(Photo Credits: Eren Li from Pexels)
The humankind may not always see eye to eye on many things, but we all love a great music. I guess it’s for this reason that someone once said, “Music is the universal language of mankind.” Don’t you think so, too?
Anyway, some gay men on Reddit shared their favorite LGBTQ-themed song. Please feel free to tell us what’s on your Pride playlist in the comments section below.
- Montero (Call Me By Your Name) – the singer, Lil Nas X, is as unapologetically queer as his song. Released eight months ago, Variety described the single as “one of the most defiantly queer chart-toppers of all time,” and as “the ultimate earworm on the album.”
- I’m Coming Out – a song released by American singer Diana Ross on August 22, 1980 for her self-titled tenth album Diana (1980). It was written and produced by Chic members Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers. The latter confirmed in a Tiktok video that they wrote the song after watching several drag queens perform as Diana Ross at a New York club. Rogers said:
So the way that the song I’m Coming Out came to be was when we went to work for Diana Ross we wanted to write about things that were in her universe, so we went to her apartment and interviewed her for a couple of days. One particular night I went to a club, The Gilded Grape, and I happened to notice that there were at least 6 or 7 Diana Ross impersonators, so I went outside to call Bernard and said ‘you know, Diana Ross is revered by the gay community. If we wrote a song called I’m Coming Out for Diana Ross it would have the same power as James Brown’s Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud’ and next day we met in the studio […] and then from that we built the song.
- Bloom – released three years ago, Bloom was one of the songs from Troye Sivan’s album called TS2 which was released in June 2018. In his interview with Dazed magazine, Sivan said that Bloom is “100 percent about flowers!” The interviewer translated it as “a gay anthem for bottoms” and even went as far as to say that the song is about the “receptive partner losing his virginity.”
It’s true, babe/I’ve been saving this for you/Promise me you’ll hold my hand if I get scared now/ Might tell you to take a second baby slow it down/You should know I bloom, I bloom just for you.
Other Troye Sivan songs mentioned on the thread were: Heaven, Bite, and “any song off Blue Neighborhood.”
- Him – Sam Smith released it in 2018 as a coming out song. It also tells the story of a guy whose religion is in conflict with his sexuality. “That song is a coming-out song from a boy to his dad,” Smith said in an interview. “It’s just a general story. It’s not my story. I wanted to make that song for my community, for the LGBT community.”
In Him, Smith sings: Holy Father, we need to talk/I have a secret that I can’t keep/I’m not the boy you thought you wanted/Please don’t get angry, have faith in me
- Forbidden Love – released in October 25, 1994 in Madonna’s album called Bedtime Stories, this song was also included in her 1995 Something to Remember album which, by the way, is one of my favorite Madonna albums of all time if not the most (favorite).
- I Like Boys – is a coming out song released by American singer Todrick Hall during Pride 2019. He co-produced and co-wrote the song with Jean Yves Ducornet. The lyrics of the song goes like this:
Mama come, come doll, take a seat/There’s someone you know that you’ve got to meet/So brace yourself for the big reveal/He’s about my height when he’s not in heels/Some boys play basketball/He played house with ratchet dolls/It’s not Santa Claus, it’s time for applause/It’s comin’ out the closet
- Macho Man – is the Village People’s second single recorded in 1978 for their album of the same name. It peaked at #25 on Billboard Hot 100, and it reached #14 on the Disco Singles chart.
According to Billboard Magazine, Macho Man is a “spirited fast paced percussive track highlighted by multi-part harmonies and a rugged lead vocal.”
- I Am What I Am – is a song from the 1983 hit Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles about a gay couple. Jerry Herman, an openly gay man, composed the song.
I Am What I Am has many covers including that of Gloria Gaynor in 1983, Eddie Fisher in 1983, Shirley Bassey in 1984, among many others.
The song starts like this: I am what I am/I am my own special creation/So come take a look/Give me the hook or the ovation/It’s my world that I want to have a little pride in/My world and it’s not a place I have to hide in/Life’s not worth a damn/’Til you can say I am what I am
Happy listening!
“In Him, Smith sings: Holy Father, we need to talk/I have a secret that I can’t keep/I’m not the boy you thought you wanted/Please don’t get angry, have faith in me” There’s a painfully sad misunderstanding by Smith here about our relationship with God. He created us, loves us, knows who we are (by name), and we can keep no secrets from Him. All he asks is for us to follow His 10 Commandments. None of them say “though shall not covet your neighbor.” No where in the Bible does He say “Not gay be ye.” Jesus is never quoted… Read more »
Just because THEY’RE singing the song from a different perspective than yours doesn’t mean it’s “wrong” or a “misunderstanding”. To piggyback on that, it’s mentioned in the article Smith THEMSELVES said the song isn’t related to any aspect of THEIR lives. However, as a gay man who consistently struggled w/ my sexual orientation and my faith, I found the song to be INCREDIBLY moving. Despite the song coming from a perspective who hasn’t EXPERIENCED what others have felt whilst wrestling with their faith and orientation, it was great to hear Smith sing this from a place of EMPATHY (empathy is… Read more »
Since I don’t have any playlists based on race, ethnicity, political affiliation, creed, national origin, etc., having one just on sexuality doesn’t seem very accepting, tolerant, or diverse.
Besides, I play music while I am working. Most of what’s on the list in the article would make me feel like I was in a Disco or would just be anything other than supportive, motivational, or uplifting in a positive work day way.
I totally agree!
Bro, this was just a light-hearted article about music celebrating the LGBTQ+ community (which I’m assuming you are a part of). No need to stick your nose up in the air about it. Be nice!
Bro. Check the mirror about whose nose is up in the air and who’s not being nice. Diversity applies to everyone not just to the LGTBQ+ Communnity.
How about a favorite music list, music is universal, there is no pride genre of music
Why are some of the comments on here coming off so standoffish?? This is just a light-hearted article about music regarding the LGBTQ+ community (which I’m assuming we’re all a part of). Where did this aloof, nose-in-the-air disposition come from?? LOLOL I actually APPRECIATE articles like this because I find myself CONSISTENTLY listening to the same music. Music articles like this help me broaden my horizons with music (I would have NEVER gotten hooked onto Florence and the Machine’s music if it wasn’t for their LGBTQ+ inspired record “Spectrum (Say My Name)” listed in a music article. Guess where the… Read more »
How about “I Want A Bear” by DaddyB?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VM1ir7sfqA This video is not great art! But it is hilarious. There is apparently a stereotype that bears do not dance. Then there is DaddyB who uses them to choreograph his song. I find myself laughing all through the video In the late 90s, the Bears of San Francisco threw its first International Bear Rendezvous. One of the major events was a huge dance party (with some of the best DJs The City had to offer) in the ballroom of the host hotel. The rather large room was packed with dancing bears!… Read more »
Now Matter What Happens from Barbra Streisand is the best coming out song ever. The studio version of course.
snap – “rhythm is a dancer” .. “rhythm is a dancer, it’s a soul companion, you can feel it everywhere .. mmmm”
ciara – “1 2 step” .. “rock it, don’t stop it, everybody get on the floor .. “
lipps inc – “funkytown” .. “gotta make a move to a time that’s right for me, toned to keep me groovin keep me movin with some energy .. “