The mid-1960s to the early 1970s saw the emergence of LGBT artists for the first time in the music industry. The likes of Arthur Conley who was famous for his hit “Sweet Soul Music”, David Bowie with “Space Oddity” and “Ziggy Stardust”, and Elton John with “Bennie & The Jets” and “Your Song”, among many others, paved the road for those who did not fit into the accepted sexuality and gender identity norms.
The 1980s then witnessed an increase in the number of those who did not adhere to the strict gender roles expected of them. From this we got artists like George Michael and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, whose impact helped to increase the overall tolerance of those in the queer community that we find today.
From then on, LGBTQ+ artists saw an increase in coverage as social attitudes began to change, leading to the representation we have today. Admittedly, the representation of transgender and non-binary music artists still remains disappointingly low (I struggled to think of any mainstream artist that I had heard of that wasn’t cisgender), but hopefully the next few years sees a rise in the acceptance of these people. Without further ado, here is my list of queer artists that I like and think you should be following:
#1 Janelle Monáe
Janelle Monáe finds herself on this list after releasing her iconic album “Dirty Computer” which features the songs “Pynk”, “Make Me Feel” and “I Got the Juice” where she is explicitly herself in the public eye for the first time. Monáe, a talented musician, actor, model and writer, came out in 2018 where she stated she identified with both bisexuality and pansexuality. Check out her album “Dirty Computer”!
#2 Frank Ocean
Rapper, singer, songwriter, photographer and record producer Frank Ocean is the next LGBTQ+ artist to find a spot on this list. He is well known for his albums “channel ORANGE” and “Blonde”. He first came out in 2012 when he posted on his Tumblr blog that his first true love was with another man at age 19. If hip-hop, R&B, and soul are genres that interest you, check his albums out!
#3 Years & Years
A personal favourite of mine, Years & Years, is a band, one of whose members is Olly Alexander, a gay man. They released their second studio new album “Palo Santo” that takes place in a fictional world of the same name, within which the norms of gender identity and sexuality do not exist as we know them. Olly Alexander has always been loud and proud about his sexuality since rising to fame and has supported safer sex and anti-LGBT bullying schemes as well as attempting to raise awareness for mental health. I’d recommend checking out the songs “Sanctify’ and “If You’re Over Me”.
#4 Hayley Kiyoko
Hayley Kiyoko is another artist that I personally really enjoy. If you enjoy cute, lesbian romances then look no further, “Girls Like Girls” features a girl who has a crush on her best friend and “What I Need” features best friends that fall in love. Be sure to check these songs out as well as her others!
#5 Keiynan Lonsdale
You might recognise him as the love interest of the main character from “Love, Simon”, but he’s more than just a talented actor. Keiynan Lonsdale recently came out after the release of “Love, Simon” and has since been thriving as an out music artist. Personal favourites of his songs include “Kiss the Boy”, “Preach”, and “Good Life”, all of which I highly recommend you check out.
(All images sourced from Google Images).