These songs by LGBTQ artists are about to become your new ‘hashtag relatable’ tunes. So, in no particular order…
HEAVEN (FT. BETTY WHO) – Troye Sivan
This song is by Troye Sivan, an openly gay 20 year old actor, YouTuber and musician. His single ‘YOUTH’ reached 23 on the Billboard song charts this month. This song, ‘HEAVEN’, Sivan has explained, is about him as a 14/15 year old realising that he was romantically and sexually attracted to boys. It’s about him considering whether he’ll be able to do all he wants to do in life because he’s gay – become a musician and play in front of people (he’s ticked that box), get married, have a family, and other such dreams of his. There are also nods to coming out in the track: ‘the truth runs wild like a tear down a cheek/kids on concrete/the rain to the sea’. This song is ideal for anyone who ever experienced the potential internal troubles of coming out and realising you’re in a sexual or romantic minority, and wants something to relate to.
Ghost – Halsey (video 1) (video 2)
Halsey, AKA Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, a bisexual person, released the song ‘Ghost’ with a music video to accompany other videos for her 2014 EP ‘Room 93’. This video was about heterosexual relations, and is referred to as ‘video 1’ above. Although the actual song uses the word ‘boy’ which implies that it also involved heterosexual relations (Halsey is a woman), she released a second and significantly more popular video for it, referred to as ‘video 2’ above. The second video raised controversy because that video was widely considered to be ‘explicit’, whereas the first video wasn’t, although the subject of the videos was of the same premise. Ashley later complained on Twitter that female-on-female relations shouldn’t be considered more NSFW than male-on-female ones. However, even the fact that there was a video starring her and another woman is very progressive and practically unheard of. The video is definitely worth a watch… plus, it’s a catchy song, plain and simple.
Olly Alexander, the lead singer of Years and Years, is also openly gay. This song uses male pronouns and the word ‘boy’ when referring to a love interest repeatedly. Again, this is extremely rare – even famous gay icons in pop music such as Wham!’s George Michael used female pronouns and ‘girl’ etc. in songs, so it’s great that someone is so confident in their sexuality as to write it into popular songs that will be exposed to the whole world. Alexander has recently spoken in an NME (New Musical Express) interview about gay people in pop music, and detailed how he wants to represent the LGBTQ community and help them progress in the media and the world as a whole. Raw, honest, and well, real, this song is… for anyone who’s ever pined, really.
Alexander is also an actor who has featured in films such as ‘Riot Club’ and ‘God Help the Girl’.
Girls/Girls/Boys – Panic! At the Disco (official video) (director’s cut)
Brendon Urie, the only remaining recording member of Panic! At the Disco, has never explicitly labelled his sexuality, but in a 2013 interview with Fuse TV, he hints at bisexuality here: “A lot of times people want to label something just to make themselves feel comfortable. They wanna call this person gay or this person straight. I have had similar experience with homosexuality, with bisexuality, and that’s something I feel comfortable talking about.
‘It’s not something anyone should have to hide, and that goes along with the message of the song, that it’s important to know who you are, to be able to be proud of that, and have the courage behind your convictions. People can say whatever they want; it doesn’t matter unless you let it affect you.”
Despite this, one thing is for sure: this song is about bi/pansexuality among women. Listen to it and let your sexuality run free!
Girls Like Girls – Hayley Kiyoko
This song is… well, the title is pretty self-explanatory. Not only that, but the music is a moving, emotive narrative of a girl who is dating a boy, but is also interested in another girl. Although I will warn you that some sections are relatively violent, the video is interesting to watch. It depicts the idea that the struggle against heterosexuality and general sexuality as a whole is not only internal, but can affect the way you interact with others – the gender you’ve been into your whole life and perhaps another that you have the potential to explore. Aside the video, it’s a light, fun song that’s perfect for anyone who feels bold about their sexuality and doesn’t feel like they owe anyone an explanation.
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