By Duncan Obermein
Queer musicians have long been trailblazers in sound, style, and storytelling and today is no different. With artists like Chappell Roan, Ice Spice, Doechii, Boygenius and Troye Sivan breaking into the mainstream and topping charts, queer voices are more visible and celebrated than ever. Many brilliant but lesser-known talents are coming up through the ranks and giving their style and sound to the music scene. Contemporary gay artists, underground gems, newer superstars on the scene and some older gay musicians finally getting the recognition they deserve. Following is just a sprinkling of these talented up and comers to look out for.
I. Jordan
2024 saw I. Jordan reclaim their artistry and identity through their debut album, ‘I am Jordan.’ The record is an unequivocal announcement by the British DJ/producer about their self-discovery and transition as a transgender person. “It’s about my joy as a trans person, and trans joy generally, working with trans people, making all this fun music together,” said I. Jordan about their record. Paying homage to Northern sounds from the UK that Jordan grew up with, ‘I am Jordan’ punctuates lots of, bassline, rave, trance, hardstyle and house that emphasize their signature twists to the dancefloor bangers.
Wafia
Wafia Al-Rikabi is a queer, Iraqi–Syrian–Australian artist known for her smooth blend of alt-R&B, electro-pop, and soul. Her music often navigates personal identity, heartbreak, empowerment, and family, infusing pop sounds with political and cultural nuance. Originally studying biomedicine, Wafia pivoted to music after her early SoundCloud uploads gained traction, and her breakout 2016 track “Heartburn” earned praise from Pharrell. She identifies as queer and frequently discusses both cultural and romantic identity in her work. Tracks like “Bodies” were inspired by her family’s refugee background and the Muslim ban, while others like “I’m Good” and “Pick Me” speak to queer heartbreak and resilience. She’s collaborated with artists like
Ta-ku, Louis the Child, and G Flip. Wafia’s voice is rich and emotive, and her storytelling is both personal and politically aware.
aleksiah
aleksiah (Alexia Damokas) is a queer indie-pop singer-songwriter from Adelaide whose diaristic lyricism and angsty guitar-driven sound have made her one of Australia’s most promising new voices. Her songs explore growing pains, girlhood, sapphic crushes, and emotional vulnerability, all told through a lens of poetic honesty. She rose to prominence with her 2022 debut “Fern,” a coming-of-age anthem about falling for a girl in high school, and continued with powerful singles like “Ant Song,” “Pretty Picture,” and “Clothes Off.” Her 2024 debut EP Who Are You When You’re Not Performing? solidified her as a Triple J favorite and earned her a spot on Rolling Stone AU’s “Artists to Watch” list. Inspired by Phoebe Bridgers and Julia Jacklin, aleksiah brings queer intimacy and feminist rage to a genre that thrives on authenticity.
Nxdia
Nxdia (Nadia Ahmed) is a non-binary, Egyptian‑British alt-pop artist who has been praised for their ability to blend vulnerabilities, queer identity, and multicultural storytelling into their songwriting. They have an alt-pop with punk and New Wave flair that combines guitar-driven, energetic pop with gritty production. They have music that lets old‑school pop-punk meet modern attitude. Born in Cairo in 2000, of mixed Egyptian-Sudanese ancestry, they moved to Manchester at eight, and they frequently sing in both English and Arabic, letting mixed language use add depth and emotional texture. Their lyrics explore identity, queer love, dysphoria, and inner conflict. They have a 2023 EP In the Flesh and just released their Debut mixtape I Promise No One’s Watching (June 2025). They’re forging a space where marginalized identities feel seen, heard, and celebrated.
Baths
Will Wiesenfeld has been working in the industry — as Baths, Geotic, or even under his own name — for well over a decade. Yet with Baths’ first new album in eight years Gut, it feels like the time has come for this experimental artist to get his due in mainstream circles. The two songs he’s already shared off the project, “Sea of Men” and “Eden,” already sound completely different from the atmospheric dance aesthetics of his past works. Instead, Wiesenfeld’s new music captures electronic, rock, folk and pop in a bottle and distills them through his evocative songwriting, dropping lines like “Carnal is a normal mode, f–king all the men in droves/ Son of god is never home when I come knocking on that door.” With Gut set to drop this February, there’s never been a better time to become a Baths fan.
Gigi Perez
Among a stacked field of louder, more explosive breakthroughs in 2024, singer-songwriter Gigi Perez managed to secure a viral hit that still flew under the radar for much of the year. Denizens of queer TikTok sent “Sailor Song” into the top 40 of the Hot 100, where it has remained at the start of 2025. Meanwhile, as the rest of the alternative star’s catalog picked up steam, Perez signed to Island Records, home of fellow 2024 breakout stars Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter. With a yet-to-be-announced album on its way and plenty of goodwill in the bank, Perez is on the precipice of having an even bigger breakthrough in 2025.
Catty
Catty is your answer to angsty and emotionally fraught music from a female and queer perspective, and the Welsh singer-songwriter’s latest pop-rock EP ‘Healing Out of Spite’ delivers just that. Filled with indignant, anguishing and tongue-in-cheek lyricism, Catty aka Catrin Hopkins dons her lesbian Welsh witch persona to speak up on heartbreak and emotional turmoil in same sex relationships. Influenced by the likes of Fleetwood Mac, AC/DC and The Rolling Stones, and having already opened for Stevie Nicks at BST Hyde Park, Catty is the one to watch to garner powerful pop bangers
Yadam
From being an up-and-coming openly gay Latin popstar to having his song featured on the Oscar-nominated film ‘Emilia Perez,’ Venuezlan artist Yadam is coming in full force this year! His velvety vocals and overt narratives of love and heartbreak as a queer person cascade gloriously over pop-forward sonics with a tinge of European-Latin influences. Yadam already has his best foot forward for 2025, as the singer-songwriter announced the first single of the year, ‘OREN POR MI,’ from his new era.
