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2010 Year in Review: Music

What will 2010 be synonymous with in the future? What song will stick with people as the soundtrack to their year? Several women will be on that playlist, and many of them have been on the lesbian radar, for one reason or another.

The best part of this year was the barriers broken in every genre. We now have an out lesbian Christian singer, an out lesbian country singer, and we began to pay more attention to who in hip-hop actually reps for the gay women.

We also saw the resurgence of Lilith Fair, and the sad decline in ticket sales causing several dates to be cancelled. But it didn’t stop the participation of so many out women who signed on for select shows, including Brandi Carlile, Tegan and Sara, Missy Higgins, The Gossip and Indigo Girls, among others.

Coming Out

We were able to add more of those role models and talented artists to our list of out musicians this year, with a handful of notable and established artists coming forward to speak on their sexuality.

At the very end of 2009 (Dec. 27, to be exact), Alison Goldfrapp was outed by The Guardian when they published a piece on late-in-life lesbians, featuring her alongside her girlfriend Lisa Gunning. Although she didn’t necessarily consider herself a lesbian, the electro-pop singer told AfterEllen.com she didn’t mind the label, just was surprised to see herself in a paper “out of the context of her music.” Goldfrapp’s 2010 album, Head First, has been nominated for Best Electronic/Dance Album in the Grammys this year.

Singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton came out as bisexual this year while performing at a Pride celebration in Nashville. The performer, best known for her singles “A Thousand Miles” and “Ordinary Day” while signed to major label A&M Records, spoke very simply about her sexuality saying, “I’ve never said this before, but I am a proud bisexual woman.”

Chely Wright had one of the most highly-publicized coming outs this year. Weeks before she announced she was a lesbian, the Hollywood hype machine began producing the rumor that a celebrity would be coming out on May 5. But the surprise came a few days early, and on May 3, the internet found out it was the country singer, who would be coming out and simultaneously releasing an album, Lifted From the Ground, and memoir, Like Me.

Unfortunately, because of all the PR her coming out received before the public even know who it was, Chely received a lot of negative commentary on her coming out. She wasn’t as “famous” as some had hoped for, and many critics thought she had planned it all out simply to profit off of her gayness with sales from her books and CDs. Well, she might not be as big of a celebrity as some people had hoped, and she might have made more money this year than the last few years of her career, but it doesn’t make her coming out any less exciting and pivotal for her and the gay community.

Similarly, Christian singer Jennifer Knapp went public with the fact that she is a lesbian around the time she released her new album, Letting Go, challenging just as many of her fans as Chely had to consider why they love and support the musicians they do. Does sexuality matter? In the Christian and Country genres, it still factors highly for many devotees, but they’ve likely changed a few hearts and minds during their own self-discoveries.

Guess who’s gay

One of the biggest trends of the last year was the elusive sexuality game. “Is she/isn’t she?” surrounded many female pop stars, whose comments would range from “I love everyone” to the professing (and later renegging) of bisexuality. This also extended to become part of an asexual-type aura, where artists hoped they would be received and (and subsequently sexualized) by everyone, no matter their gender and sexual orientation.

The biggest offender also happened to be one of 2010’s biggest new stars. Nicki Minaj has been rapping lyrics about lesbians and women since before she signed to Young Money Records, and she continued to flirt with the idea of being sexually interested in them in videos like Usher’s “Lil’ Freak.” But the more successful she became, Nicki backed away from an interest in females, and later told Rolling Stone she had faked the whole thing for attention.

Pop singer Ke$ha was one of 2010’s biggest earners, and she told The Advocate she is interested in “everyone.” Though she hasn’t publicly dated any women, it seemed she was speaking from her party girl persona, and is also friends with fauxosexuality marketing queen Katy Perry – she even made an appearance in her “I Kissed a Girl” video before hitting it big on her own. (Both women recorded songs/videos they hoped would become “gay anthems” this year. The jury is still out as to if they’ll be adopted.)

Perhaps Ke$ha and Katy were taking a page from Lady Gaga‘s book, as Gaga is the biggest star of the last two years. She also happens to be a huge LGBT advocate and has kissed a woman in two videos in that time, most notably in her Beyonce collaboration, “Telephone,” one of the most-watched videos of all time.

Lady Gaga’s openness about her bisexuality might have tipped some artists off that pandering to the gay community could be beneficial rather than stifling. However that doesn’t always include real life identification. Though rumors have surrounded both Rihanna and Christina Aguilera, both women took their perceived sexual fluidity to a new level in music videos this year. Rihanna’s “Te Amo” starred a model as Rhianna’s lover; in “Not Myself Tonight,” Christina kisses and straddles a woman bound to a chair. Coincidentally, both videos have a bondage theme.

But outside of performance, Christina and Rhianna date men, and comments on their sexuality have been more of a titillating response. This isn’t to say they aren’t bisexual, or that they are definitely straight; but as of now, they seem to know the power they have in teasing women – or teasing men with the idea that they love women.

