Lesbian as THE New Genre of Music

morena (she/her)

"When I first signed with Columbia [Records], I said I wanted to start a new genre of music," Siwa told Billboard News. "They said, 'What do you mean? ' and I said, 'It's called “gay pop”. ' It's like K-Pop, but it's gay pop. - Jojo Siwa (2024)

So…what is “gay pop” exactly? And why do I (and many others) take issue with Siwa’s claim to this genre of music? Well, it essentially means music created by queer artists for queer people. However, the music Jojo was referring to in this quote wasn’t actually queer music in general, but music specifically from lesbian artists. 
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Now, before I get canceled, my title is click-baity on purpose. This article is not campaigning for a new genre of music called “lesbian music” (so yall can relax now LMAO). But I did explicitly want to reference the term “lesbian” in the title of this article, as it is often perceived as a “dirty” word by traditional media. In fact, Jojo herself has gone on record to say she will not use the word lesbian to refer to herself or her own music; instead, she uses the terms queer and/or gay. Yet, why should we let this be the case? Why do we often default to “gay” or “queer” when we are actually talking specifically about lesbians? 

Lesbian is often deemed provocative, something that mainstream media cannot discuss or share. Yet, there are a few mainstream artists now that are actively going against this notion, claiming the word lesbian with pride. Therefore, I think the rise in popularity of queer pop artists, specifically lesbian pop artists, is very important right now. 

There are four women in music that I want to talk about in this article, but there are many many more. In no particular order, I wish to discuss the rise of the following lesbian artists in mainstream music: Renee Rapp, Chappel Roan, Billie Eilish, and Hayley Kiyoko. 

Renee Rapp: ​

Renee Rapp holds a special place in my heart–I have followed her since her musical theater days and have been an avid fan ever since. 
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In 2018, Renee performed at the Jimmy Awards and went viral [this award show is basically the Tony Awards for musical theater kids]. She sang her rendition of All Falls Down from Chaplin, capturing the attention of a large audience online. She ended up winning the competition, earning the award for Best Performance from an actress. After her big win at the Jimmy’s, she became immensely popular in the musical theater industry, ultimately scoring her the role of Regina George in Mean Girls on Broadway. I remember seeing clips of her singing at the Jimmy awards and falling in love with her voice, becoming very proud to see how she had grown during her run on Broadway. 

Following her run as Regina George, which was cut short due to the pandemic, she began to star in a television series called The Sex Lives of College Girls. Her character Leighton is portrayed as a wealthy university student who just so happens to be a lesbian herself. Though, at the time, Renee was still figuring out her own sexuality; in interviews she explains how the first season of the show was incredibly hard for her to film: “I was just in a panic constantly … I was so freaked out by the idea of my sexuality, not being finite or people laughing at me or me laughing at myself that I hated the first year of filming”. Through these experiences and in her own music, she was not afraid to discuss her own sexuality in comparison to her character and the journey she took to be comfortable with the term “lesbian”. She even discussed how she used to identify as bisexual, before being fully comfortable in her lesbian identity. While bisexuality is a valid identity in itself (I myself am bisexual lol please do not cancel me) some do use that term to “water down” their own queerness or to appease others. As such, it makes sense that now (after Renee has become confident with her lesbian identity), she has decided to leave the show to pursue her own music. 

In 2022, Renee released her debut EP entitled Everything to Everyone; this mini album was so special to me, as it was the first time that I saw a queer-coded album become mainstream. Her songs Don’t Tell My Mom and What Can I Do were so popular on social media, that it led to many interviews, shows, and opportunities for Renee to produce her own studio album the next year. Snow Angel was an important album, as she was able to fully come out as a lesbian and showcase her true self through this music. Pretty Girls and Messy (on the deluxe version of this album) are my personal favorites; as these two songs give an explicit declaration of her queerness and struggles with depression. 

Consequently, I think it is so nice to see her be open with her true feelings in front of such a large audience. She has been quoted saying how she used to “not feel gay enough” in the past, so it is very heartwarming to see how she is now very proud of who she is and is able to encourage other young girls to be confident as well.

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​Chappell Roan:

My inspiration for this article, Ms. Chappell Roan. Chappell is a new drag artist that has become popular in mainstream media due to her new song Good Luck Babe, released in 2024. 

Formerly, she used her government name Kayleigh Rose to release her song covers on YouTube; and in 2017, she released her very own song entitled Die Young when she was 17 years old. This song earned her a signed deal at Atlantic Records, throwing her into the music industry right away. She released her debut EP School Nights in the same year, becoming an underrated queer artist. It was not until 2020 when she released a song called Pink Pony Club that she began to see a rise in popularity, as this song was a stylistic change from her previous releases. However, this style shift caused her to be dropped from her label,forcing her to fund her own music and take a short break from releasing songs to the public. 

In 2022, she began to release music again, this time independently from any record labels. And in the next year, she was able to release her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess: the origins of her rise to immense fame. [For me personally, my favorite song on this album has to be Coffee or Casual; but that isn’t that important right now lol].  

