Four Hot New Queer and Queer-ish Singles From Your Faves to Usher In Summer
This last week was kind of freaking amazing for queer pop music. We’ve got so many new bops!!! It’s prime time for songs of the summer, and it seems like it was decided that the queer girl community will be the judges this year (that is if “Despacito” hasn’t already won the title, but come on, adding Justin Bieber to a song is a guaranteed way to sell it to queer women). Mary Lambert, Halsey and Lauren Jauregui of Fifth Harmony are out here representing queer women by singing explicitly about relationships with women. Hailee Steinfeld and Carly Rae Jepsen are out here representing for all their queer fans. This is what summer is all about.
“Know Your Name” / Mary Lambert
Know Your Name (Official Video) by Mary Lambert on VEVO.
Mary Lambert’s “Know Your Name” is in my opinion her funnest and danciest single yet, and I’m here and I’m queer for it. The video features an amazing girl gang of queer and trans cuties with nicknames like Horror Scope, Hell Vetica, Princess Sleia and Peach Fuzz. I love it. Then a mysterious stranger shows up and guess what! It’s Bisexual Superstar, Ultimate Bombshell, Brilliant Advocate and Actress Sara Ramirez! When Mary sings “I want to take you out, I want to make you shake, I want to drive you wild, but I probably should know your name,” she’s all of us when we see a brand new crush in the club. Also this video is hella nerdy, which makes it even more adorable. Dang, Mary Lambert is a blessing to this earth. This video and song and artist need to settle down and stop being so dang adorable.
“Strangers” / Halsey
Two more queer artists, Halsey and Lauren Jauregui, teamed up to make a killer duet about queer love falling apart. This song has a strong electronic beat and uses “she” pronouns throughout. Damn, this song is real, “She doesn’t kiss me on the mouth anymore, ’cause it’s more intimate than she thinks we should get” and “I miss the thought of a forever, you and me, but all you’re missing is my body.” These lyrics cut deep for any queer lady who’s felt someone they knew and loved become a stranger. I love love love this song and I love love love the precedent it’s setting of queer lady artists teaming up to make queer lady pop songs. Let this be the start of a new genre!
“Cut To The Feeling” / Carly Rae Jepsen
When it comes to gay-ish songs, we were blessed by both Hailee Steinfeld and True Gay Icon Carly Rae Jepsen. Carly Rae’s song is from her upcoming animated film Leap! about a young ballerina in Paris. According to NPR the song was originally intended to be on E•MO•TION: Side B, but was instead saved for the soundtrack to this movie. It’s a classic Carly Gae track, its ridiculously danceable, the hook makes your heart feel like it’s soaring, and the beat is gay as h*ck. Gawd I love this song. I want it played at every dance I ever go to for the rest of my life. “I wanna cut through the clouds, break the ceiling. I wanna dance on the roof, you and me alone. I wanna cut to the feeling, oh yeah” — same, girl, same.
“Most Girls” / Hailee Steinfeld
Hailee Steinfeld has been regularly putting out some of the best gayish pop songs in the past couple years with songs like “Love Myself” and “Starving.” Now she’s back with the girl power anthem Most Girls, which flips the script on “you’re not like most girls” by singing “Most girls are strong and smart and beautiful. Most Girls are Most girls, work hard, go far, we are unstoppable. Most girls, our fight to make every day. No two are the same, I want to be like Most Girls.” I really absolutely love this girl positive message that is body positive, anti-slut-shaming and all about loving girls for who they are. It gets my vote for song of the summer. I’m pretty sure this song was called “All Girls” until Hailee found out that white women voted for Trump.
Queer Women and women with huge queer fanbases are taking over pop music this summer and it’s honestly the best thing to ever happen to me.
Which of these songs is your song of the summer?