On the other side of things, there are pop stars who are perceived as lesbian or bisexual who refuse to give themselves a label. La Roux’s Elly Jackson, Katie Melua and Janelle Monae don’t discuss their sexual preferences with the press and, when answering questions about their sexualities, often give vague comments. But all three of these artists have also made comments that indicate they are not as sexually fluid as we might have thought, making sure their orientation is not part of their appeal – or rather that their lack of orientation is part of the appeal.

It’s hard to decipher with these artists if this is a closeting-type situation. If they are truly queer in any way, it comes off as a personal affront that they don’t want to claim their part in our community. But there’s also the idea that their personal lives shouldn’t have an effect on them as artists. Nonetheless, the public is always interested in the personal lives of public figures, and the lesbian community is always looking for more great, relatable role models, especially in the music realm.

While some still doubt Lady Gaga’s bisexuality, choosing to put her into the same category of the aforementioned women, Gaga has had a fabulous year when it comes to being up front about queer issues and making sure to push boundaries in every way, including gender stereotypes. She donned a strap-on for Q magazine, modeled as a male alter-ego for Vogue Homme Japan and also managed to be named one of the world’s most powerful women and most powerful and influential person by Forbes magazine.

She’s one of the best new faces of bisexuality that we have today, and this should continue into 2011 with her upcoming album, Born This Way.

Pioneers

It’s true that Melissa Etheridge split from wife Tammy Lynn-Michaels this year, but she tried her best to not let that overshadow the release of her 2010 album, Fearless Love. It peaked at number seven on the Billboard charts, but received mixed reviews.

Joan Jett didn’t release any new music this year, but she was a large part of the resurgence of The Runaways music, care of The Runaways film and its soundtrack. Her label, Blackheart Records, is also home to some of the best new rock acts, including Girl in a Coma, who has two out members and released Adventures in Coverland this year. And Todd Oldham published a book about her career, with Kathleen Hanna penning the introduction.

The Indigo Girls released two albums this year. First, they put out Staring Down the Dream, a live recording. Second was the Christmas album, Holly Happy Days. They took Chely Wright out with them on their winter tour.

Both Bitch and Animal released separate solo albums. Bitch’s Blasted was her second self-release from Short Story Records. Animal Prufrock’s congratulations; thank you + i’m sorry was the first offering from the musician since the split with Bitch, and came out on Ani DiFranco‘s Righteous Babe Records.

There was also a bit of a riot grrrl resurgence this year, with ’90s queercore groups like The Butchies, The Need and The Bang reforming for reunion shows. Also ex-Sleater Kinney members (and ex-girlfriends) Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein forged new musical groups: Corin spearheads The Corin Tucker Band and Carrie is part of the four piece Wild Flag. Carrie is also keeping busy writing a book about music and starring in a new IFC series called Portlandia with Fred Armisen, but fans are itching to hear her back on the guitar and mic.

Still, they can’t get away from their own reunion rumors, which Corin and Carrie say isn’t completely out of the question, but not in the works as of right now.

The new class

Times are a changing, when being out while starting your music career actually seems like a viable option. Some of the best new music has come from out lesbian artists. Holly Miranda’s solo debut, The Magician’s Private Library, was well-received by critics and hit number 40 on the Billboard Heatseakers chart. Screaming Females, led by out singer/guistarist Marissa Paternoster released their album, Castle Talk, and toured extensively around the U.S. They’ve been recognized as a one of the best new punk groups to see live, and Marissa also released a solo album under the moniker NOUN, which was equally as good.

Rhymesayers MC Psalm One released Woman at Work in three parts this year. She let fans download it all for free, building her buzz and solidifying her place as the newest entity to watch in hip-hop. Detroit-based MC Invincible raised her profile this year with a music video about suicide and depression that was banned by MTV for its “serious content.” It was later given play after the network received complaints from fans.

Other great new work this year was done by Sia, Coco Rosie, Amy Bezunartea, Sick of Sarah, Allison Miller, Megan McCormick, Sea of Bees and Mal Blum.

What’s ahead

In the works for 2011 include new albums from Vanessa Carlton, Lady Gaga, Otep, Uh Huh Her, MEN and Hercules & Love Affair. There will also be some new artists to watch out for, including electro DJ duo CREEP, who have just released a single featuring Romy Madley-Croft from the xx on vocals. Plus Kim Ann Foxman has recorded some solo tracks, which could also make it to an LP in 2011.

While another Lilith Fair is rumored to happen, there isn’t much information on how the tour will work, and if they’ll go with less dates than they attempted last year to ensure success. But there are other women-focused festivals that will continue to play out in their respective locations such as Michigan Womyn’s Fest and Fabulousa Festival, which was founded by out musician Jenny Hoyston (Erase Errata).

And will we see more women unafraid to be open about their true sexualities? It’d be great to say yes, but there’s still an oppressive business world that so many must navigate, where money and product reigns and personal preference can be pushed to the wayside. In the meanntime, we can probably expect some more hints at pansexuality or asexuality, or somewhere in between, but the musicians who are unafraid to be themselves will be the most successful at connecting with listeners in the long run.

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