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2013: The Year In Lesbian/Bi Music

One thing that was clear in 2013: Queer women are a huge part of the way the music industry is headed. Not only are some of us literally writing the songs the whole world sings, but others are bringing new ideas of what pop stars look and sound like while also being completely and totally out, even singing songs with female pronouns.

Here’s who we were in tune with this year, and the impact we are making in music.

Last year saw Sia Furler become a hit songwriter, and she only expanded upon that in 2013. This year the Aussie transplant penned tracks for Britney Spears, Beyonce, Rita Ora, Jessie J and Katy Perry, but received the most attention for her collaboration with Eminem. Their song “Beautiful Pain” appeared on the rapper’s Marshall Mathers LP 2, which has homophobic slurs like all of his previous albums. Sia came out in support of Eminem, saying:
“I know personally that he is not homophobic, but a performance artist. I would never work with someone I believed to be homophobic.”
Nonetheless, she announced she would be donating all the royalties she received from the song to the the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center.

Sia prefers to stay behind-the-scenes, which was illustrated in a Billboard magazine cover story about her success and desire to remain un-famous. She even shared her anti-fame manifesto with the trade mag and limits her own singing appearances to charity events.

Tegan and Sara released their fifth studio album Heartthrob at the very beginning of the year, and spent the rest of 2013 doing all the press and touring they could handle. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard charts and production by Greg Kurstin as well as on-stage performances with Taylor Swift helped propel them into the mainstream as they hoped. Their single “Closer” was performed on Glee and played during an episode of Awkward. This year also marked their first appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and the cover of Spin magazine.

Veteran rocker Joan Jett put out Unvarnished but continues to be celebrated more for her legacy than her current music-making. August 1st was proclaimed Joan Jett Day in West Hollywood during the Sunset Strip Music Fest. Although Joan does not deny her queerness, she continues to maintain her privacy when it comes to who she dates, telling L.A. Weekly:

“I’m not comfortable talking about everything I do. I like boundaries. It kind of extends into music. You want to talk about music, we’ll talk music. You want to know about my love life, I don’t discuss that. My lyrics speak for themselves.”

Lady Gaga‘s ARTPOP did not make too poor of a showing, however it has yet to be as successful as her previous albums. The bisexual-identified performer wants people to know that her sexual orientation is very real, saying:
“You know what? It’s not a lie that I am bisexual and I like women, and anyone that wants to twist this into ‘she says she’s bisexual for marketing,’ this is a fucking lie. This is who I am and who I have always been.”

Metal frontwoman OTEP Shamaya put out Hydra on Victory Records, saying it was going to be the band’s final album. The sole video from the album was for “Apex Predator” but OTEP continues to tour as their stage show is what really brings in hardcore fans.

 

While k.d. lang didn’t put out any new music this year, she was celebrated by being named a face of a new Canadian stamp and joined the cast of Broadway’s After Midnight.

Melissa Etheridge used her spotlight to speak out on Angelina Jolie‘s double mastectomy, pot legalization and Russia’s homophobic laws. She also expressed her plans to marry her partner, TV producer Linda Wallem.

Seattle singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile announced her split with her label, Columbia Records, and said she’ll be recording her next LP on her own. 2013 saw her continuing to tour off of Bear Creek.

Former American Idol contestant Crystal Bowersox quelled rumors about her sexuality by coming out as bisexual. The statement came along with Crystal’s holiday song “Coming Out for Christmas,” which benefitted The Trevor Project. Crystal told Good Day L.A.:

“I have been bisexual as long as I can remember. I just remember being made fun of for that in junior high and it was something that was shameful and it really shouldn’t be.”

Crystal’s second album, All That for This, was released in March.

Jenny Owens Young also made it official when she declared she was gay after years of refusing to discussing her private life in interviews. In June the indie-pop musician told us why she changed her mind:

“It was a gradual thaw. My fiancé Kristin played a huge role in my progress. On an individual level, she’s incredibly comfortable in her own skin, and just being around that kind of energy had an effect on me. She helped me start to examine things about my thought processes and behaviors more critically, to ask questions I’d never realized needed asking. “
Jenny married her partner in August.

