If there is one thing you can count on Pride Month to deliver, it's a bunch of new tunes to create a soundtrack to be truly proud of (sorry, had to).
1. Hayley Kiyoko, "What I Need"
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Lesbian Jesus has delivered, and she brought Kehlani along for the ride. Literally.
Some lyrics to bop to while you relate to them so hard it hurts:
"When we're all alone, girl, you wanna own it
When we're with your fam, you don't wanna show it /
Oh, you're tryna keep us on the low
I only want a girl who ain't afraid to love me /
Not a metaphor but we really could be
Oh, I ain't putting on a show"
What I needed was this music video to be around when I was closeted in college, but I'll take it now.
2. The Internet, "Come Over"
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The colorful (and hilarious) video was directed by the band's own fearless leader, Syd.
Some lyrics to text to your crush:
"Living in ecstasy
Just want you next to me /
I’ll bring the champagne
Don’t turn me down babe /
We can play Simon Says
Or watch TV in bed /
Wake with the sunrise"
Calling back to those days of young puppy love, the music video for "Come Over" will have you texting your crush before you even realize what you're doing.
3. Troye Sivan, "Bloom"
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Well, well, well; Look who's all grown up and wearing lipstick better than I ever could!?
Some lyrics to melt to:
"Take a trip into my garden
I've got so much to show ya /
The fountains and the waters
Are begging just to know ya /
And it's true, baby
I've been saving this for you, baby"
Let me say this: You'll be thinking about these color palettes all day.
4. Tove Lo, "Bitches" ft. Charli XCX, Icona Pop, Elliphant, ALMA
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If you ever wanted a music video featuring Tove Lo and her gang of ladies teaching the art of cunnilingus to a clueless couple... well here it is. Watch until the very end if you know what's good for you.
Some lyrics to meditate on:
"Let me be your guide when you eat my pussy out/
'Cause I've had one or two, even a few/
Yeah, more than you"
The behind-the-scenes clips are worth watching as well. This is a health center we'd all like to be employed at.
5. Dorian Electra, "Career Boy"
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You'll have the sudden urge to rock suspenders to work after watching Electra's latest twisted music video. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Some lyrics to get ready for werk to:
"I could never fight the feeling
I stay up all night /
Workin' so hard after hours
'Til I see the sunlight /
Stuck up in the office tower
You know it's pure joy /
And that's my superpower
I'm a career boy"
The video is hilarious, sexy, and a great way to pass the time... you know... at work.
6. King Princess, "Talia"
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Mikaela Straus, better known as King Princess, has created the perfect song to lament along with right after bumping into your ex at a Pride afterparty.
Some painfully true lyrics:
"But four drinks I'm wasted
I can see you dancing, I can lay down next to you /
At the foot of my bed
If I drink enough /
I can taste your lipstick, I can lay down next to you
But it's all in my head /
If I drink enough I swear that I will wake up next to you"
The teens, truly, will save us all.
7. Peppermint and Cazwell, "BLEND"
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The song, off the duo's EP, hits on some serious topics while somehow being really, really fun.
“We wanted all of the songs to be very trans-positive and tell a story of what it is like being a trans woman in 2018,” Cazwell told Billboard. The title track "was written from the state of mind of making a positive trans anthem. When you are a woman and especially a trans woman you are under a lot of pressure to blend in society so that no one calls you out for being trans."
"I wanted to write a song that proved the importance of not needing to blend into society to be happy with yourself.”
8. Rita Ora, "Girls" ft. Cardi B, Bebe Rexha & Charli XCX (whew)
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SAY WHAT YOU WILL, it's a catchy song.
Some lyrics to sing to your girl:
"Her all night (all night), her all night, yeah
I'm the hunter and she the prey, yeah /
I'm the thriller and the killer and the savior
Up all night, we up all night, yeah (do it one more time)"
When the track came under fire, Ora defended the lyrics and message of the single, saying it came from "personal experience."
9. Betty Who, "All Things" AKA the Queer Eye theme song
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The theme song alone will make you cry almost as much as watching the series does. Whew.
Let us bask in some lyrics:
"Say, it's more than one day
That you'll be here beside me /
It's you and all of the things you do
Then make it alright"
Betty Who making a video with the fab five? Can you believe?
10. MNEK, "Colour" (feat. Hailee Steinfeld)
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If Sesame Street or Mr. Roger's were a lil' queer, this video would fit the bill.
Some lyrics to make you tear up:
"Before you came into my life
Everything was black and white /
Now all I see is colour
Like a rainbow in the sky"
It's a beatiful day in the gayborhood in this unbelievably happy and simply sunshine-y single.
11. Christine and the Queens, "Girlfriend (feat. Dam-Funk)"
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FINALLY, our fearless French leader has returned.
Some lyrics to consider:
"Girlfriend/
Don’t feel like a girlfriend/
But lover
Damn, I’d be your lover"
We've got crop-tops, we've got Christine's new chopped hair, we've got French lyrics. What more do you need?
12. Jake Shears, "Creep City"
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If you've been missing the Scissor Sisters since 2012, you'll be happy to see that the frontman's solo album will be out August 10.
Some lyrics to make you consider moving:
"Get me out of this creep city
I’m flat broke and I don’t look pretty right now /
Just get me out, out, out, out
All the dogs in the back been smothered /
And these cats don’t make good lovers
This town’s on cursed ground, ground, ground, ground"
An instant classic to sing into the mirror.
13. Jess Glynne, "I'll Be There"
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Her latest album was inspired by a break-up with a woman, and who can't relate to that (sigh).
Some lyrics to think about your ex to:
"When all the tears are rolling down your face
And it feels like yours was the only heart to break /
When you come back home and all the lights are out, ooh
And you're getting used to no one else being around /
Oh, oh, I'll be there"
We don't deserve her voice, or her red mane for that matter.
14. Alex G, "New Normal"
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You may not have heard of her yet, but once you listen to this heartbreaking single From her EP, "In The Still & Homespun Pt. II," you'll only want more.
Some lyrics to cry to, if you want:
"Me here in the bed
You used to lay in /
The kids are growing up fine
But they sing your song /
Oh, time is a sweet
Bitter reminder /
That love once in a while
Has to let go"
Also, where can I get this shirt?
15. Halsey ft. Lauren Jauregui, "Strangers"
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Seems like we have been waiting for this music video for a decade and tbh, who saw a boxing storyline coming? Not me.
Some songs to think about while shadow boxing:
"She doesn't kiss me on the mouth anymore
'Cause it's more intimate, than she thinks we should get /
She doesn't look me in the eyes anymore
Too scared of what she'll see, somebody holding me/"
More of these two, please.
16. St. Vincent, "Fast Slow Disco"
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OK, now Pride month is official because this video is giving us all we need. It's also a sped-up version of the original track for your dancing pleasure.
The lyrics you'll be swaying to in the shower:
"Slip my hand from your hand
Leave you dancin' with a ghost /
Slip my hand from your hand
Leave you dancin' with a ghost"
A party we would like an invite to... please!?
Happy Pride. It was sweet of these boys to let me crash their party... Watch: https://t.co/C2Bn4wMcPa
OK, so what are you watching and listening to this June? Sound off in the comments below.
