As Pride Month continues, we wanted to celebrate a handful of artists from the LGBTQ+ community that have inspired us featuring The Aces, Elton John, Freddie Mercury, Halsey, and the Scissor Sisters. Read 4 personal yet very different connections from 4 of our writers and be sure to check out our Pride playlist at the very end.
The Aces
By Baylee Avery
One band that I think deserves recognition from the LGBTQ+ community is The Aces, an indie-pop band that consists of four young women, two of them being sisters. I first found out about The Aces a few years ago when seeing them perform on Late Night With Seth Meyers about a month after their debut album was released and immediately became invested in their music.
Three out of four members of The Aces are openly gay - Cristal and Alisa Ramirez, as well as Katie Henderson. In fact, Cristal has a video uploaded on The Aces’ official YouTube channel about her coming out story, which I highly recommend checking out.
What I find admirable about them is the fact that even after being told to not sing about girls, they still sang about girls on their second album, Under My Influence. It was very refreshing to hear in the music and it made every lyric feel real and more realistic than the songs off their debut. Especially in tracks such as “New Emotion”, “Kelly” and my personal favorite track (and favorite The Aces Song in general), “All Mean Nothing”.
Whoever is reading this, I highly recommend going on whatever streaming service you use and listen to their music. Specifically, their Under My Influence album.
Elton John
By Isabel
My personal Elton John journey began with the release of ‘Rocketman ‘and the biography Me Elton John. Hooked by a film that is one of my personal favorites of 2019, I embarked on a journey into a world of color, music, and fun.
Classics like 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' or 'Honky Châtea' helped Elton John to astronomical success. Together with his lyricist, Bernie Taupins, John composed countless albums and is one of the most successful artists in the world.
What fascinates me about Elton John and his music is a theme that seems to run through it: an awareness of expectations and the urge to work against them. Someone who is unapologetically colorful, covered in glitter, and likes nothing better than his creativity running wild.
Elton John has not stopped living music until today. Be it releasing songs with Rina Sawayama or chatting in Instagram lives with Dua Lipa. Such a long career and still an open eye for young talent - Elton John is simply a legend.
Freddie Mercury
By Evie Wagner
In the music industry, only a select few manage to achieve legendary status. In my book, Freddie Mercury is number one with a bullet. I consider him to be the greatest rock frontman of all time; going places with his music, style, performances and persona that no one else at the time dared to go. Freddie has always been a true inspiration to me in so many ways, I even have a tattoo dedicated to him, and during Pride Month it is especially relevant to talk about how his sexuality and individuality has impacted and inspired the LGBTQ+ community.
Through the years, there has been much speculation about Mercury’s sexual orientation, and whether he was gay or bisexual. While Mercury never officially came out, many believed he was bisexual due to his relationships with both men and women. However, it may be true that Mercury was a gay man who got involved with women because he was trying to build a career - and survive - in an era of rampant homophobia. Famously, the lyrics to Queen’s smash hit enigma “Bohemian Rhapsody” have been analyzed to lead some to believe it was a coming-out story. This theory has never been confirmed.
In 1987, Freddie Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS, and privately fought the illness for nearly five years, only revealing his diagnosis publicly to the world a day before his death. For gay men in the 80’s, AIDS was a death sentence. Misconceptions were everywhere, and the illness was often referred to as the “gay disease” because it affected mostly homosexual men. Already living through a time where same-sex attraction was considered a mental illness, tragedy, or joke, and whilst having parents who practiced Zoroastrianism, a religion that saw being gay as a type of demon worship, Mercury battled his illness bravely until his last breath. Through this time, he continued to work and record music, releasing two more studio albums with Queen and contributing vocals to their final album, Made In Heaven, released posthumously in 1995.
Though he was taken from us far too soon, Freddie Mercury’s legacy will live on forever. He was strong, talented, daring, confident, kind, unapologetically flamboyant and unique, and inspired countless individuals, especially those in the LGBTQ+ community. Freddie was 100% himself and never diluted who he was for anybody - and that’s what I love most about him.
** Postscript: In 1992, Brian May and Roger Taylor founded the Mercury Phoenix Trust - a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting AIDS worldwide. To date, they have raised over 17 million pounds for more than 1,000 projects in 57 countries and counting. You can donate to the Mercury Phoenix trust here.
Halsey
By Giulia Sabatinelli
I chose Halsey because joking when I was little I used to say “she makes me question my sexuality.” Years after here I am, a bisexual nineteen year old with still a love for halsey (I even saw her live. Gay panic).
Halsey is a openly bisexual person that deals with many important current topics such as abuse and black lives matter. She took part in demonstrations and helped the injured people together with Dominic Harrison, known as Yungblud.
Despite the option many people have of her, she’s a good example of resilience and also a person who really cares about the world she lives in.
Scissor Sisters
By Sara Brown
Scissor Sisters might be the US’s best kept musical secret. Enjoying the majority of their success in the UK, the band is based out of New York City, beginning their career playing shows in various clubs all over the city. Throughout their career they’ve earned the favor of legendary musicians Roger Waters and David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) for their unique cover of “Comfortably Numb” that became a dance club hit in the early 2000s, as well as the favor of Elton John, who collaborated with the band for two tracks on their sophomore record, Ta-Dah, from 2006.
I discovered this band completely by chance on Spotify when “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing” popped up in a playlist I was listening to. I couldn’t get that song out of my head after I heard it, so I jumped into their full discography head-first the very next day. What’s most addicting about Scissor Sisters for me is their ability to blend elements of glam rock, classic rock, pop, and even disco and funk with unconventional sounds and eclectic lyrics that have always made them stand out from their musical peers.
What I love most about Scissor Sisters is their refusal to be anything other than their true selves. They’ve always done their own thing, no matter how unconventional or controversial. I believe authentic bands make the best music, and Scissor Sisters’ authenticity shines through in their fun, upbeat tunes and their more serious tunes too. Their authenticity inspires me to embrace the things that make me unique, the things that make me stand out. Not every band has that kind of effect, and it’s so special when you come across one that does.
If compliments from Pink Floyd and collaborations with Elton John aren’t enough to convince you how good this band is, you’re just being stubborn. Spice up your playlist with one of their tunes, or be like me and go ahead and jump face-first into all the incredible music they have to offer – you won’t regret it, and I think you’ll even show yourself a little self-love in the process!