LGBTQ+ artists to listen to

Jaycee Hampton Assistant News & Lifestyle Editor

There are thousands of artists who create music every day, for themselves and the audience they want to reach.

As Pride Month continues, many mainstream artists such as Lady Gaga and Lil Nas X have been able to create music for everyone to enjoy and are constantly raising awareness for the LGBTQ+ community. Their pride in the community is refreshing to see, and many upcoming artists have followed in their lead.

Outside of the mainstream music industry, there is a plethora of LGBTQ+ artists to discover, enjoy and support this Pride Month.

Fletcher is a queer artist who has recently gained more popularity. From being no. 1 in 2015 on Spotify’s Viral Chart in the U.S. to performing with Miley Cyrus at Miley’s Rockin’ Eve this past year. Some of her popular songs include “Becky’s So Hot,” “Undrunk” and “girls girls girls.”

Miki Ratsula is a transnon-binary artist whose goal is to be an artist for youth they needed growing up. Many mainstream artists use heteronormative pronouns in their music, but Ratsula wants other gender-nonconforming people to feel seen in popular songs. Using inclusive pronouns is imperative to Ratsula, so their music reflects in that. Their most popular songs include “Wicked,” “Missing June” and “The Daughter That My Mother Wanted” (feat. Jules Paymer).

Janelle Monáe famously worked with Prince in 2013 and still showcases similar music to the late artist, holding his advice close to heart. After identifying as pansexual in 2018 and later as non-binary (using they/them and she/her pronouns) in 2020, Monáe released their album “Dirty Computer.” A book soon followed by the name of “The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer,” which dives into and addresses queer themes. The five stories were co-written by a different collaborating author.

During an interview with The Los Angles Times, Monáe took time to explain the motive behind the science-fiction collection, “We wanted that to be clear we were celebrating queerness, celebrating being trans and nonbinary. We wanted to make sure we spoke about how beautiful it is to be able to embrace the spectrum of gender. And how beautiful it is for people to stand up for you even if they don’t identify the same way as you.”

Some of Monáe’s most popular songs include “Make Me Feel,” “Electric Lady” (feat. Solange) and “I Like That.” Orville Peck has been welcomed with open arms by the LGBTQ+ community following his recent stardom. Peck is a country artist, and there are not many members of the community in that genre of music. He has described that being an openly gay man in the country music industry is not easy. Despite being a proud gay man, his face has never been revealed due to a leather mask with strips of dangling bordello fringe. He chooses to not go into depth on why he wears the mask, leaving it up to our own interpretation. His strength is admirable and his music is loved dearly for good reason. One of his songs, “Dead of Night” was featured on season 2 of “Euphoria,” which brought well-deserved attention to the artist. Other popular songs of his include “Roses Are Fall- ing” and “C’mon Baby, Cry.” Hayley Kiyoko is a lesbian artist that people might be familiar with. With a start on Disney Channel, Kiyoko has starred in multiple shows and movies such as “Lemonade Mouth” and “Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins.” Known as Lesbian Jesus by her adoring fans, Kiyoko has been a light for young girls in the community. Her popular song “Girls Like Girls” has been a lesbian anthem for many years in the community, and in 2023 Kiyoko released a book by the same name. “Demons” and “for the girls” are fan favorites from the artist. entertainment.ed@ocolly.com