Beth Ditto also made it official with her partner, Kristin Ogata, this year, getting married in Hawaii over the summer. She made an appearance on Blondie‘s album, singing on the track “A Rose By Any Name.”

Janis Ian won the Grammy for Best Spoken Word in February. Janis narrated the audiobook for her memoir, Society’s Child: My Autobiography. She also published a children’s book with an accompanying CD called The Tiny Mouse.

Monifah had a great year, getting engaged to her partner, Terez, and also being nominated for a Grammy for her work on R&B Divas: The Album. The R&B songstress is recording her new solo LP that includes the single “In Her Skin.”

Holly Miranda toured off of new music at the end of the year, including two singles, “Desert Call” and “Everlasting.” Her crowdfunded album is forthcoming in 2014.

Swedish bisexual singer Sally Shapiro released Somewhere Else early in the year and told us she hadn’t come out previously because she wasn’t asked. On if her sexuality influences her songwriting:

“Not on a conscious level. But for example, I prefer songs where it’s not obvious what sex the person you’re in love with has, even though the ‘I’ in the songs in a lot of ways can be said to be typically feminine.”
Similarly MEN‘s Labor was filled with much more personal lyrical fodder than on previous albums. JD Samson told us that was somewhat intentional:
“When listening to the last record after the release of it, I think I kind of realized how exclusive we were to our community in a way. And I thought it would be interesting to try and bring certain ideas to a larger audience and I think by doing that, somehow, I became more personal and wrote from a more personal place.”

 

Hunter Valentine lost its bassist Vero Sanchez but gained another member (Leanne Bowes) just in time to headline a tour alongside out acts Girl in a Coma and Krissy Krissy. They also scored the opening slot for Cyndi Lauper‘s She’s So Unusual Tour and recently performed at Cyndi’s True Colors: Home for the Holidays in New York City.

Goldfrapp‘s sixth disco-pop LP Tales of Us was released along with several videos made by Allison’s partner, filmmaker Lisa Gunning. Tales broke into the top 100 on the Billboard charts and made it to number four in the UK.

Jessie J‘s Alive debuted at number three in the UK this fall and has since went gold, but has yet to be released in the U.S. A duet with Robin Thicke called “Calling All Hearts” will appear on the album, as well as Jessie’s collaboration with Sia, “Breathe.” More notably this year, Jessie shaved her head for charity and rocked the bald look as only she could.

Syd Tha Kid‘s group The Internet released two albums this year: Feels Good and Live From Space. The laidback soul-hop duo toured the U.S. and continues to work with Odd Future.

Mary Lambert had a whirlwind of the year when she was thrust into the spotlight with the song “Same Love.” The out Seattle musician leant her voice to the hook of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis‘s hit single which garnered MTV VMA awards as well as a Grammy nomination. Mary released a video for her “Same Love” offshoot “She Keeps Me Warm” and signed with Capitol Records for the release of her EP, Welcome to the Age of My Body.

The Voice continued to be one of the most queer-friendly singing competitions on television with out contestants Michelle Chamuel and Karina Iglesias. Although she didn’t take home the prize, Michelle and coach Usher made it all the way to the finals, winning fans over with her nerd-chic style and booming voice. Michelle is currently at work on her new album and has collaborated on a song with Mary Lambert.

Pansexual rapper Angel Haze spent the year prepping her debut album, only to have her label, Universal Records, push it back to 2014. The hype she’s received from remixes of well-known tracks from the likes of Eminem and Macklemore as well as a Twitter feud and kiss and make up with bisexual rapper Azealia Banks. While she has been asked about her sexuality several times, she often has the same version of answering. As she told The Guardian:

“Love is boundary-less. If you can make me feel, if you can make me laugh — and that’s hard — then I can be with you. I don’t care if you have a vagina or if you’re a hermaphrodite or whatever.
Out lesbian rapper Brooke Candy released four singles of her own in 2013, but her most high-profile move was appearing on the Kylie Minogue single “Get It Out of Here.” The eccentric performer was also used as the face of DIESEL’s accessories line and is prepping an EP called Freaky Princess.

