July 30, 2023
2023 Rewind: Who is Dixon Dallas? Meet the Country Singer Going Viral for his Explicitly Gay Ballad
Shawn Laib READ TIME: 6 MIN.
This piece is part of EDGE's 2023 Rewind series. We're reaching into our archives and sharing some of our favorite stories from the past year.
Social media has a way of spreading even the most niche types of tunes and musical mashups together, delivering unique sounds and unconventional genre twists of tired song tropes. Country music is traditionally associated with rural America, Southern small-town demographics that skew politically and culturally conservative, and therefore often anti-LGBTQ+. The genre is also seeing a comeback on the charts, with controversial country stars Morgan Wallen and Jason Aldean (who has recently doubled-down on his drama) having songs in Billboard's Hot 100 top 10. (Additionally, Luke Combs' unnecessary cover of out singer Tracey Chapman's iconic "Fast Car" is also in the top 10.)
Country music has only welcomed a few queer singers like Orville Peck, T.J. Osborne, Brandi Carlile, and even Lil Nas X. Breaking into the industry can be difficult, but the viral sensation Dixon Dallas has brought country music to the mainstream, but with an extremely gay spin.
Dallas, whose real name is Jake Hill, has not identified if he is gay or a part of the LGBTQ+ community, but he's picked up a lot of steam on Twitter and TikTok, thanks to his highly sexualized gay ballad, "Good Lookin.'" Using traditional country music tropes, like descriptive romantic verses and singing in a deep southern drawl, Dallas' music is everything a country music fan has come to know and love except it comes with an explicit gay twist. In particular, Twitter users were obsessed with the lyrics:
"He's bouncing off my booty cheeks, I love the way he rides / I can hardly breathe when he's pumping deep inside / I kiss him on his neck and then he kisses on my bussy / Call him 'Daddy' while I holler, man, that boy so damn good looking."
@iamactuallyjakehill Dixon Dallas is set to make his country music debut very soon 🎸🤠 #fyp #countrymusic #country #dixondallas ♬ Dixon Dallas Good Lookin - Jake Hill
"Good Lookin'" isn't the first hot and horny song Hill/Dallas has shown off for his fans. Others such as "Like Whiskey" and "Sleeping All Alone" have also gone viral to a lesser extent.
"Sleeping All Alone" seems to have been released originally with heteronormative lyrics and under the name Jake Hill, and the re-release under the Dixon Dallas pseudonym uses queer identifiers in their place - instead of referring to a girlfriend in the song, the new version refers to a boyfriend.
It would appear that Dixon Dallas is Jake Hill's LGBTQ+ alter-ego, or at least this is the way his music is being marketed on his social media accounts. He has two separate Instagram accounts: one is for Dixon Dallas, where he gives samples of all his upcoming or already-released queer bops, and the other is under the name Jake Hill.
Despite having such visceral and sexually raw language in his most recent songs, not much is known about Hill's sexuality or his personal life. He has not publicly discussed his sexuality but his lyrics and queer energy speak to a powerful and inspirational presence in the music industry for up-and-coming LGBTQ+ artists in the genre. As he becomes more popular in the mainstream, expect to find out more about his personal life and potentially his dating life.
Even if Dixon Dallas is just a character to market his gay country music, Jake Hill is certainly not queerbaiting in the ways artists have been accused of doing in past decades. The thirsty lyrics in Dallas' songs that get very specific about sexual acts are subversive in the notoriously conservative country music landscape. Some fans have noted that Hill likes to make use of parodies and memes in his music, suggesting the queer lyrics are simply being used to spoof and make fun of the toxic culture surrounding country music. Regardless of his own sexuality and intent, Hill's songs under the Dixon Dallas name are irrefutably gay and homoerotic, and they will definitely get a rise out of homophobic Americans.
Hill isn't the forebear of queer country music in the last few years, even if he is the hottest ticket in town right now. Lil Nas X is arguably the most important person in this genre since the uber-popular hit "Old Town Road" was released back in December 2018 and re-released with Billy Ray Cyrus a few months later. Both Nas X and Hill have rap/country hybrid elements in their music, a vital crossover between two categories that are rarely mixed together. Culturally, this forces people who enjoy one genre to listen to the other if they want to enjoy the music of these artists.
You can find more samples of Hill's music as Dixon Dallas on his TikTok, including many nameless tunes and snippets.
@iamactuallyjakehill Tag a homie to dedicate this bop to 🔥🔥🔥 #fyp #poppunk #music #urpretty ♬ original sound - Jake Hill
@iamactuallyjakehill some new music i'm working on #music #fyp #urpretty ♬ original sound - Jake Hill
@iamactuallyjakehill another lil bop #fyp #music #poppunk #urpretty ♬ original sound - Jake Hill
And some other IG posts from Hill's past dabblings, including stage diving at concerts and adorable photos of his pet cat, Ellie.
