Loud and Proud 🏳️‍🌈

Hey everyone,

I’ve been waiting to write a pride-themed newsletter for the longest time (ever since I started Music Musings, in fact) and I’m SO excited to finally share it with you 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

As I continue to grow and explore the nuances and themes of songs, I’ve come to appreciate how music is, and has always been, inherently inclusive. It doesn’t take or demand a specific kind of love, and simply accepts you as you are, no matter who the lyrics are written for.

And as a solid ally, I’ve been amazed by the impact of the LGBTQ+ community in pop culture and music, with progressive artists like Lady Gaga, Boy George, and Cher paving the way for self-expression, identity, and acceptance to take center stage.

It goes to show that music doesn’t just decorate space, it makes an impact — it breaks norms, disrupts the status quo, and transforms into something iridescent, bold, and unapologetically vibrant.

This week, I’m dedicating all my music recommendations to the queer artists and anthems that have shaped the music scene in all the colours of the rainbow. It’s loud, it’s flashy, it’s soulful, it’s musically mother.

So wherever you are and however you're feeling, I hope this month becomes your moment to embrace your own gender reveal and proudly share your true vibes with the world.

Happy Pride to all my music siblings! 🌈

With love and light,

Val ♫

(P.S If you are reading this in your email, please click “Read Online” at the top-right corner next to the date for a better reading experience!)

In this week's setlist:

• 🎀 Pink Pony Club Vibes

• 📻 It’s Homo Radio Hour

• 🍃 Our Pride and Soul

• 👠 This Week’s Songs on Repeat: Drag Hits

• 🎶 New Music This Week

🎀 Pink Pony Club Vibes

Nobody parties harder than queers — from the shimmering dance floors of West Hollywood to the vibrant drag scenes in Quezon City, LGBTQ+ spaces have long been sanctuaries of self-expression, authenticity and liberation.

Newbie or club regular, here are the freshest sounds you might hear at some of those clubs that are H-O-T-T-O-G-O:

• saving flowers by salute and Rina Sawayama

• BOTH by Todrick Hall

• Kissing Someone Else by Caroline Kingsbury

📻 It’s Homo Radio Hour

No mixtape for this week, but I recently discovered a queer radio podcast created by Homoground, a media platform that highlights arts, music, and culture from queer spaces. Their in-house podcast is just one of many content series aimed at giving exposure and access to non-mainstream bands, especially those from underrepresented or isolated communities.

In this week’s featured episode, they spotlight queer musicians from Cruisin’ Records, an independent label that focuses on uplifting LGBTQ+ voices across experimental and genre-bending sounds. The music you’ll listen to in this episode spans a wide spectrum, from indie folk and soft emo goth to lo-fi synth beats.

If you’re looking for new soundscapes while supporting your fellow queer artists and bands, check out the episode here.

🍃 Our Pride and Soul

Emotions run loud within the queer, surrounded by voices that want to be heard. Look at the likes of Calum Scott and pre-hyperpop Sam Smith, who made a name for themselves for quiet but powerful ballads. It’s as if the rainbow can be found in the prairie and the vast green plains countryside.

Calm your senses with these soulful sounds:

• soleil soleil by Pomme

• you by Jean Seizure

• Mystery of Love by Sufjan Stevens

👠 This Week’s Songs on Repeat: Drag Hits

If there's one thing drag queens know how to do, it's steal the show — and not just on the runway. Beyond the glam and insane fashion skills, many queens are serious musical powerhouses.

So if you're ready to strut, slay, and lip-sync for your life, here are some drag-worthy hits in my repeat playlist to turn any hallway into a runway:

• The First Time by Tia Kofi

• A Prueba De Todo by Valentina

• YOUR NAME by Shea Couleé

🎶 New Music This Week

She gets me by Corena: As a straight femme, love in this generation is so expansive with so many possibilities that even affection from the straightest boy sometimes just doesn’t cut it. What can I say…women are so attractive these days, and this track will have any secret wuhluhwuh lover saying, “I told you so.”

Heat Wave by Snail Mail: I’m digging the chill vibes from this artist. The music is straight out of a queer coming-of-age movie.

Hypocrite by Zolita: This song is giving Gen Z sapphic pop-rock romance in full rockstar fashion. It’s like beabadoobee and Chappell Roan had a lovechild. 💅🎸

Inspired by this week’s music picks?

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