DJ duo CREEP put out their long-awaited LP Echoes with vocals by other out singers like Romy Madley Croft of the xx, Holly Miranda, Sia and Nina Sky. Brooklyn-based Lauren Flax and Lauren Dillard maintained a steady showing in the Electronic music charts, piquing at number 8 when it was released in early November.

London’s SAVAGES has several queer members and was one of the hottest new bands of the year. The all female post-punk group put out Silence Yourself this past spring and were invited to perform at some on some of the biggest stages, including Coachella. They were also shortlisted for a Mercury Prize.

Lucy Wainwright-Roche is the half-sister of famous musicians Martha and Rufus, but her folk music stylings on There’s a Last Time for Everything helps her to stand alone. This year she toured with Neko Case and was a featured artist on NPR’s All Things Considered.

Austra‘s second full-length Olympia included the single “Painful Like” about being young and gay in a small town. The Canadian group spent the year touring all over the world. Out frontwoman Katie Stelmanis dedicated the song to the queer youth of her hometown, Toronto.

Country music star Carrie Underwood spoke to Allure about her support of LGBT people, which isn’t always a stance musicians in her genre take or express. She told the women’s mag:

“I’m in favor of acceptance. And I am a Christian person, and I do love the Lord, and I feel no matter who you are, what you believe, how you live your life, it’s not my place to judge. I don’t have that power. I don’t want that power. It’s my place to love and to show God’s love to other people, even if they don’t live a life like I live. So that’s where I’m coming from.”

Katy Perry has a sketchy past with the LGBT community with songs like “UR So Gay,” but this year saw the pop singer fully embracing her gay fans and also celebrating them, as she did by putting a lesbian couple (including out model Erika Linder) in her lyric video for “Unconditionally.” She also told W magazine that her hit single “I Kissed a Girl” was based on a real life situation with a girl friend:

“[S]he was that friend, the one that you idolize and maybe even have a weird obsession-slash-crush on. We were standing on her bed, wearing her clothes – because her clothes were cooler – and she put on ‘Killer Queen.’ My world froze. It was a very cinematic feeling, and it opened up this lyrical world.”

Janelle Monae continues to be elusive about who she involves herself with romantically, but her 2013 album The Electric Lady had some queer themes and lyrics about women. She also went on Twitter to say she will not answer any further questions about her personal life. She calls herself “neuro-sexual” or “sapio sexual,” but she does make sure people know she is pro-LGBT and doesn’t mind lesbian rumors:
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being gay or lesbian or straight or black or green or purple, so I’m OK with that.”

The Electric Lady was one of the year’s most highly-praised albums and reached number five on the U.S. Billboard charts.

The Silversun Pickups, Avril Lavigne, the Backstreet Boys, punk band Rise Against and Bonnie McKee all utilized lesbian kisses, characters or themes in songs videos this year.

Our community has had struggled to find a happy meeting place when it comes to the all-women’s music and arts festival that has taken place in Michigan since the 197os. The discussion on the admission of transgender women has become heated and 2013 seemed to be the culmination of years of frustration from attendees and those who have chosen not to support an exclusionary get-together.

Longtime Mich Fest performers The Indigo Girls were cited in a petition to boycott Mich Fest, which also asked other musicians to join in against the policy of not allowing trans people to attend. Amy Ray and Emily Saliers released a statement on their website stating that 2013 would be the last year they would play the festival unless their trans friends and fans would be invited.

