Your Pride Playlist Is Missing These Underrated Queer Artists

Lady Gaga and Robyn are non-negotiable. We’re not arguing. But if your Pride playlist hasn’t been updated since 2019, there is a whole generation of queer artists making music that will hit you somewhere new. Here’s who to add.

Arlo Parks

The British singer-songwriter released Collapsed in Sunbeams in 2021 to widespread acclaim, and it deserved every bit of it. Parks writes about love and mental health and queerness with a specificity that feels like being read your diary back to you. Her voice is warm and unhurried. The song “Black Dog” is one of the most accurate portraits of depression in recent music. “Hope” will make you feel cared for. Start there and work through the whole album.

MUNA

MUNA’s self-titled 2022 album is one of the best pop records of the decade and it is criminal that more people aren’t talking about it. The LA trio make synth-pop that sounds like crying in a club, in the best way. “Silk Chiffon” featuring Phoebe Bridgers is pure joy. “Anything But Me” is an anthem for everyone who has ever outgrown a version of themselves. MUNA is giving main character energy at all times and we fully support it.

Rina Sawayama

If you know, you know. If you don’t: Rina Sawayama is a Japanese-British artist who makes maximalist pop that takes direct inspiration from 2000s R&B and metal and does not care if that sounds weird. Her debut album SAWAYAMA contains multitudes. The song “XS” is a biting critique of capitalism that absolutely goes off. “Cherry” is an ode to queer self-acceptance that is quietly devastating. She opened for Elton John on tour. She deserves everything.

Reneé Rapp

Originally known for playing Regina George in Mean Girls on Broadway, Reneé Rapp has built a music career that makes it clear she was always going to be a pop star. Her debut album Snow Angel is confessional and catchy and she is extraordinarily unfiltered about her queerness in interviews. “Too Well” will break your heart. “Poison Poison” will make you want to cause problems. She is 24 years old and already this good.

Towa Bird

Towa Bird is a queer British-Filipino guitarist and songwriter who came up through the indie scene and released her debut album Girly Boy in 2024. The music sounds like if a queer coming-of-age film had a soundtrack written by someone who actually lived it. She is one of the most exciting new voices in guitar pop and she is very much worth your attention.

A Few More to Queue Up

Dorian Electra makes hyper-maximalist pop about gender and performance and has one of the most committed artistic visions in the game. Orville Peck is a gay country singer in a fringe mask who is somehow both a parody of and a sincere love letter to the genre. Yves Tumor makes experimental rock that defies every category. All of them belong in your library.

Your playlist is better now. You’re welcome.