Music is about diversity and representation. People use music as a way to cope and escape their reality whilst some use music because it is relatable. But who will the LGBTQ+ community listen and relate to, if there’s hardly any representation in the industry? Research has shown that 20% of 18 to 34-year-olds identify themselves as a part of the LGBTQ+ community. With the community being this vast, it makes little to no sense why there is no proper representation of LGBTQ+ artists in the industry.
Why is representation important?
People in the community will feel seen and they'll start coming out with their work too
Due to the lack of representation in the music industry, members of the
LGBTQ+ community often feel insecure when coming out and showcasing their work. If a closeted teen listens to their favorite artist who also happens to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community, they may gain the confidence and encouragement to come out and be comfortable in their own skin.
It will create an open and safe environment where members can share their talents or passions without fear
It allows many talented teens and young adults to show off their art without fear of hate, homophobia, and discrimination. They’ll have a platform where they can release their art that many other people worldwide might relate to.
To challenge discrimination
Only recently have LGBTQ+ artists been somewhat accepted into the industry. Many artists had to hide their identities in order to release their music. There is very little representation in the many genres of music. So to fight this discrimination many LGBTQ+ artists and allies are fighting for free representation.
With that let’s talk about some of the amazing artists from the LGBTQ+ community that you should listen to!
King Princess
Mikaela Straus who goes by her stage name King Princess is a 20-year-old singer, songwriter, and producer. Hailing from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC, King Princess has gathered a huge following over the past years, including British singer, Harry Styles, and Mark Ronson.
King Princess is unapologetically queer in her music. She normalizes being a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and makes it seem like the openness has existed for years. However King Princess recognizes that this is not the case for the majority and sympathizes with people who have a tough time accepting their sexuality and being comfortable in their own skin during these oppressive times.
In an interview with Genius.com, she said, “Queer love was only able to exist privately for a long time, expressed in society through coded art forms. I wrote this song as a story of unrequited love in my own life, doing my best to acknowledge and pay homage to that part of history.”, here she was talking about the song, 1950. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the pride parade, Queert named king princess as one of the fifty heroes, “leading the nation towards equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people.”
Here are some songs by King Princess worth listening to:
-1950.
-Cheap Queen
-Trust Nobody
2. Halsey
Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, known professionally as Halsey, is an American singer and songwriter. Like many other popular singers, Halsey began her journey on Myspace and Youtube where they amassed over 30,000 followers. After uploading her first song, Ghost, to SoundCloud, Halsey received more than three contracts from different record labels. Recently Halsey has come out as bisexual and has changed their pronouns to she/they. On an IG post talking about her pronouns, Halsey said, "The inclusion of 'they' in addition to 'she' feels most authentic to me. If you know me at all, you know what it means to me to express this outwardly. Thanks for being the best." Talking about their sexuality and their experience on coming out to paper magazine, they said that as an openly bisexual artist, finding this kind of representation in the music industry is really complicated. Halsey said, “It's just a shame that it's so hard for marginalized or minority people to get the same pop music experience as people who are heterosexual or generally part of the majority. They deserve the same pop music experience” addressing their fans who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. During the 2021 BMI Pop Music Awards, Halsey won songwriter of the year, for her song “Herself”, and her songs Kind, Graveyard, Nightmare and You Should be Sad.
Here are some songs by Halsey you should totally give a listen to:
-Without Me
-929
-Is There Somewhere
-Experiment On Me
3. Girl In Red
Do you listen to Girl In Red? This became a secret question among the women of the LGBTQ+ community, to know if they’re queer. Girl in Red is the indie-pop music project of Norwegian singer-songwriter and record producer Marie Ulven Ringheim. When asked about the impact she has on Gen-Z and the LGBTQ+ community, Ulven said that it was really dope and hard to have that kind of impact on such a big generation. Girl in Red became very popular with the rising popularity of the phrase, “Do you listen to Girl in Red?” on TikTok in 2019, when WLW and nonbinary couples began using her explicitly queer songs to soundtrack TikToks that showcased their queer love. Girl in Red was nominated as the sound of 2021, by BBC.
Here are some songs by girl in red you should totally give a listen to:
-Serotonin
-Girls
-Rue
-We fell in love in October
4. VINCINT
Vincent Cannady, stage name VINCINT, is a 28-year-old Philly singer. He was a finalist on the show, Four, which he was hesitant to participate in. VINCINT was brought up in a religious family and studied in a catholic school. He was very self-aware and came out to his parents in grade school to his religious but supportive parents. On being asked about the reason he went on the show Four, he said, “My whole purpose of going on the show was to let little LGBTQ kids who look like me see that this is a possibility and it’s not going to be taken as a joke. You can be taken seriously. You can make a career out of this. And you can be in pop and make pop music.”
Here are some songs by VINCINT you should totally give a listen to:
-Be me
-Higher
-Kill my heart
5. Troye Sivan
Troye Sivan Millet, who goes by Troye Sivan, is an Australian singer-songwriter. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with EMI Australia in 2013 and released his third extended play, TRXYE (2014), which peaked at number five on the U.S. Billboard 200. Sivan came out as gay via youtube in 2017. When talking to another man, Troye had this advice to give out to the members of the LGBTQ+ community who looked up to him, “the other thing is, you don’t have to come out. I think there's a lot of pressure put on it, and I definitely highly recommend it if it’s safe and if you feel comfortable and confident in that decision.”
Here are some songs by Troye Sivan you should totally give a listen to:
-My My My!
-YOUTH
-Easy
6. Conan Gray
Conan Lee Gray is an American singer-songwriter, who rose to fame by uploading songs, vlogs as a teenager from Texas. He signed a record with republic records in 2018 and released his EP Sunset Season. Speculations about his sexuality began upon the release of his song, “Heather”. But this is what he had to say on Twitter, “If labels on sexuality and gender and beliefs and all that great stuff are helpful for u, I'm all for it. U do u.” He’s the kind of person who believes being comfortable in your skin is important rather than having a label. Conan Gray was nominated as the best new artist by Gold derby awards in 2021 and by the people’s choice awards in 2020.
Here are some songs by Conan Gray you should totally give a listen to:
-Heather
-Maniac
-Crash culture
-Astronomy
As these artists and many more continuously fight the heteronormative industry, we as listeners should boost them and challenge the discrimination against the very talented LGBTQ+ artists.
Written by by Prapthi Manjunath
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