Zora
If you’re not yet familiar with Zora, allow us to introduce you. A rapper, singer, lyricist and producer from Minneapolis, Zora is bringing Black trans stories to her music with reckless abandon. Perhaps there is no better example of that than her recently released sophomore album Belladonna — over the course of 16 songs, the multi-hyphenate embraces chaotic production and cutting lyrics to tell the story of a woman out for revenge for all the harms she’s endured. It’s equal parts scary and stunning, making for one of the most unique projects we’re likely to hear in 2025. Take this as your sign to get into Zora’s music ASAP, because her inventive style and specific point-of-view are two things we need badly this year.
Torres
Indie rock singer-songwriter Torres is leaning into the idea of community in 2025. On the heels of her excellent 2024 project What an Enormous Room, the Florida-born artist decided to team up with queer rock hero Julien Baker for a new project of duets. The first glimpses at the pair’s album show two individuals finding something completely different from their own respective careers, with the classic country bombast of “Sugar in the Tank” perfectly balancing the spare, quiet ruminations of “Sylvia.” But with Baker’s renewed profile as a queer icon (thanks in no small part to her world-dominating success with Boygenius in 2023), Torres is set to reap some long-deserved benefits with Send a Prayer My Way.
Jordan Suaste
If we learned anything from 2024, it is that release schedules no longer dictate the likelihood of global success. Jordan Suaste may have debuted his last album in September, but we’re not ready to say goodbye just yet. Maybe I Already Am was an excellent debut LP, and the indie pop singer left plenty on the table for potential gains in 2025. Maybe his stunning queer anthem “Love Who You Want To” becomes a pertinent anthem in a time of chaos and goes viral. Maybe his sensual banger “The Devil” gets a prominent sync for a movie or TV show. Maybe people will just come around to his heartbreaking coming-of-age story told on “Charlie” and stream the hell out of it. Anything could happen, and we hope Suaste’s top-tier talent gets some more love this year.
Jasmine.4.t
It’s rare that you get to watch a young artist make a generational statement on their debut album. It’s even rarer when that artist is a trans woman breaking into the music scene. Yet Jasmine.4.t has done just that with You Are the Morning, her stellar new project out via Saddest Factory Records. Telling the story of her own experiences transitioning, Jasmine Cruickshank explores a vast array of genres and styles, all while encapsulating her specific experience in radically honest lyrics. It’s no wonder that she got all three members of Boygenius to produce her album; Jasmine.4.t could very well become the next queer femme star speaking directly to her community on massive stages around the globe.
Mrbstyles
While not a household name, Mrbstyles (Moises Baez) is a Puerto Rican, LGBTQ+ salsa singer known for being one of the first openly gay male salsa singers. He’s released a single and video called “Ay! Que Bueno,” and is also a professional salsa dancer and choreographer. He’s also been recognized for his unique style and has created a salsa dance program for the gay community in Boston.
Pabllo Vittar
The Brazilian artists made history at this year’s Coachella Music Festival. Anitta became the first female Brazilian solo artist to perform on the main stage of the event. Her frequent collaborator Pabllo Vittar made history as the first drag queen to perform at Coachella. Vittar is the most followed drag queen on Instagram with over 12.6 million followers. RuPaul recently tweeted her support of Pabllo Vittar’s historic moment at Coachella. Vittar is continuing to branch out from Brazil by teaming up with global acts like Rina Sawayama in “Follow Me” and Lady Gaga for the “Fun Tonight” remix. In 2020, Luísa Sonza, who is openly bisexual, enlisted Vittar and Anitta for the queer Brazilian anthem “Modo Turbo.”
T. Priestly
“Kissing My Feet” lulls you into its grasp the moment its grooving drums kick in. When it starts vacillating between chill verses and an almost operatic chorus, you realize T. Priestly is on a whole other level than their peers. The London DJ self-produces their pop anthems, meaning the soundscapes they craft are both singular and chart-ready – late-night dispatches of love have rarely sounded so soundtrack ready.
Torri Weidinger
The alt-folk songs of Torri Weidinger sneaks up on you. They’re unassuming. They’re warm. Then, without warning, one of their melodies or lyrics hits like a sucker punch and the song they’re on is added to your streaming library for life. Take the extended coda of “Virginia,” which expands the song’s initially gentle lilt into a near-cacophony of expressive streams and building drama. It’d be overwhelming if it didn’t feel so necessary and idiosyncratically Torri Weidinger.
xBValentine
The best posse cuts make every artist involved feel essential. That’s true of “Flashy” by xBValentine, which finds the singer/emcee holding court alongside brilliant verses from Karlaaa and Krystal Poppin’. Yet that still doesn’t prepare you for the supernova force of her charisma, which is as adept at slinky kiss-offs as stuttering trap beats.
Tears & Gearz
There’s no other way to put it: Tears & Gearz and the indie-gay-pop-supergroup the world never knew they needed and do. Bentley Robles and Zee Machine are forces in their own right; on “George Michael,” the duo prove why they’re just as powerful together. Robles’ winking baritone is a perfect counterpoint to MACHINE’s rock diva tenor; the song merges their sonic interests without feeling piecemeal.
Yavin
Yavin’s music feels like a dispatch from another dimension. That doesn’t mean it’s strange: if anything, songs like “Withdrawn” feel like established classics. But the burgeoning pop star’s music is unusually sensitive and soundtrack-worthy. The hooks are as epic as the landscape of Yavin’s heart, and their combined power makes every song Yavin writes worth playing on repeat.
TuneCore & Movinon.org
