Just Jaded
Artist Spotlight: Pride Edition
Written By: Brooklyn Poutra
Welcome back to this month’s edition of Just Jaded. This month’s blog will be paired with the June podcast to feature and discuss our favorite queer artists in honor of pride month! If you want to know more about these incredible artists, be sure to listen to the full conversation with Jade and Joanna here!
Starting off with Hayley Kiyoko, many of us were able to see one of the first artists using pronouns that fit her romantic interests in her songs. Kiyoko identifies as lesbian, and uses she/her pronouns when discussing others she is interested in in her songs. In 2015, Kiyoko released her song ‘Girls Like Girls’ and its accompanying music video which showed a girl in love with her best friend. Being released in the midst of Gen Z youth, this was the first example of queer love in pop music that many of us saw.
Moving on to gay icon Girl In Red, her SoundCloud career kicked off her presence in the music industry at just sixteen years old. With so much of her music being queer focused, there became a running Internet joke asking people ‘do you listen to Girl In Red?’. This became code for asking if people were members of the LGBTQ+ community. Being only twenty three years old, Girl In Red is still discovering and figuring out who she is as a person. Her debut album ‘if i could make it go quiet’ explores darker themes of her exiting adolescence, the tiredness of touring, and of course queer love.
Kehlani has had a long journey with her sexuality, and has explored many different labels within her own personal life. Being a more private celebrity, Kehlani doesn't share lots about her personal romantic life, but she is a great example that demonstrates that sexuality is a journey.
Joshua Bassett is largely known for his music and performance in High School Musical The Musical The Series, but he is also known for his relationship with Olivia Rodrigo. Being a man that appears straight and has had a very public relationship with a woman, Joshua Bassetts coming out on Instagram let fans know that he does identify with the LGBTQ+ community. Bassett does not feel the need to label himself within the community, and is a good person to help young people to understand that labels are not necessary and it does not matter how you identify.
FLETCHER is another unlabeled artist, and she uses lots of pronouns and gender variation in her songs. Having released music sings 2016, FLETCHER’s discography is largely centered around her love for women, and has collaborated with queer icon Hayley Kiyoko. Being an unlabeled artist, FLETCHER shows that it is unnecessary to capture and hold people within a box when it comes to sexuality.
Be sure to check out these incredible artists in honor of pride month and listen to the full pride podcast episode of A Little Jaded here!