to give fans a couple songs off of his new album, delivering live acoustic renditions of “Loser” and “Left and Right,” this time joining in the fun with some light piano. Speaking about the latter song (his collaboration with BTS’ Jung Kook), the singer said that he had a very specific band in mind while writing it. “I wrote this song thinking about the Beatles, because sometimes their voices would be on one side of the speaker due to the limitations of recording at the time,” he said.
Check out Puth’s cover of “Unholy,” as well as his live renditions of “Loser” and “Left and Right,” below:
Fans of Brockhampton can officially rest a little easier — the collective is finally announcing their latest project.
In a series of YouTube clips posted on Thursday (Oct. 27), Brockhampton announced their upcoming “final album” The Family, due out Nov. 17 via Question Everything and RCA Records. The official album teaser shows three men digging through a bag of stolen goods that are seemingly useless — a rubber duck, some small army figurines, gelatinous goo — before discovering an old iPod. Putting in the earbuds one at a time, the trio stop arguing and start to vibe.
The group also posted a short retrospective video called “I Miss the Band Already,” showing archival footage of the band throughout their Saturation era as the come up with the triple album’s title, jot down ideas for how to market it and more, all while Kevin Abstract‘s voice croons over the footage. “I love these n—-s so much,” he sings. “God please don’t make me grow up.”
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The news comes six months after the band announced that their next album would be their last during a much-hyped Coachella set in April. During the performance, they played a clip of Abstract sitting everyone in the band down and telling them he’d made a “group album” in New York, before showing a screen that read “THE FINAL ALBUM 2022.”
The collective then went on an “indefinite hiatus” following the performance, canceling their remaining world tour dates. In the time since, Abstract has occasionally teased updates, but had not confirmed details about the release of the hip-hop boy band’s final album until Thursday.
Watch the teasers for Brockhampton’s upcoming album The Family below:
“There can only be one.” It’s a bombastic and thrilling motto when spoken by the immortal characters of the Highlander film franchise, but much more nefarious in the context of queer artists trying to make it in the music industry.
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For years, LGBTQ artists have spoken about an inferred “queer quota” that exists within the music industry, where decision-makers are hesitant to provide expanded representation to the community at large after filling a pre-determined slot for a queer artist — whether on label rosters, event lineups, radio airplay or various other platforms.
Darren Hayes, the Australian singer-songwriter of Savage Garden fame, recently explained the concept in an interview with Billboard. “When you’re a queer artist, it’s as though you are somehow niche. And there is this unspoken quota that exists, like, ‘Well, we have our one gay person already,’” he explained. “Or, it’s worse than that — it’s patronizing. I get feedback, like, ‘Oh my god, we love you! We can’t play the song [on radio], but we love you.”
Moore Kismet, an up-and-coming superstar in the dance space, told Billboard in a February interview that they “try not to really think about inclusivity riders, or if they’re booking me — a Black queer 17-year-old — to fill a diversity quota.” Even Kim Petras, undeniably the most popular transgender artist currently making pop music, told Billboard last week that there is very little room for her community to thrive in the industry. “There’s always been incredible and talented trans artists, and they have been paid dust,” she said. “That same story just keeps repeating over and over for trans girls who have been making exceptional music and have been pushed under the rug.”
But Petras is part of a changing tide. Sam Smith and Petras made history this week when their sultry duet “Unholy” reached the Billboard Hot 100‘s No. 1 spot. It’s a first for both artists, but also for their communities — Smith became the first out non-binary solo artist to reach No. 1, and Petras became the first out trans solo artist to do the same.
“I’ve been genuinely humbled by the reaction to ‘Unholy,’” Smith tells Billboard of the track’s breakout success via email. “I felt like we’d made something special in the studio, but you never know how that is going to translate. It was only when I started playing it to people close to me and seeing their reactions to the record that I dared to think it might.”
Smith and Petras are far from the only ones bringing much-needed representation to their respective communities. The pair replaced Steve Lacy, the openly bisexual R&B-pop superstar, at No. 1, as “Bad Habit” moved down to No. 2, spending its 16th week on the chart.
Having two gender-diverse artists replace an openly bi artist at No. 1 is a feat that has naturally never occurred in the Hot 100’s been accomplished in the chart’s 64-year history. And according to David James Lennon, a digital marketing consultant at Warner Music Group and co-founder of U.K. collective Pride in Music, it says a lot about the state of the music industry today.
“It’s such a fantastic result for visibility,” he says. “We’ve come a long, long way from the dark days of the ’90s, where labels and managers were regularly telling people not to come out, because it would hurt album sales.”
Smith’s success here is a clear example of the exact opposite, in fact. “Unholy” is not only their biggest hit to date, but also their first big success since coming out as non-binary in September 2019, definitively showing that their identity doesn’t diminish their cultural impact. Add in the fact that the song deals in overtly queer themes — like “on the down-low” hookups where straight-presenting men are sleeping with other guys behind closed doors — and you have the silver bullet for any anti-queer argument still being presented.
Smith, Petras and Lacy aren’t the only openly LGBTQ artists on this week’s chart, either: Doja Cat appears on two songs in the chart’s top 15, as a guest star on Post Malone’s “I Like You (A Happier Song)” at No. 5 and her own “Vegas” at No. 13, Elton John’s collaboration with Britney Spears “Hold Me Closer” remains within the Top 40 at No. 34; Lil Nas X’s League of Legends-themed track “Star Walkin’” sits at No. 43; Omar Apollo’s stunning breakup ballad “Evergreen” comes in at No. 77; and one other Lacy track, “Static,” remains on the chart at No. 96.