By early 2024, she gained a large following because of her music being unapologetically lesbian. Something that I find really cool is that she was the opener for Olivia Rodrigo on the Guts World Tour, a very mainstream pop artist. Meaning, she was able to share songs about lesbians falling in love, queer topics, and drag performances with a very large audience- something that is pretty rare. Normally, these topics are reserved for “queer spaces” and aren’t necessarily celebrated in the mainstream music industry,yet, she changed this. As a result of her performances during the Guts tour, her album became known as a “sleeper hit”, and her follow up single Good Luck Babe reinforced her position as a rising star in the mainstream media. 

Now, Chappell is known for her unapologetic and flamboyant performances, largely inspired by drag queens. She credits Sasha Colby especially for her style of performance, and makes sure to shout out other queer artists in every award show or interview she participates in. Even while guest starring on Jimmy Fallon, she made sure everyone knew it was Sasha Colby who said “I’m your favorite drag queen’s favorite drag queen” and that she is the “real” gay icon. 

In my opinion, Chappell Roan is such an amazing artist and person—she is constantly making sure that queer artists and queer love are being celebrated, she maintains her own boundaries, and is always true to herself. She is going to be a great inspiration for many young lesbians and I think that is so special to see in mainstream media.

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Billie Eilish:

Billie Eilish is not new to the music industry by any means, but only recently has she “come out” as part of the LGBT community. Such a large household name being proud of their sexuality is a big deal (in my opinion) and can help a lot of young girls also become confident with themselves. 

In 2023, Billie explicitly referenced her sexuality in a Variety interview, explaining why she chose not to make a grand gesture about “coming out”. She says “But I kind of thought, ‘Wasn’t it obvious’? I didn’t realize people didn’t know. I just don’t really believe in it. I’m just like, ‘Why can’t we just exist’? I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I just didn’t talk about it. Whoops”. Such a mainstream artist not only being open about their attraction to other women, but also talking about issues like the concept of “coming out” is so revolutionary. This opens the door to allowing queer conversations to enter mainstream spaces, and opens the door for more queer artists to enter the mainstream media as well. 

Her most recent album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, released in 2024, has since been credited as a lesbian pop anthem: with songs like Lunch being about lesbian sex. She has not shied away from her sexuality in her music and is unapologetic about including such themes in this new album. Since her “coming out” experience, she is now more explicit in her references to sexuality; however, she is still able to maintain her own privacy by reinforcing the idea that she owes no one a label nor explanation. 

Therefore, something that I love about Billie Eilish is her ability to keep her music at the forefront of conversations, not her sexuality. In her mind, she doesn’t need to constantly “prove” herself as a part of the community, nor fully conform to one label or another. While she has not said she is a lesbian, I did want to include her in this list for two reasons:

1. Not everyone needs to have a defined label to be valid in the LGBT community.
2. It is so refreshing to see someone maintain their privacy while in the music industry. 

   2.5. She is still proud of her identity while also acknowledging she doesn't have shit to prove; she doesn’t owe anyone an explanation which I find so incredible.

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Hayley Kiyoko:  ​

Quite possibly the first lesbian pop artist that comes to mind for many. Lovingly referred to as “Lesbian Jesus”, Hayley Kiyoko has been making queer anthems for almost a decade now. 

Before she was known as 'Lesbian Jesus', she was an actress, starring in projects like Lemonade Mouth (2011) and The Fosters (2014). Yet, her main passion has always been music; she began to release a series of EPs in 2013, beginning with A Belle To Remember. Though moderately popular at the time, she had not entered the mainstream music scene until her second EP: This Side of Paradise in 2015. 

Included in this EP was the track Girls Like Girls: as the title suggests, this was the first time she explicitly referenced her sexuality and marks a distinct shift in her music. The music video for this track, also released in 2015, was absolutely groundbreaking for the time: the video includes a young girl going through an abusive relationship who ultimately leaves with her best friend. More importantly, the video depicts the main character falling in love with her best friend, and kissing her towards the end of the video. This song quickly became a queer love anthem and is still being celebrated today. 

Hayley was not shy about her struggles to create this hit song, explaining in interviews that she “wanted to be known for being Hayley… for who I am, and not who other people think I am. That was a big fear of mine, because you’re really putting yourself in the line of fire by opening your personal life up to the world [by coming out]”. I think her being honest about her struggles with coming out, and how it has reshaped her life was so important (especially since this was well before it was seen as socially acceptable to be a lesbian). 
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Shortly after this love song was released, she was signed to Atlantic Records where she was able to release a third EP: Citrine in 2016. Two years later, she released her debut album Expectations. Since then, she has been constantly creating new songs related to queer love, her own experiences, and more. Now, her fans refer to her as Lesbian Jesus for really paving the way for new queer and lesbian artists to outwardly be proud of their sexualities in their music and in general. I know for me personally that she was the first lesbian artist I ever listened to, and was very influential in my coming out story. Therefore, I think that her contributions to the lesbian and queer community in terms of providing encouragement and confidence are so essential.
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I hope this article has shed some light on why I think the rise of lesbian artists in mainstream media is so important right now. Although some of you may have heard of these artists before, I do believe it’s important to remember why we came to love them in the first place, and how these women are making great strides for both the lesbian community and the LGBTQ community as a whole.