20GAYTeen the Rate: WINNER!!

Queerly Beloved,

We are gathered here this day to celebrate the year 20GAYTeen of our Lorde and all the tremendous music created by LGBT+ artists this year! We have been embarrassed with riches when it comes to music created by queer artists! It feels like within every genre -and pop especially- us queers are leading the way!

I have spent a lot of time this year tracking down fantastic music created by queer artists to share with you all. I’ve been so grateful to all the amazing recommendations sent my way by so many wonderful members of this forum! Our list of 92 songs is my attempt to create a list that is representative of the multitude of experiences that exist in this world for a person who is queer. We have countless genres and multiple languages present as well as artists from just about every letter of our acronym. At this point, the list is pretty set in stone but if you see a glaring omission please let me know!

Thanks to the suggestion of the always gracious @beyoncésweave, our song selection is broken down into two categories. The first are a selection of songs from the major albums of 20GAYteen representing different members of the L, the G, the B, and the T in LGBT (quick disclaimer: the B side of the main artists is represented by artists who have identified as Pansexual). Let's take a look at our main contenders:

Hayley Kiyoko: Lesbian Jesus

Troye Sivan: God of the Twinks

Years & Years: Drama Gay With A Budget

MNEK: Underloved & Overtalented

Ssion: The Artistic Genius You Haven't Heard of Yet

Janelle Monae: Queer Black Excellence in Human Form

Christine & The Queens: Very French & Very Talented

SOPHIE: Producing Extraordinaire & The Best Part of PC Music

[Editor's Note: I haven't made a single graphic for this so please don't expect anything fancy]​

The second category is our extras compromised of single tracks from a plethora of genres and identities. Please be sure to give this section a good listen as it includes not just PJ Faves like Rina & St. Vincent but little known artists with lots of talent and too few listeners!

The Rules​

In case this is your first foray into Rates & Charts, you’ll copy and paste the song list below and rate every song on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best. You are allowed to bestow 11 whole points on one song only so choose wisely! I highly encourage you to include commentary cause otherwise our eliminations are gonna be a lot of me talking in circles. Please don’t troll vote! If you give one artist all 10’s and another artist all 0’s, I’m not gonna keep your ballot. If things look suspicious or I have questions, I will ask you to revisit things and decide from there.
As this rate is specifically geared to a specific group of artists here are some guidelines I’d love for us to follow to keep everyone having fun. If one of these really rubs you the wrong way please let me know, I’m always down for a discussion:

1. I don’t think there’s such thing as “queer music” and the diversity of sounds in this rate is a testament to that. Feel free to analyze and contemplate what makes a song “queer” or not to you but don’t zero a song cause you don’t think it’s “gay enough.”
2. I’m all for reclaiming terms but let's be sensitive that different people may be in different places with that. I want this rate to be fun and full of kii’s but I don’t want any member to feel unwelcome or set off. Let’s be careful with what we’re saying and to who we’re saying it to. Me calling Troye a twink is the pot calling the kettle black and all in good fun, calling him our f-word may not be fun for another user.
3. Please, please, please give the extras section a good chunk of time. There are SO many under heard queer voices in music today and so often they are from groups that are already under heard (people of color, people who are trans, First Nation people). If a song doesn’t click on first listen, especially if it’s not your typical pop song, give it a few more listens.

Also in case this needs to be said: all voters are welcome!

Finally, the moment you've been waiting for: The Song List!