JD Samson also made a statement after being fired from a gig in New York City based on her Mich Fest gig, saying she will not boycott the festival but is interested in helping open the doors for trans women to attend. Lovers made a similar statement on their Facebook page, writing:

“As gender-nonconforming individuals ourselves, we hope to be part of a community that supports queer and trans identities on all levels…We are choosing to attend and perform at this year’s festival, both because we love it, and because we feel that attending the festival will be more powerful than refusing to attend.”
Both JD’s band MEN and Lovers released new albums this year, and Mich Fest is a lucrative gig for them. Their choosing to continue to be part of the festival has afforded them some backlash, but it’s hard to say how it has affected them outside of a few cancelled gigs. In an interview with us this year, JD said she welcomed personal emails and discussion from anyone who wanted to talk on a human level.

Queer French pop singer Tender Forever wrote on her Facebook:

I WILL NOT PLAY OR ATTEND ANY OF THE NEXT MICHIGAN WOMEN MUSIC FESTIVALS. I DO NOT AND NEVER HAVE SUPPORTED THE DISCRIMINATING POLICY THAT HAS BEEN AND IS STILL IN PLACE AS OF NOW. I WILL NOT ATTEND UNTIL IT HAS BEEN MADE CLEAR THAT ALL SISTERS ARE WELCOME. The organization Trans Women Belong Here is very important to me. Their work is crucial and i have the uppermost respect for what they have done and are still doing on and off the land. When i first reached out to them, they had made clear to me that they would appreciate my presence at the festival as an ally performer. So i did. I did what i thought was right. I did talk about it on stage (which i don’t think matters since i was already there anyway), i did have conversations about it on the land and i do sell their tee-shirts on my website for them to raise funds for trans-women who wish to attend. …I totally take full responsibility for the 2 times i have attended the festival, even if it was as an ally to my trans-sister. I was still there and i know that, by being there, i wasn’t ONLY supporting who i thought i was. That’s the truth. I take full accountability. One has to learn and i’m lucky i can still learn from all of you.
Melissa Ferrick, a long-time performer at the Fest, told The Advocate:
“I believe boycotting should be a last-resort tool for activism when dealing with like-minded folks with whom you generally share political solidarity and a grassroots worldview.”

As we continue into a new year of progression and equality, it’ll be interesting to see how the line-up shifts for next summer’s Fest and what artists are finding to be worth fighting for or against, and how that affects them year-round.

One of the more unfortunate debacles of 2013 was artist Michelle Shocked‘s anti-gay comments during a live performance in San Francisco last spring. Michelle, who was first famous in the ’90s, was previously thought to identify as gay, as she’d acknowledged in early interviews. So when she said “God hates fags” to a roomful of fans last spring, boos and taunts could be heard in response of the audio recording someone there made available to the public.

It came out of nowhere, and the shock (no pun intended) was audible amongst the people in the audience. Michelle paused during songs to say:

“You can go on Twitter and say Michelle Shocked said ‘God hates fags.’ When they stop Prop 8 and force priests at gunpoint to marry gays, it will be the downfall of civilization, and Jesus will come back.”

After the show, which caused attendees to leave the venue in protest, the internet was awash with stories on Michelle’s possibly internalized homophobia. What followed was a bizarre press tour with Michelle making appearances on Piers Morgan and other media (when she didn’t cancel them last minute) to defend herself and her religious beliefs, while also attempting to seem sane and not-so-hateful. What ensued was a lot of confusion and Twitter rants about “inconvenient truths,” as well as denials of her having had relationships with women, as she’d previously discussed with interviewers.

A born-again Christian, Michelle had many gigs cancelled after her homophobic rant but continues to travel and play on street corners as well as being active on Twitter where she continues to debate the March incident and defend herself against anyone who still pays her any attention.

In 2014, we can expect to see Angel Haze to make an even bigger splash in hip-hop and to hear a new country sound from Amy Ray on her forthcoming LP Goodnight Tender. Sia has also said she’ll be releasing another album of her own within the year, and will continue to pen hits for other pop stars. And make sure to tune into the Grammys on January 26 to see if Mary Lambert wins big for “Same Love.”

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