Representation matters and in 2021, we are seeing LGBT+ representation in many fields. Sports, movies, and of course, the music industry! It’s important for people to see themselves in their desired professions. Gone are the days of the early 2000’s where a label exec would make an artist hide their sexuality for fear of loss of revenue. The gays are here and ready to support new LGBT talent. In this article we will be showing you 5 LGBT+ musicians you should check out if you haven’t already! 

#1: Greyson Chance

You probably first heard of Greyson Chance when he went viral in 2010 for his amazing cover of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi”. He was on Ellen, made a music video which Ariana Grande acted in, and even went on tour with Miranda Cosgrove. In a 2017 Instagram post, Chance came out as gay saying “"I came to fully recognize that I was gay when I was sixteen. I decided not to publicize my sexuality largely due to a matter of privacy, as I was still trying to find comfort and confidence within my own skin.” Since then he has found his own sound, releasing his second album and his first in 8 years, Portraits (2019) and more recently, 2021’s EP Trophies. He also released “Athlete” , a song for the LGBT Hulu show Love, Victor. 23 year old Greyson has become somewhat of a sex symbol with his newer material, diving into topics in his music such as sex, addiction and lust. “Boy you got me fucking on my knees” he sings in 2019’s “black on black”. 

Songs to check out: Hellboy, black on black, Nobody, High Waisted, Hands

#2: Kim Petras 

There’s a few unspoken rules of being gay and stanning Kim Petras is just one of them. If for some reason you are unaware who this queen is, she is a trans German pop goddess. She debuted in 2017 with her single “I Don’t Want It At All”, a self-described “sugar baby anthem”. “I want all my clothes designer, I want someone else to buy ‘em”! Icon! Paris Hilton was featured in the music video and it put Kim on the map. Since then she has released her debut album Clarity (2019), as well as multiple Halloween Electro-Pop EP’s entitled Turn Off the Light Vol 1 & 2. Yes, you read that correctly: HALLOWEEN POP MUSIC. Literally nothing better! Her sophomore album is confirmed to be released this year and with her just being signed to Republic Records this month (Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd are on Republic to name a few) 2021 is set to be the year of the Petras and we couldn’t be more ready!

#3: Lil Nas X

We all know and love Lil Nas X and his music but I think sometime’s the stature of his career is overlooked. His commercial success and impact on the music industry is incredibly impressive. While having the courage to come out publicly as gay a few years ago after the record breaking success of Old Town Road, he has since incorpated his queerness into his art. Visuaully his music videos have become unapoligetically gay (see Call Me by You Name and more recently Industry Baby). With that, he has gained widespread criticism from far right commentators spinning the narrative of Nas pushing the “gay agenda” on his “young fanbase”. Billions of streams, Multiple Grammy wins, and his debut album isn’t even out! Tentatively titled Montero (Nas’ birth name), the LP is set to drop sometime in the summer/fall. Here’s to more great music and the gay agenda being pushed! 

Songs to check out: Sun Goes Down, C7osure (You Like), F9mily (You & Me), Industry Baby

#4: Hayley Kiyoko

Hayley Kiyoko first came to the spotlight in Disney’s 2011 movie Lemonade Mouth, but has had a very interesting career since. In 2021, her fanbase refers to her as “Lesbian Jesus” and we couldn’t love that name more! Identifying as a lesbian, in 2015, she released the queer anthem “Girls Like Girls” in which she sings “Girls like girls like boys do, nothing new”. She has done much advocacy work for the queer community since coming out, dedicating her 2018 VMA win to queer women of colour. Through her music, Kiyoko’s goal is to normalize lesbian relationships in society and also the music industry which she calls inherently hereteonormative. Her debut album Expectations was released in 2018 and features a collab with Kehlani. More recently, she released the project I’m Too Sensitive for This Shit in January of 2020 which features 5 new tracks. Her sophomore album is set to be released this year and we can’t wait to be blessed once more by Lesban Jesus! Amen to that.
Songs to check out: Curious, Girls Like Girls, What I Need (feat. Kehlani), Demons, Chance

#5. Vincint

Vincint blasted onto the scene on season 1 of The Four. His powerful vocals and electric personality was broadcasted across the world and he soon found his own fanbase. He names Madonna, Britney Spears and Bjork as musical influences. His song “Be Me” was selected as the anthem of season 5 of Queer Eye. Vincint released a slew of singles in 2018 including “Mine” and “Remember Me”, but it was 2021’s single “Higher” that got him some big attention. It starts at a 10 and only gets better, the track being reminiscent of Robyn’s early work. About Vincint and his debut album, Billboard wrote “The dancefloor as a cathartic sanctuary is a hallmark of queer culture, and with debut album There Will Be Tears, Vincint demonstrates just how intimate and emotionally authentic dance-pop can be.” The album also features queer icons Tegan and Sara on the track “Getaway”. 2021 has been Vincint’s year and we only see him getting bigger! 

Songs to check out: Higher (feat. Alex Newell), Getaway (feat. Tegan and Sara), What If, You, Be Me