Pride
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Chappell Roan caused a stir earlier this year when she rejected the White House’s invitation for her to perform at a Pride event in June. Now, the singer is saying that had she attended, she would have done much more than just perform.
For the latest cover of Rolling Stone, Roan told the publication that she originally intended to accept the White House’s invitation to the event — but she planned to protest the Biden administration’s involvement in Israel’s attacks on Gaza instead of performing one of her songs.
“I had picked out some poems from Palestinian women. I was trying to do it as tastefully as I could because all I wanted to do was yell,” she said. “I had to find something that’s tasteful and to the point and meaningful, and not make it about me and how I feel. I don’t know if I’ll ever get that close in direct sight of the president ever in my life. This is my shot.”
While Roan said that her publicist ultimately talked her out of her protest (saying, “You f–k with the president and the government, your security is not the same, and neither is your family’s”), she firmly stands by her decision not to attend the event. “I’m not going to go to the White House because I am not going to be a monkey for Pride,” she explained, before criticizing the administration’s walked-back statement about gender-affirming surgery for minors. “Thank God I didn’t go because they just made a huge statement about trans kids.”
When performing at Gov Ball, Roan took a moment during her show to tell her audience that she refused the White House’s invitation to perform, dedicating her song “My Kink Is Karma” to the administration. “We want liberty, freedom and justice for all,” she said. “When you do that, that’s when I’ll come.”
The “Good Luck, Babe!” singer also dispelled a rumor that her distaste for the Biden administration’s treatment of Palestinians and trans youth meant that she was a supporter of former president Donald Trump. “I saw a couple of TikToks where they were like, ‘So she’s pro Trump?’ It is not so black and white that you hate one and you like the other. No matter how you say it, people are still going to be pissed for f–king some reason,” she said.
The singer later told the publication that she was supporting Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House this November. “Right now, it’s more important than ever to use your vote, and I will do whatever it takes to protect people’s civil rights, especially the LGBTQ+ community,” she said. “My ethics and values will always align with that, and that hasn’t changed with a different nominee. I feel lucky to be alive during an incredibly historical time period when a woman of color is a presidential nominee.”
Jennifer Hudson will accept the first-ever Elizabeth Taylor Rowdy Activist Award for her ongoing support for people living with HIV, and for the LGBTQ+ community. The award will be presented at The Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End AIDS fundraising gala on Sept. 26 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Hudson, who will […]
RuPaul’s Drag Race and We’re Here alum Bob the Drag Queen spent the better part of last year with pop icon Madonna. Now, the drag star is ready to tell fans what the singer is like behind the scenes. In a clip shared on Saturday (Sept. 7) from one of her recent standup shows, Bob […]
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Summer might be over, but new releases from your favorite queer artists are still heating up. Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ artists.
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From Halsey’s ’90s-inspired new single to Mxmtoon’s dreamy new offering, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below.
Halsey, “Ego”
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With an album title like The Great Impersonator, it’s clear that Halsey is ready to flex her range. “Ego,” the latest offering from the singer’s forthcoming new LP, sees them embracing a ’90s alt-rock sound to help them reign in their own psyche. Powerful drums and fluid guitar lines drive the new track forward, as Halsey declares that she “should try to kill my ego/ ‘Cause if I don’t, my ego might kill me.” Regardless of who is killing who, we can say for certain that Halsey definitely killed this song.
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Mxmtoon feat. Kero Kero Bonito, “The Situation”
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Getting older can be tough, and Mxmtoon would like the record to show that she’s handling it as best she can. Throughout “The Situation,” the singer-songwriter very simply laments the passage of time as another birthday comes around. The folk-rock sound Mxmtoon and guests Kero Kero Bonito employ give the track a boost of cheer, while lyrics like “we get older and then we die/ and there’s nothing you can do about it” even the mood back out, making for a delightful song about the inescapability of age.
Sevdaliza feat. Anitta, Pabllo Vittar & Yseult, “Alibi Pt. 2”
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With her original track “Alibi,” Sevdaliza, Pabllo Vittar and Yseult painted a picture of a female bond so close that she could literally count on them to help her cover up a crime — for the latest remix of the track, the trio turns into a quartet to drive home that point. “Alibi Pt. 2” adds Brazilian superstar Anitta to the mix, making the queer anthem that much more palpable as the artists trade verses over this baile-funk track about women across the gender spectrum having each other’s backs, come what may.