Hayley Kiyoko “Feelings”
Hayley Kiyoko “Curious”
Hayley Kiyoko ft. Kehlani “What I Need”
Hayley Kiyoko “Sleepover”
Hayley Kiyoko “HLNY”
Hayley Kiyoko “Molecules”
Christine and the Queens “Girlfriend”
Christine and the Queens “5 Dollar”
Christine and the Queens “Goya! Soda”
Christine and the Queens “Doesn’t Matter”
Christine and the Queens “What’s-her-face”
Christine and the Queens “The Walker”
Troye Sivan “My My My!”
Troye Sivan “Good Side”
Troye Sivan “Bloom”
Troye Sivan ft. Ariana Grande “Dance to This”
Troye Sivan “Lucky Strike”
Troye Sivan “Plum”
Ssion “Comeback”
Ssion “ At Least the Sky is Blue”
Ssion “Inherit”
Ssion “Heaven is My Thing Again”
MNEK “Correct”
MNEK “Tongue”
MNEK “Body”
MNEK “Girlfriend”
MNEK “Crazy World”
Years & Years “All For You”
Years & Years “Hallelujah”
Years & Years “Karma”
Years & Years “Rendezvous”
Years & Years “Up In Flames”
Years & Years “If You’re Over Me”
Janelle Monae “Make Me Feel”
Janelle Monae “Screwed”
Janelle Monae “Django Jane”
Janelle Monae “Pynk”
Janelle Monae “I Like That”
Janelle Monae “Americans”
SOPHIE “It's Okay to Cry”
SOPHIE “Ponyboy”
SOPHIE “Faceshopping”
SOPHIE “Is It Cold in the Water?”
SOPHIE “Infatuation”
SOPHIE “Immaterial”
The Aces “Volcanic Love”
Ah Mer Ah Su “Heartbreaker”
Anna Calvi “Don’t Beat the Girl Out of My Boy”
Big Freedia ft. Lizzo “Karaoke”
Black Belt Eagle Scout “Soft Stud”
Blood Orange “Charcoal Baby”
Boygenius “Stay Down”
Brandi Carlile “The Joke”
Bright Light Bright Light “Tough Love”
Brockhampton “Weight”
Bronze Avery “Want 2”
Calvin Arsenia “Headlights”
Charlotte Day Wilson “Doubt”
Dizzy Fae “Don’t Hate For Me”
Fischerspooner “Have Fun Tonight”
G Flip “Killing My Time”
Goldilox “Decision”
Halsey "Without Me"
Holland “I’m Not Afraid”
Jaime WIlson “Everything Is New”
Jake Zyrus “Diamond”
Jeremy Dutcher “Mehcinut”
Jess Glynne “Thursday”
Jessica 6 “The Storm Inside”
King Princess “1950”
Leadr “11:11”
Leo Kalyan “Stranger”
Merlot “Bad For You”
MRSHLL “POSE"
Now, Now “SGL”
Pale Waves “There’s a Honey”
Perta “From Fire”
Planningtorock “Transome”
Rae Morris “Lower the Tone”
Reyna “Baby Forget It”
Rina Sawayama “Cherry”
Ryan Beatty “Powerslide”
Serpentwithfeet “Cherubim”
Shea Diamond “Keisha Complexion”
Solomon Ray “Asi Asi”
Sofya Wang “Found Love”
St. Vincent “Fast Slow Disco”
Teddy <3 “Body and Soul”
Too Attached “I’m Afraid of Men”
Vardaan Arora “Dance Like You”
Villagers “Trick of the Light”
VINCINT “Mine”
Zolita "New You"

 

Spotify

 

