20 Notable LGBT Songs Released In The Last Five Years | Playlist

6. Who Is Fancy ft. Meghan Trainor & Ariana Grande, “Boys Like You”

[2015]

“Boys Like You” is taken from the perspective of a gay male, singer Who Is Fancy (Jake Hagood).  Despite a greater tolerance and acceptance of homosexuality in recent years, there are relatively few songs about attraction from the gay perspective. “Boys Like You” gives Who Is Fancy the opportunity to share his feelings.  Like everybody else, he has his share of crushes, attainable, worthwhile or not:

“Try, try, try, to follow the rules / I break every one of them with boys like you / my oh my, doing what I always do / yeah I’m crossing every line to get to boys like you / boys like you, you, tripping, freaking falling over boys like you”

Who is Fancy notably gets strong assists from Meghan Trainor and Ariana Grande. Having two of pop’s biggest stars collaborate with an up-and-coming artist is huge.  Bigger is the fact that they collaborate on a song that breaks barriers.  Sure, songs about same-sex attraction are growing in number, but there’s still hesitancy nonetheless.

7. Mary Lambert, “Secrets”

[Heart on My Sleeve, 2014]

Singer/songwriter Mary Lambert doesn’t give a flip about “Secrets” – “I don’t care if the world knows what my secrets are.” On her song from her album Heart on My Sleeve, Lambert is honest about her status in life and the world.  Rather than hide her problems, quirks, and personal matters, she embraces and shares them with the world.  This goes against the grain:

“They tell us from the time we’re young / to hid the things that we don’t like about ourselves / I know I’m not the only one / who spent so long attempting to be someone else / well, I’m over it.”

On the second verse, she is blunt about her sexuality:

“I can’t think straight / I’m so gay.”

“Secrets” isn’t explicitly about the LGBT community, save for the previously cited lyric, but the messaging is applicable, specifically in reference to the closet.

8. Kacey Musgraves, “Follow Your Arrow”

[Same Trailer Different Park, 2013]

Country music is among the least tolerant musical genres when it comes to the LGBTQ community.  Even so, neo-traditionalist country artist Kacey Musgraves gives a liberal, open-minded spill on “Follow Your Arrow.”  In effect, Musgraves embraces the motto of YOLO.  Before delivering a ‘bullet’ about sexuality, she opens the record brutally honest:

“If you save yourself for marriage, you’re a bore / you don’t save yourself for marriage, you’re a horrible person…”

Pre-marital sex Musgraves? Things kick off wing a bang and the chorus grows even more progressive:

“So, make lots of noise / kiss lots of boys / or kiss lots of girls if that’s something you’re into / when the straight and narrow gets a little too straight / roll up a joint, or don’t / just follow your arrow wherever it points…”

Unsurprisingly, “Follow Your Arrow” created a stir upon its release.  Regardless, Musgraves stated that her fan base has embraced it.  Apparently, the record wasn’t controversial initially, but eventually was expanded to include the bi-curious, lesbian reference.  Even beyond its LGBTQ reference, country fans likely take issue to the rebelliousness of the record itself.

9. Troye Sivan, “BITE”

[Blue Neighbourhood, 2015]

Alternative pop artist Troye Sivan delivered a gem with his full-length debut album, Blue Neighbourhood.  As a whole, Blue Neighbourhood masterfully captures Sivan’s experiences as a gay male and how to coping with being different.  One of the most distinctive records from the deluxe edition of the album is “BITE.”  “BITE” literally has a bite about it, sounding dirty and ultimately suspect.

Apparently, this dirty, suspect sound is the effect that Sivan desired.  According to a Pop Buzz interview, Sivan stated:

“‘BITE’ is about my first time in a gay club.”

Sivan confirms what is asserted by the lyrics of “BITE”:

“Don’t you wanna see a man up close? / A phoenix in the fire.”

In the interview, he goes on to state the atmosphere was chaotic and he “wanted to capture the chaos”:

“… [I was] taken aback by the sticky floor, the shirtless men, and everything else.”

Lyrically in “BITE,” things only get sketchier:

“The rapture in the dark puts me at ease / the blind eye of the storm / let’s go for a walk down Easy street / where you can be reborn.”

“BITE” is a statement about losing virginity, not necessarily sexually, but in regards to a life experience. For Sivan, this is his first experience in a gay club, marking a rite of passage in his life as a gay individual. It parallels a number of first experiences, regardless whether they are sexual or not.  While not everyone will relate to “BITE,” it has relatable aspects regardless of a person’s walk in life.

10. A Great Big World ft. Futuristic, “Hold Each Other”

[When the Morning Comes, 2015]

Interestingly, “Hold Each Other” isn’t the A Great Big World’s first foray into LGBT-related songs.  On their debut album Is There Anybody Out There?, the pop singer/songwriter duo featured a song entitled, “Everyone Is Gay.” The song came off a bit corny but came from a good, unifying place on AGBW’s part.  “Hold Each Other” is more meaningful, particularly for Chad King, who is gay.

King embraces his sexuality on the second verses, fearlessly using the pronoun he throughout:

“Everything looks different now / all this time my head was down / he came along and show me how to let go…”

King goes on to a variant of the hook to affirm his preference:

“Something happens when I hold him / he keeps my heart from getting broken…”

While “Hold Each Other” arguably makes a subtle statement, the statement made is notable considering a commonly stated point: There are few instances in pop music same-sex male relationships are referenced.  A Great Big World tastefully tackles the topic, in the name of the bigger picture of love and unity.