Ashnikko, “Paint the Town Blue”
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Ashnikko has long relished her role as the anti-hero that alt-pop music needs — now, she’s ready to revel in that status on “Paint the Town Blue.” Release in concert with the trailer of season 2 of Netflix’s hit League of Legends show Arcane, “Paint the Town Blue” sees Ashnikko employing hard-hitting, rock-inspired production and bossed-up lyrics to give the series’ protagonist Jinx just that little bit of extra edge: “Oh, you want a villain?” Ashnikko asks. “Lemme show you how I evil.”
Lauren Auder and Wendy & Lisa, “I Would Die 4 U (Prince cover)”
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Reinterpreting a Prince classic is a risky choice, especially with a beloved single like “I Would Die 4 U.” But singer Lauren Auder’s team up with funk-rock icons (and former members of the Revolution) Wendy & Lisa not only pays tribute to the late icon’s work, but gives it new meaning when sung from a trans person’s perspective. Part of Red Hot’s forthcoming Transa benefit album for trans & non-binary communities, this glorious, exalted cover of “I Would Die 4 U” brings new life to a song that deserves it, from a trio of artists exceedingly well-equipped to deliver an all-time great cover.
Sleater-Kinney, “Here Today”
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Rock duo Sleater-Kinney have just a few more things to say. Off their upcoming deluxe version of this year’s Little Rope LP, “Here Today” sees Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein doing what they do best — recognizing life’s shortcomings on a truly delectable rock song. Over a thrumming melody of fuzzy guitars and crisp drums, the pair lament “a world that’s gone insane,” while simultaneously understanding the need to enjoy life while you can. After all, we’re all “here today and gone the next.”
Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below:
Jason Aldean defended wife Brittany Aldean’s stance on gender-affirming care for transgender youth and his thoughts on Donald Trump during an on The Tucker Carlson Show Sept. 4.
The former Fox News host brought up Brittany’s previous comments calling gender-affirming care for transgender youth “genital mutilation” in a social media post in 2022, which garnered backlash from artists including Maren Morris and Cassadee Pope.
“My wife is very outspoken and she’s very firm in her beliefs,” Aldean said, noting that the couple share a 5- and 6-year-old, and that he also has a 21- and 17-year-old. “We were talking about it earlier, you’re trying to make things normal to me that aren’t normal. And, I think when she said that, it’s just like there’s a certain — I feel there are people that are going to take offense to everything these days, no matter what you say. [Brittany] said that and people jumped all over that, but I mean, I agree with her.
“If you want to be trans or do those kinds of things, if you’re an adult and can make those decisions and you’re old enough to have the mentality to know what you’re doing and know what that looks like for the rest of your life, that’s one thing,” he continued. “If you’re, as a kid, your parents are already instilling that in you and, like, all this stuff and allowing you to do those things before you are of age … you can’t even vote until you’re 18. Why should you be able to do that? Or [you can’t] drink a beer until you’re 21, but you can change your … it’s just weird to me. I think if somebody wants to do that and they’re old enough to make that decision, hey, it doesn’t affect my life, whatever. But you can’t try to make that normal to everybody.”
Aldean later added, “I got to send my kid to school and we’re talking about, like, the transgender stuff and like, ‘What do I do if he comes home and is, like, ‘Man, there’s a girl in my class that’s a boy.’ That’s hard to explain to a 5- or 6-year-old. I don’t want to have to explain those kinds of things to a 5-year-old who doesn’t get it … it’s those kinds of things that made me kind of step up [politically] a little bit more.”
The Endocrine Society and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health do not recommend gender-affirming surgery for anyone under 18, and medical experts who provide this type of care previously told Billboard that underage patients are not allowed to make such life-changing decisions by themselves.
“Prior to any gender-affirming medical or surgical intervention, all minors must have an intake with a knowledgeable mental health provider internal to our system,” Dr. Joshua D. Safer told Billboard in 2022, after Brittany made her initial statements. “Once deemed ready for a medical/surgical intervention, the processes we have for adults are then brought into play.”
Elsewhere during the chat with Carlson, the country artist discussed the upcoming election, as well as his friendship with Trump.
“I love Trump, man,” Aldean said, and recounted how he got to know the twice-impeached former president. “I did think it was cool that here’s this guy that is really not a politician, and at the time you had, all the A-list stars were going, ‘Oh, Trump’s running for president.’ They were all excited, almost kind of like it was a joke a little bit. And then, he won, and I don’t think anybody thought he would win. And for the next eight years, it’s been nothing but trying to just, like, slander this guy and just all the stuff you watch him deal with in the media.”
