Janelle Monáe in her music video "Lipstick Lover." Source: YouTube still

Watch: 10 Fabulous New Music Videos from Queer Artists to Check Out

Andrea Marks Joseph READ TIME: 4 MIN.

This latest collection of music videos is all about finding your summer song. Whether you're in your feelings, falling hard for someone new, or struggling to get over a relationship that's ended, there are queer artists dropping hits that you'll connect to. And one thing about queer artists, they're gonna sound and look good while delivering the soundtrack to our lives!

Cat Burns - "you don't love me anymore"

Watching this video feels like holding your heart in your hands. "you don't love me anymore" so poignantly and brilliantly captures the feeling of knowing your relationship is on the brink of officially ending, but your partner just hasn't said it out loud yet. Its magic lies in showing all the everyday moments where you're holding your breath waiting for it to happen. It's the perfect video for a beautiful song that's gonna feel healing for many people.

Taylor Swift ft. Ice Spice - "Karma"

Ice Spice in the clouds saying "facts" is the height of camp. Taylor really said let me drop a video with multi-layered symbolism and collab with an openly queer rapper switching up the pronouns in my song right before Pride month. "Karma" is giving fantasy, it's giving mythology, it's giving goddess, it's giving understanding that you've gotta check the astrological chart of your latest crush before you dive into anything because the last time did not work out well.

Kylie Minogue - "Padam Padam"

It's near impossible to avoid the influence of this video: "Padam Padam" has the power not only to make us want to wear all red everything (The glitter eyeshadow! The gloves! The sheer cape!), but to immediately need to be somewhere surrounded by queer people dancing to this song on repeat. Minogue knows exactly what she's doing by delivering us this "take me home and take off all my clothes" anthem, and it's working!

Kim Petras ft. Nicki Minaj - "Alone"

Kim Petras is running the seductive exercise video game here. She's bouncing on Pilates balls, licking clarinets, and rocking the sharpest eyeliner look. The "Alone" video is joyous and colorful, then it's all fierce leather and latex, ending with her giving a lap dance in a nurse's outfit.

Victoria Monét ft. Buju Banton - "Party Girls"

This video is glitzy, steamy, and filled with impeccable choreography. It's difficult to keep your eyes off of Victoria Monét's hips, draped in gold chains and swinging every which way – in one scene, in tandem with a man, and then moving on to dance with a woman, bisexual queen that she is. We love to see it. "Party Girls" is fire, sex, and divine power.

Janelle Monáe - "Lipstick Lover"

This video is a celebration of sapphic love and pleasure. Janelle Monáe hosts a pool party like no other: It's a parade of Black joy, of nakedness, of sex toys and neck kissing and booty shaking. "Lipstick Lover" is about loving women, but it's also about Black queer people loving themselves, and the powerful pleasure that happens when we come together (metaphorically and literally!) honoring that truth.

Miley Cyrus - "Jaded"

What could be more iconic than Miley looking larger than life in glamorous swimwear, belting out "I'm sorry that you're jaded; I could have taken you places." Everything Miley is doing and saying here, coupled with these daring, intimate shots that emphasize her beauty and power and how much the person she's singing to is missing out on... Pure gold.

G Flip - "Be Your Man"

This song is big, booming romance with a capital "R." It's the kind of love that seems timeless and endless and like you should have billboards dedicated to the way it makes you feel. Nonbinary artist G Flip wrote "Be Your Man" for their now-wife Chrishell. When sharing the news about their marriage and the song, Chrishell captioned her post: "Love doesn't always go as planned...Sometimes it's immeasurably better." With queer couples dancing in the audience as G Flip sings on stage, this video captures the essence of their love in the most sublime way.

Mad Tsai - "in my head"

This song's got all the romance of dancing in the grocery store, his boyfriend teaching him to skateboard, making out on the couch – with a heartbreaking twist. "in my head," which works as a sequel to Mad Tsai's iconic "Stacy's Brother" video, sees him looking back at all the best, sweetest moments of a relationship after they broke up. It's about living in that dream state where everything magical about your love story still feels close enough to touch, but in reality it's all over.

Pabllo Vittar - "Cadeado"

We're concluding this list with video depicting a perfect night at the club: Hot guys galore, everyone voguing and dancing their hearts out. Pabllo Vittar belts out this hit of a night out song while throwing it back for us in a thong the entire time. A whistle-inspired outfit change leaves Vittar looking fierce in a neon dress and long blonde hair –and the guys cannot keep their eyes away.


by Andrea Marks Joseph

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