After the 2010s helped usher in a new era for queer artists merely existing in the mainstream, the 2020s are already building on that success, where multiple queer artists can not only survive at once, but thrive and top the biggest charts in the music industry.
“We found that when people, especially creators, live their lives authentically and they don’t feel they have to hide who they are, then the art that they put out into the world is so much better,” explains Anthony Allen Ramos, GLAAD’s vice president of communications and talent. “People thrive once they feel fully comfortable and accepted for who they are.”
So, how does a concept like the “queer quota” continue when the two most popular songs in the world are performed by LGBTQ artists? In short; it doesn’t. “Being an out artist doesn’t harm record sales, and it creates visibility for that 14 year old who doesn’t have anyone to speak to and needs someone to look up to,” Lennon says. “It’s like there was a strange mentality that queer people don’t buy records, which is completely bizarre.”
The facts point to the opposite being true — as Billboard reported in a study published with Luminate and Queer Capita earlier this year, LGBTQ music fans regularly over-index when it comes to monthly spending as compared to their straight counterparts. Queer and gender diverse listeners shell out an average of $72 more per year than the standard consumer, and spend 27% more overall on physical sales than the general population.
A significant factor in songs like “Unholy” and “Bad Habit” reaching the summit of the Hot 100 has been TikTok — both songs accrued massive, universal attention across the app both prior to and following their releases, which allowed fans to drum up hype at breakneck speed.
“The beauty of those platforms is you have such a special direct connection to fans, and it was so rewarding to be able to share something with them first hand at an early stage like that,” Smith says. “I was such a novice on TikTok but now I love it, and the positivity and love that we got for the record was so life-affirming.”
TikTok has not only revolutionized the way listeners discover music, or artists and labels market their sounds — the platform has also created a sense of democratization for LGBTQ art, where users can show labels just how popular a song containing explicitly queer themes can get, without any tastemakers interfering to decide what the public does or doesn’t want to hear.
“Anybody can do anything on TikTok, and that provides a platform for a lot of people to be themselves, to be able to create their own content, to be able to engage with artists,” Lennon explains. “If a queer artist’s song resonates on TikTok, then that’s where the audience is, and labels are going to listen.”
When the specter of the “queer quota” is dispensed with, you’re left with a growing number of successful queer artists showing other up-and-coming queer artists that their sexuality or gender identity is not a hurdle to be overcome. “It’s great to have this as a moment for people who are non-binary and who are trans to see success from people like them,” Ramos says. “It’s about making them feel accepted and motivated to strive for their own success.”
Smith affirms that point, saying they stand as a personal example of that very concept. “I know from watching gay artists like George Michael growing up what representation means to marginalized communities,” they explain. “Nothing is as powerful as success on your own terms.”
As for the music industry, Lennon says that the rising tide of LGBTQ representation on the artist side is just a small piece of the equation; when it comes to the more behind the scenes work of the industry, there is still plenty to be done. He points to Pride in Music’s collaboration with Warner-Chappell and British artist MNEK back in 2019 to host a songwriting camp for queer writers as an example of some of the work he’d like to see more of from major labels.
“Whether it’s labels working with LGBTQ songwriters through writing camps like ours, or giving up-and-coming queer artists a place to shine on the live side, or creating more ERGs (employee resource groups) for the queer community, there is so much that can be done,” he says.
In the meantime, Ramos is also quick to point out that the kind of visibility of these back-to-back No. 1s is not only good for queer artists, but good for the larger issue of LGBTQ acceptance at a societal level. “So much of the what is going on specifically with the trans community right now is largely based on people both not understanding and also not wanting to understand what it means to be trans or non-binary,” he explains. “I hope that people have their eyes opened to this and see Sam and Kim and Steve and just want to learn a little bit more. That’s all that we can ask for.”
Fans across the globe know the Queen Diva of bounce Big Freedia for her high-energy features and larger-than-life dance prowess. But the New Orleans-born star wants you to know that when it comes to her career, she means business.
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On Thursday (Oct. 27), Billboard can exclusively announce that after five years, Big Freedia is finally returning to Fuse’s airwaves with a new series, Big Freedia Means Business. Co-produced with World of Wonder (the production team behind RuPaul’s Drag Race), the show is set to air starting in summer 2023 on both Fuse and Fuse+.
The new show will follow the bounce icon as she navigates the various different business opportunities that have come her way in the last few years, including opening a boutique hotel in the French Quarter, starting her own cannabis line and much more. Another big focus? The show will follow Big Freedia as she prepares to launch her upcoming album.
“The No. 1 question we get at Fuse is, when are we bringing back Big Freedia,” Marc Leonard, Fuse’s senior vp, head of content and marketing, said in a statement. “We are beyond excited to announce that Big Freedia is coming home to where she belongs at a moment when she is ready to scale new heights of success. We can’t wait to share those new triumphs with her legions of devoted fans.”
The last time Freedia appeared on Fuse’s airwaves was with her hit show Big Freedia Bounces Back (formerly known as Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce), which followed the NOLA performer as she attempted to bring her local success to a mainstream audience.
Of course, in the time since the show went off the air in 2017, Freedia has unequivocally achieved that goal. Along with collaborating with the likes of Drake, Kesha, Rebecca Black and plenty of others, Freedia has now become a two-time collaborator with Beyoncé, who sampled the star’s work most recently on her chart-topping Renaissance single “Break My Soul.”