The musician also shared how he had been invited to Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida residence, where they played golf and generally “hit it off.” Added Aldean, “I kept in touch with him over the past few years, and try to see him when I can.”
The country artist, who sat next to Trump during the Republican National Convention, said that he “had no intentions of getting political — it just kind of happened.” He noted that having young children inspired him and his wife to pay more attention to politics. “My thing is, I don’t vote for the person,” he shared. “Like, as much as people may say that’s a lie or whatever, for me it’s like, ‘Which of these groups is going to take the country in a direction that I feel like it should be taken for my family, my kids and their future and those kind of things and to me, that’s what I base it on. I feel like personally, for me, that’s him.”
As for whether Trump will win, Aldean said he hoped so, but he thought the business mogul — who was convicted of 34 charges of falsifying business records in May — was going to win in 2020 as well. “I’m obviously a supporter of Trump. Do I think he can be brash sometimes and say some things that he could probably have a bit better of a bedside manner? Sure,” he admitted. “At the end of the day, I don’t really care if he hurts your feelings or not, as long as, like, as a country we’re moving in the right direction, the economy is great, there’s jobs for people. … One of the reasons I’m a supporter of his, I just like the direction I feel like he would take us.”
Watch Aldean’s full interview with Carlson below:
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Brat summer may be over, but Charli XCX and Troye Sivan both agree that the future of pop music is in good hands. In a new cover story with i-D, Charli and Troye broke down their respective careers and friendship, while teasing what’s to come from their highly anticipated fall tour. During the conversation, the […]
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Reclusive pop chanteuse Sade‘s first new song in more than six years will be released in November when her track “Young Lion” appears on the TRAИƧA benefit album from the Red Hot organization. The 46-track concept LP is due out on Nov. 22 and features collaborations between more than 100 artists including: Sam Smith, Laura Jane Grace, Devendra Banhart, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Bartees Strange, Faye Webster, Julien Baker, Moses Sumney, Hunter Schafer, André 3000, Arthur Baker, Fleet Foxes, Teddy Geiger and many more.
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Sade has not put out a full-length album since 2010’s Soldier of Love and her most recent singles are a pair of songs from 2018, “Flower of the Universe” from the A Wrinkle in Time movie soundtrack and “The Big Unknown” from the soundtrack to the Steve McQueen-directed drama Widows.
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The New York Times described the vibe of the song featuring a soft piano riff and Sade’s iconic soothing vocals, pointing to lyrics “steeped in empathy and regret.” On it, Sade sings, “Young man, it’s been so heavy for you/ You must have felt so alone… I should have known/ Shine like a sun/ You have everything you need.”
The compilation of new songs, covers and exclusive tracks aims to support trans awareness and features trans, non-binary, genderqueer and cisgender acts and is dedicated to Sade’s son, Izaak, who identifies as a trans man. According to a release, the project began to come together in 2021 and marks one of the most ambitious projects ever from the Red Hot non-profit that has raised more than $15 million since 1989 to benefit HIV/AIDS relief and awareness. It is described as “a spiritual journey across 8 chapters and 46 songs, spotlighting the gifts of many of the most daring, imaginative trans and non-binary artists working today alongside contributions and collaborations from allies such as Sade, Sam Smith, André 3000, Clairo, Moses Sumney and many more. It softens the edges of the world we know, and invokes powerful dreams of the futures that might one day thunder from its cracks.”
It continues, “Trans people have always existed, with many different names across time and culture, often as spiritual healers and leaders. As global systems continue to fail humanity and all life on Earth, the journey taken by trans people – and all peoples who have been oppressed – is a blueprint of possibility. May this be a glimpse of our collective liberation, and the light inside all of us.” With more than three-and-a-half hours of music, the project is broken into eight chapters in a reference to the eight stripes on the rainbow pride flag.
Speaking to Variety, Red Hot executive director Dust Reid — who compiled the album with Massima Bell — said the idea was to celebrate all the “gifts that trans artists have been giving to the world… We hoped to create a narrative that positions trans and non-binary people as leaders in our society insofar as the deep inner work they do to affirm who they are in our current climate. We felt this is something everybody should do. Whether you identify as trans or non-binary or otherwise, if you took the time to explore your gender, get in touch with the feeling side of yourself, maybe we would have a future oriented around values of community, collaboration, care, and healing.”
