This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at McGill chapter.

Top 10 LGBTQ Musicians

I don’t know about you, but music is one of the most important things in my life! I used to play a few instruments when I was young, but nowadays my Spotify account is pretty much my only connection to music. I have playlists for studying, playlists for cooking, playlists for working out, and even one for sleeping. I believe that a day without music is a day wasted.

As a proud member of the LGBTQ community, I also have a playlist that regroups all of my favorite queer contemporary artists. And since I’m an awesome human being, I’ll share it with you!

1. Tegan and Sara

They are Canadian! They are twins! They are gay! We love them for their awesome songs that you just can’t stop singing like Boyfriend and Stop Desire!

They are also activists in the LGBTQ community and have started a foundation called The Tegan and Sara Foundation (TSF) which fights for health, economic justice and representation for LGBTQ girls and women. (from their website: https://www.teganandsarafoundation.org/about-tsf )

They are awesome role models, and I so so wish I could meet them!!

2. Hayley Kiyoko

Often referred to as the “Lesbian Jesus,” Hayley Kiyoko is a singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer! Her videos give me life and make me gayer every single time! She writes songs based on her own experience in the lesbian dating world, and is an advocate for LGBTQ rights!

My favorite songs by her are definitely Curious and Feelings.

3. Coeur de Pirate

Now, if you aren’t from Quebec, you might not know her. But still, she did write a few English songs. Personally, I’ve been listening to Coeur de Pirate since I was 11 years old!

Her real name is Beatrice, but we all know how as Coeur de Pirate (Pirate’s heart in English). She’s a queer francophone artist, born and raised in Montreal, and has been playing piano since the age of 3. Her songs, which create vivid imagery, are mostly in French, but she produced a bilingual album called Roses. Her latest album came out in 2018.

4. Pomme

Pomme (Apple in English) is a singer-songwriter from France. Her real name is Claire, and at 22 years old she is already quite incredible. Similar to Coeur de Pirate with songs that have powerful imagery, she writes a lot about love, life and the life experience of a young adult in this world.

I saw her in concert in November, and she’s the sweetest thing on stage. You will never find a more authentic artist, who treats everyone like their friend and who isn’t scared of being herself on stage (she told us all about a very common Quebec struggle she experienced: buying winter boots!) Also she’s so pretty!! Pomme, if you’re reading this, I want to date you! Call me!

5. Safia Nolin

This is my roommate’s favorite queer artist! Safia Nolin is a singer-songwriter from Quebec. Her style is quite mellow, and she even says it herself, her songs are mostly sad.

Safia also used to date Pomme (which I find funny) and even though they broke up, they still collaborate a lot! She wrote her a song when they broke up, called Lesbian Breakup Song, which is super relatable!

6. Dodie Clark

Dodie Clark is a 23 years old bisexual singer-songwriter from England. On Youtube, she does a lot of ukulele and piano covers, as well as original songs, and has now reached 1.8 million followers.

My favorite song of hers is called She.

7. Mika

This year marks 10 years of love for Mika for my roommate and me. As 12 years old, we used to sing his songs at the top of our lungs, my screaming gibberish because I didn’t speak English, and her trying to reach the same high notes he does! Although his sexuality has been speculated about for many years, Mika was my first personal “gay icon”!

He’s the kind of person who keeps surprising you! Did you know that he speaks Mandarin Chinese, has been honored, in France, with a knighthood for services to music, and doesn’t label himself as anything when it comes to sexuality because he doesn’t feel that he needs it?

Let’s just agree he’s awesome, and go listen to Grace Kelly all together!

8. Fletcher

I discovered Fletcher not long ago (because I heard a rumor that she was dating one of my favorite Youtuber) and I’ve fallen in love with her! Her songs are so relatable, and her videos are so aesthetically pleasing! Her new song, Undrunk, now reached the top 10 songs on the Pop All Day playlist on Spotify. She’s got this beautiful raspy, suave voice that I would kill to have, and she’s also a black belt in karate, which is amazing!!

9. King Princess

King Princess, a stage name that represents perfectly this genderqueer gay singer-songwriter, is what people are calling young Mikaela Straus these days. The Brooklyn raised 20 year old is starting to make quite a name for herself. Although she doesn’t have a first album yet, she did release an extended play called Make My Bed in 2018, and looking at her growing popularity, I think it’s safe to assume she’ll be releasing an album quite soon.

10. Halsey

My love, my savior! She made my coming out easier, like a nice warm cup of tea after a bad day. Although she is not loved by all, Halsey is a great artist, with a lot of talent and songs that are both catchy and deeply relatable. As a young biracial bisexual bipolar woman, Halsey has been involved in a suicide prevention campaign ever since she tried to take her own life at 17. She also speaks out in her songs and on social media about women speaking up, and not letting people, and society, tell us what to do and who we should be!