To celebrate LGBT+ History Month, we have selected five LGBT+ artists who we feel made a real impact on the music industry.
Image source: https://www.amsterdam-dance-event.nl/en/artists-speakers/sophie/22101/
SOPHIE Xeon
SOPHIE was a transgender musician, producer, singer, songwriter and DJ who was born in Glasgow, Scotland. Her fresh, colourful sound led to musical collaborations with Madonna, Charlie XCX, Kim Petras and more.
Discussing gender identity with Paper magazine in 2018, SOPHIE said “Transness is taking control to bring your body more in line with your soul and spirit so the two aren’t fighting against each other and struggling to survive … It means you’re not a mother or a father – you’re an individual who’s looking at the world and feeling the world.”
SOPHIE tragically died in January 2021, however the impact she had on the Music Industry remains.
Listen to SOPHIE on Spotify
Image source: leonardbernstein.com
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein was an American composer, conductor, pianist, and music educator. His best-known work includes Broadway musical ‘West Side Story’, and won over 8 Grammy Awards for his compositions and performances.
Bernstein married Felicia Cohn Montealegre in 1951, before they separated in 1976, at which point Bernstein had public relationships with men. Arthur Laurents (Bernstein's collaborator in West Side Story) said that Bernstein was "a gay man who got married. He wasn't conflicted about it at all. He was just gay."
Listen to Leonard Bernstein on Spotify
Image Source: Donaldson Collection/Getty Images
Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey was a professional Blues singer, most active from 1924-1928. Known for her powerful voice and energetic disposition, Ma was known as the 'Mother of the Blues'.
Ma was openly bisexual, maintaining relationships with both men and women, before marrying William 'Pa' Rainey in 1904. Ma was outspoken and bold, releasing songs which portrayed her sexuality:
'Went out last night with a crowd of my friends.
They must've been women, 'cause I don't like no men.
It’s true I wear a collar and tie.'
Listen to Ma Rainey on Spotify
Sam Smith
Sam Smith is a British pop artist, born in London in 1992. They rose to fame in October 2012 after being featured on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which reached number eleven on the UK Singles Chart. Sam has gone on to win numerous awards, including three BRIT Awards, four Grammy awards and six MOBO awards. Sam came out as gay in 2014, before coming out as genderqueer in 2017.
On being genderqueer, Sam said “I feel just as much a woman as I am a man", and Sam has received praise for being a positive role model to the LGBT community.
Listen to Sam Smith on Spotify
Image Source: Tamiym Cader for NME
Arlo Parks
Arlo Parks is a British singer/songwriter and poet, who recently rose to fame after the release of her EP ‘Super Sad Generation’ in 2019. Most recently, she released her debut album ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’ in January 2021, which has been met with critical acclaim. She also won BBC Introducing Artist of the Year in 2020, along with winning the AIM Independent Music Awards ‘One to Watch’ award.
Arlo is openly bisexual, and claims that during school she felt like she was "that black kid who couldn't dance, listening to too much emo music and crushing on some girl in her Spanish class".
Listen to Arlo Parks on Spotify
