MNEK and Hailee Steinfeld – ‘Colour’

MNEK is a ‘once in a blue moon’ songwriting talent. Perhaps our country’s finest purveyor of pop melodies – writing songs for the likes Beyoncé and Dua Lipa, his latest track is an exemplary addition to his neverending list of bangers, and we should be treating it as such. Colour, his collab with actress-turned-singer Hailee Steinfeld, is a perfectly formed, painfully catchy pop track that doubles up as a handy reminder of the colors of the Pride Flag!

Hayley Kiyoko – ‘Curious’

The world seems to be going wild for Hayley Kiyoko, one of the rare female pop stars who’s rejected the industry’s tendency to fetishize women in music for a male audience and create her own sexual narrative instead. Her song ‘Curious’ has racked up over 12 million views on YouTube this year already, and approaches bisexuality in a way that reclaims it from the performative queerness created by ‘I Kissed A Girl’-era Katy Perry. Not only that, but she’s won a loyal fan in Lorde too, who tweeted a link to the video when it first dropped.

Nakhane – ‘Clairvoyant’

A contemporary R&B star with more soul than most modern pop stars would know what to do with, Nakhane‘s queerness plays a pivotal role in his music. His latest album, ‘You Will Not Die’ sees the South Africa-born, now London-based singer reflect on his upbringing as a queer boy in a Christian household, and how he escaped his religion to become free again. It’s one of the most moving records you’ll hear all year, and the catchy ‘Clairvoyant’ is a stand-out track.

King Princess – ‘1950’

“I hate it when dudes try to chase me,” Mikaela ‘King Princess‘ Straus sings on the first line of her breakout hit ‘1950’: her languid song about being queer and in love. Full of allusions to the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, and how far we’ve come since the decade the song’s named after, it propelled the 19-year-old Brooklynite into the spotlight earlier this year when Harry Styles tweeted the lyrics to it. Keep an eye out for a bunch of other great songs she’s got under her belt, all set to be released through Mark Ronson‘s new label.

Janelle Monáe – ‘Make Me Feel’

After years of avoiding questions regarding her own sexuality while still aligning herself as an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, the arrival of Janelle Monáe’s Dirty Computer era also became her ‘coming out’ moment. No song could mark it better than the groove-fuelled banger ‘Make Me Feel’. Designed to fill dancefloors at nightclubs and send funk fans into hysteria, it’s one of the best tracks of the year so far, and proves the Kansas City native is one of the best performers of our age.

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