Results!
1. "Make Me Feel" by Janelle Monae 9.503
2. "Cherry" by Rina Sawayama 9.436
3. "Fast Slow Disco" by St Vincent 9.164
4. "Tongue" by MNEK 9.071
5. "Screwed" by Janelle Monae ft. Zoe Kravitz 8.988
6. "Pynk" by Janelle Monae 8.860
7. "Doesn't Matter (Voleur de Soleil)" by Christine & The Queens 8.764
8. "Feelings" by Hayley Kiyoko 8.737
9. "Comeback" by Ssion 8.693
10. "Girlfriend/Damn, Dis-Moi" by Christine & the Queens featuring Dam Funk 8.686
11. "All For You" by Years & Years 8.643
12. "Curious" by Hayley Kiyoko 8.595
13. "My My My!" by Troye Sivan 8.500
14. "Americans" by Janelle Monae 8.397
15. "I Like That" by Janelle Monae 8.334
16. "What I Need" by Hayley Kiyoko ft. Kehlani 8.306
17. "Django Jane" by Janelle Monae 8.268
18. "Up in Flames" by Years & Years 8.200
19. "5 Dollars/5 Dols" by Christine and the Queens 8.140
20. "Lower the Tone" by Rae Morris 8.080
21. "Bloom" by Troye Sivan 8.057
22. "SGL" by Now, Now 7.993
23. "I'm Not Afraid" by Holland 7.933
24. "Goya! Soda!" by Christine and the Queens 7.888
25. "Immaterial" by SOPHIE 7.859
26. "Baby Forget It" by Reyna 7.859
27. "Correct" by MNEK 7.851
28. "Body" by MNEK 7.859
29. "Hallelujah" by Years & Years 7.834
30. "Crazy World" by MNEK 7.813
31. "The Walker" by Christine & the Queens 7.783
32. "The Joke" by Brandi Carlile 7.773
33. "Rendezvous" by Years & Years 7.771
34. "Lucky Strike" by Troye Sivan 7.762
35. "Dance to this" By Troye Sivan ft. Ariana Grande 7.751
36. "Volcanic Love" by The Aces 7.743
37. "Karma" by Years & Years 7.720
38. "Molecules" by Hayley Kiyoko 7.700
39. "Heaven Is My Thing Again" by Ssion 7.657
40. "There's a Honey" by Pale Waves 7.653
41. "Powerslide" by Ryan Beatty 7.619
42. "Charcoal Baby" by Blood Orange 7.619
43. "It's Okay to Cry" by SOPHIE 7.603
44. "Karaoke" by Big Freedia ft. Lizzo 7.583
45. "Sleepover" by Hayley Kiyoko 7.581
46. "Inherit" by Ssion 7.571
47. "Soft Stud" by Black Belt Eagle Scout 7.552
48. "Mine" by Vincint 7.500
48. "Molecules" by Hayley Kiyoko 7.442
49. "If You're Over Me" by Years & Years 7.440
50. "The Good Side" by Troye Sivan 7.437
51. "Found Love" by Sofya Wang 7.424
52. "Girlfriend" by MNEK 7.418
53. "He'll Never Love You (HNLY)" by Hayley Kiyoko 7.374
54. "What's-her-face/Machin Chose" by Christine & the Queens 7.356
55. "11:11" by LEADR 7.335
56. "At Least the Sky is Blue" by Ssion 7.313
57. "Bad for You" by Merlot 7.300
58. "Killing My Time" by G Flip 7.292
59. "From Fire" by Perta 7.286
60. "The Storm Inside" by Jessica 6 7.284
61. "Have Fun Tonight" by Fischerspooner 7.257
TIE 62. "Stay Down" by boygenius 7.234
TIE 62. "1950" by King Princess 7.234
64. "Don't Beat the Girl Out of My Boy" by Anna Calvi 7.224
65. "Heartbreaker" by Ah Mer Ah Su 7.191
66. "Weight" by Brockhampton 7.131
67. "Body and Soul" by Teddy <3 7.13
68. "Keisha Complexion" by Shea Diamond 7.075
69. "Decisions" by Goldilox 7.061
70. "New You" by Zolita 7.057
71. "Plum" by Troye Sivan 7.025
72. "Dance Like You" by Vardaan Arora 6.928
73. "POSE" by MRSHLL 6.924
74. "Tough Love" by Bright Light Bright Light 6.8573
75. "Want 2" by Bronze Avery 6.8571
76. "Trick of the Light" by Villagers 6.841
77. "Is It Cold in the Water?" by SOPHIE 6.824
78. "Don't Hate for Me" by Dizzy Fae 6.822
79. "Stranger" by Leo Kalyan 6.814
80. "Cherubim" by serpentwithfeet 6.618
81. "Faceshopping" by SOPHIE 6.615
82. "Without Me" by Halsey 6.608
83. "Asi Asi" by Solomon Ray 6.522
84. "Headlights" by Calvin Arsenia 6.497
85. "Doubt" by Charlotte Day Wilson 6.317
86. "Transome" by Planningtorock 6.291
87. "Diamond" by Jake Zyrus 6.148
88. "Mehcinut" by Jeremy Dutcher 6.110
89. "Infatuation" by SOPHIE 6.105
90. "Ponyboy" by SOPHIE 6.03
91. "Thursday" by Jess Glynne 6.024
92. "Everything Is New" by Jaimie Wilson 5.962
93. "I'm Afraid of Men (Remix)" by Too Attached ft. Peaches 5.533

Queer Heroes
1. Sister Rosetta Tharpe
2. Harvey Milk
3. Bayard Rustin
4. Marsha P. Johnson
5. Dan Choi
6. Big Mama Thornton
7. Dick Leitsch
8. David Wojnarowicz
9. James Baldwin
10. Larry Levan
11. Roger Casement
12. Maurice Sendak
13. Alain Locke
14. Jean Wyllys
15. Vito Russo
16. Julie and Hillary Goodridge
17. Audre Lorde
18. Larry Kramer
19. Thomas Beatie
20. Kele Okereke
21. Tom of Finland
22. Cheryl Dunye
23. Mark Takano
24. Lynn Conway
25. Christine Jorgensen
26. Ruben Quesada
27. Maite Oronoz Rodríguez
28. Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
29. Bob Marchan
30. Michel Foucault
31. Kate Brown
32. Indigo Girls
33. Pauli Murray
34. Joan Nestle
35. Kim Friele
36. Ruth Ellis
37. Mabel Hampton
38. Doris Fish
39. BD Wong
40. Geena Rocero
41. Willi Ninja
42. Janet Mock
43. Richard LaFortune
44. Sylvia Rivera
45. Patricia Highsmith
46. Elio Di Rupo
47. Peter Staley
48. Lori Lightfoot
49. Allen Barnett
50. Wendy Carlos
51. Alec Butler
52. Tab Hunter
53. Maulik Pancholy
54. Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed
55. Geraldine Roman
56. k.d. lang
57. Monifah
58. Chavela Vargas
59. Joan Armatrading
60. Jeanne Cordova
61. Michael Stipe
62. Dr. Marie Equi
63. Magnus Hirschfeld
64. Jennicet Gutiérrez
65. Pedro Zamora
66. Billy Tipton
67. Jim Egan
68. Ma Rainey
69. Krysten Sinema
70. Tammy Baldwin
71. Julio Salgado
72. Dustin Lance Black
73. Vikram Seth
74. Bamby Salcedo
75. Keith Haring
76. Renee Richards
77. Matthew Mitcham
78. Ricky Martin
79. Kit Yan
80. Steve Gunderson
81. Helen Zia
82. Bob Rafsky
83. Michael Sam
84. Sylvester
85. Ivy Bottini
86. Alan Turing
87. Camila Díaz Córdova
88. Tracy Chapman
89. Rock Hudson
90. Sister Mary Elizabeth Clark
91. Yosimar Reyes
92. Gilbert Baker
93. Agniva Lahiri
​

