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These aren’t just any partygoers: They’re five of the most
exciting and accomplished LGBTQ musicians in the industry,
gathered together in a rare moment for Billboard’s first Pride
Roundtable. There’s Big Freedia, 41, who has helped bring New
Orleans bounce music — and its rich queer history — to the
mainstream with albums, TV projects and collaborations with
Beyoncé and Drake; Tegan Quin, 38, of pop-rock duo Tegan &
Sara, who in 2016 established their own foundation to improve
the lives of LGBTQ women and girls, and who this year celebrate
two decades in the business; rapper-singer ILoveMakonnen, 30,
who became one of the most prominent gay men in hip-hop after
coming out in 2017; breakout pop singer Hayley Kiyoko, 28, known
to her fans as “Lesbian Jesus”; and Adam Lambert, 37, whose work
as a solo artist, with Queen and on American Idol a decade ago has
helped pave the way for many queer artists today.
Together, their diverse professional journeys, as well as their
personal paths to self-acceptance, illustrate just how many
possibilities exist for LGBTQ artists in the music industry now
(as well as the challenges that persist for them). As they discuss
everything from their coming-out stories to what meaningful
allyship constitutes, it’s clear they are all inspired by one another,
too. “You guys are legends to me,” Makonnen tells the group
upfront. “I feel very happy to be a part of this company.”
You all show up for the LGBTQ community in many ways,
but I’m guessing you also don’t want your identity to
overshadow your work. How do you approach visibility
without letting the industry put you in a box?
TEGAN QUIN It has been a double whammy throughout our
career because I got put into the lesbian box, but also there’s
something inherently uncomfortable about always talking about
your sexuality with your twin. When we started, it was really
strange to be sitting predominantly with straight men like, “So,
you’re 18 and gay. Do you guys want to talk about that?” And it
was always like, “Not really!” Not because I wasn’t proud, but
because it was just awkward.
ADAM LAMBERT When I started my professional journey, in the
mainstream media there weren’t a lot of [queer] people, so that was
the thing the media wanted to talk about. I loved talking about it,
but at the same time I was like, “Can it not precede me?”
HAYLEY KIYOKO It’s so hard to come out to yourself, so I was like,
“I don’t want to have to go through this process again.” I tried
the best I could to utilize my art to tell people who I was. It is so
difficult to love yourself, and then to have to explain yourself to
people? It can be challenging.
BIG FREEDIA Definitely. The first 10 years of my journey, I was still
figuring out who I was, and then I had to redo it all over again when
I became bigger. So instead of saying, “I’m gay and this is me,” I
started telling the story through my music. You want to pull back
sometimes, but it’s hard. I can’t pull back. I’m 6 foot 3, I’m tall, and
I’m gay. I light up the room.
ILOVEMAKONNEN Same for me. In hip-hop, it wasn’t very
supported to come out, so I knew this would be a big thing for me.
But we are on the main stage of the world, and to act like [queer
artists in hip-hop] don’t exist? A lot of people in the industry get
their creative inspiration from the gays but don’t want to give it up
to the gays. Somebody needs to be talking about these issues and
showing that you can be yourself.
“Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X is now the longest-running
No. 1 single in Billboard Hot 100 history. When he came out
on Twitter in June, the response was positive but also, it
seemed, equally chill. What have you taken away from
watching his success and the reaction to it?
LAMBERT The world is changing, especially in the United States.
We’re moving forward, and that is direct evidence. But also it helps
that he had a No. 1 song. I feel like it gave him the confidence to be
like, “I can do whatever the heck I want!”
QUIN These moments are incredibly important, and they do trickle
down. Not to be the “whomp whomp” person in the conversation,
but we hear these stories all the time [that show how a victory
like this] is not necessarily making it better for the average person
who’s living in a rural community. Sometimes that leads the media
to believe that everything’s fine, but there just has to be more done
on a foundational level to change the system.
KIYOKO I agree, because I’ll do interviews, and [reporters will] be
like, “What’s it like [now that] everyone just loves everyone? We
love the gays! Rainbows everywhere!” But we’re interacting with
kids and adults all over the world...
QUIN They’re not having that same experience.
FREEDIA It’s going to keep taking all of us to educate folks and tell
these stories.
LAMBERT And the history, too. A lot of people I meet in this
generation coming up aren’t necessarily aware of everything that
has come before them. Like, let’s talk about the fundamental
building blocks of the gay civil rights movement.
When you’re a queer artist, there’s an assumption that you
will also be a queer activist. How did you decide whether or
not to take on that role?
LAMBERT I was really overwhelmed in the very beginning.
American Idol was so fast. All of a sudden I was on magazine
covers. I was dealing with the personal adjustment I had to make,
and then on top of it, there was all this energy behind being the
gay guy doing it. I knew I was comfortable saying, “Yes, I’m gay.”
But educating the masses? I didn’t get into this business to be an
educator. I just wanted to wear glitter and sing.
FREEDIA Same with me. When I was doing my TV show [Big Freedia:
O
n a recent July morning, a sprawling studio complex on the west
side of Los Angeles looks like the site of the queer prom that so
many teenagers around the country probably dream of. The guests,
dressed up in striking suits and luxe fabrics, appear both nervous
and excited to mingle with their peers, take photos and maybe show
off a few dance moves, should their song come on. (And when Janet Jackson’s
“What Have You Done for Me Lately” blares through the speakers, it quickly
becomes clear that it’s everyone’s song.)
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