Bell, a model and activist who is transgender, told the Times that Sade’s song was a revelation. “It’s amazing to hear a legendary musician like Sade sing about her heartfelt experience as the parent of a trans child,” Bell told the paper. “It’s incredibly powerful.” Reid added that the project was partly inspired by the death of beloved electronicmusician/producer Sophie in 2021. “Sophie was a boundary-pushing, generation-defining musician and one of the most important trans artists we’ve ever had,” said Reid.
The collection’s first single, a cover of Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U” from Lauren Auder and former Prince & the Revolution members Wendy & Lisa, is out now; listen to the song below and see the album announcement and full tracklist).
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TRAИƧA tracklist:
1. “Midnight Moon Pool” – Mary Lattimore, Laraaji, MIZU and Jamal Shakeri
2. “You Don’t Know Me” – Devendra Banhart, Blake Mills and Beverly Glenn-Copeland
3. “How Sweet I Roamed” – Jeff Tweedy, claire rousay
4. “Same Train” – Heart Shaped and Christian Lee Hutson
5. “STAR” – Ana Roxanne and Nsámbu Za Suékama
6. “Please Tell Me” – Lightning Bug
7. “Make ’em Laugh” – Benét, Faye Webster
8. “Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying” – Julien Baker and Calvin Lauber feat. SOAK and Quinn Christopherson
9. “Rumblin’” – Soft Rōnin feat. Frankie Cosmos
10. “Deeper Understanding” – Hand Habits feat. Bill Callahan
11. “Under the Shadow of Another Moon” – Hunter Schafer and Cole Pulice
12. “Blush” – Grouper and Lucy Liyou
13. “Is It Cold In The Water?” – Moses Sumney
14. “Know Who You Are At Every Age” – Anajah and Gary Gunn
15. “Is It Over Now?” – Niecy Blues feat. Joy Guidry)
16. “Something Is Happening And I May Not Fully Understand But I’m Happy To Stand For The Understanding” – André 3000
17. “Come Back Different” – Nina Keith feat. Julie Byrne and Taryn Blake Miller
18. “Song To The Siren” – Rachika Nayar feat. Julianna Barwick and Cassandra Croft
19. “Love Hymn” – Arthur Baker feat. Pharoah Sanders
20. “People Are Small / Rapture” – L’Rain feat. Voices from the NYC Trans Oral History Project
21. “We’ve Been Through So Much” – Jlin and Moor Mother
22. “My Name” – Kara Jackson, Ahya Simone and Dave Longstreth
23. “Point of Disgust” – Perfume Genius and Low’s Alan Sparhawk
24. “In Another Life” – Lomelda and More Eaze
25. “Pink Ponies” – Teddy Geiger and Yaeji
26. “A Survivor’s Guilt” – Yaya Bey
27. “Just Last Night” – Helado Negro and Eileen Myles
28. “Feel So Different” – Ezra Furman and Sharon Van Etten
29. “Mourning Dove” – Gia Margaret
30. “Feel Better” – Adrianne Lenker
31. “Any Other Way” – Allison Russell and Ahya Simone
32. “Down Where The Valleys Are Low” – Asher White, Eli Winter and Caroline Rose
33. “TM” – Fleet Foxes, Cole Pulice and Lynn Avery
34. “Querube” – AV María, SKY and Belina Rose
35. “Within Without” – Green-House and Kelela
36. “Aaron” – Cassandra Jenkins, Bloomsday and Babehoven
37. “Young Lion” – Sade Adu
38. “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” – Moses Sumney, Lyra Pramuk and Sam Smith
39. “Many Ways” – CLARITY feat. Clairo
40. “I Feel Free” – Sparkle Division feat. Pepper MaShay
41. “Get Free” – Nico Georis, KB Brookins
42. “Wolf Like Me” – Bartees Strange, Anjimile, Kara Jackson
43. “Surrender Your Gender” – Laura Jane Grace feat. Lee Ranaldo, Jayne County, Kathi Wilcox, Jay Dee Daugherty and Am Taylor
44. “I Would Die 4 U” – Lauren Auder and Wendy & Lisa of the Revolution
45. “Always” – Time Wharp, Elizabeth and Beverly Glenn-Copeland
46. “Ever New” – Sam Smith and Beverly Glenn-Copeland
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