 

Songs We Could Have Rated!​

FYC #1: Chris Garneau & The Beginning of My Queer Music Journey
FYC #2: Man Candy
FYC #3: Trans Excellence
FYC #4: Adorable Message Songs
FYC #5: Queer Veterans
FYC #6: Twins Edition: Guest Post from @ohnostalgia
FYC #7: Sad Soft Sapphic Songs: Guest Post from @slaybellz
FYC #8: White Men Overload
FYC#9: Queer Lady Overload
FYC#10: Man Candy Round Two
FYC #11: Too Little, Too Late
FYC #12: Almost Doesn't Count
FYC #13: I Simply Could Not

The Queers & Queer-Adjacents Who Voted:
Ana Raquel
CorgiCorgiCorgi
Sanctuary
Gimmework
Soratami
The Hot Rock
dylanaber
ufint
yuuurei
pop3blow2
Constantino
reboot
londonrain
blob
happiestgirl
unititled
evilsin
inevitable
Cutlery
Riiiiiiiii
Slaybellz
Posh Spears
Remyky22
Empty Shoebox
Ohnostalgia
Lost Boy
Hurricane Drunk
Music Is Life
Untouchable Ace
Kalonite
Verandi
Remorque
King Bruno
&
Le0Night​

 

Editor’s Note: I did not include Kim Petras on the song list cause I want this rate to feel welcoming to everyone and I know some of her comments from the past have been quite unwelcomed by many SA survivors. At the end of the day, this is my rate and I decide who’s in and out. If you want to talk about how she can/should be viewed in relation to Dr. Luke feel free to discuss that in her thread. I have reached out to some members to give us a little write-up about her year but have yet to get a yes from anyone. If you’d like to do an FYC before eliminations start lemme know!

 

Okay, go ahead and get this mess started
@ohnostalgia @londonrain @Untouchable Ace @Riiiiiiiii @alanmr

 

Oh I'm a complete idiot and forgot to mention that you have 6 weeks to vote! Votes will be due by January 12th so happy holiday and holiday hangover listening!

 

Yes! It's finally here! I am so ready for this! Thank you @Trouble in Paradise for doing this. x

Already scoring all the ones I know!!

 

On the big pop girls rate I struggled to give a 10 to five songs in total and here I'd give 11s left and right. 20GAYTeen really did that and then some.

 

So happy to have this out there! I’m headed to my new gay besties house to make my boyfriend watch the Bird Cage for the first time so I’ll begin the promo push tomorrow while I nurse my incoming margarita hangover!

 

Excellent!

So looking forward to starting my scores!

 

So many 11 choices.

(Also Dddd I’m really sorry but I’m going to be giving Thursday a high score. It’s so basic but honestly really great as well.)

 

So no Halsey or Lauren Jauregui after all?

 

YAS! I've been waiting for this and I'm here to crown Janelle and sink Troye. Plus: I can already feel the many new discoveries in this song list.

If your 11 isn't one of these, you're wrong.

 

I have, like, a dozen possible 11s here. Good lord.

The key change alone should take Tongue to the top 10.

 

Janelle versus Hayley for my 11 is an impossible choice.

 

What happened to Marrow?
Is Mine even better? I haven't heard it yet.

 

I think what you have planned in this post is great promo already, convert them all to vote in our rate.

 

Just the poll at the top was challenging enough. This is gonna be a tough (and iconic) rate!

 

Yay! I'm about to have myself a queery little christmas! (that's my terrible pun quota filled for this rate, don't worry)