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MTV VMAs noms include Hayley Kiyoko, Cardi B

The ceremony airs on Aug. 20

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Hayley Kiyoko (Photo via Instagram)

The MTV VMAs announced its 2018 nominations which include big recognition for Cardi B and the Carters.

Cardi B received the most nominations (10) including for Video of the Year, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year. The Carters (Beyonce and Jay-Z) followed close behind with eight nominations for their video  “Apeshit.” Childish Gambino and Drake earned seven nominations each, Bruno Mars received six and Ariana Grande and Camila Cabello came in at five nominations.

Lesbian pop singer Hayley Kiyoko also received a VMA nomination for Best New Artist. She will face off against Bazzi, Cardi B, Chloe x Halle, Lil Pump and Lil Uzi Vert.

The VMAs air from Radio City Music Hall on Monday, Aug. 20 at 9 p.m.

See the nominees below.

Video of the Year

Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left To Cry”
Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B – “Finesse (Remix)”
Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug – “Havana”
The Carters – “APESH*T”
Childish Gambino – “This Is America”
Drake – “God’s Plan”

Artist of the Year

Ariana Grande
Bruno Mars
Camila Cabello
Cardi B
Drake
Post Malone

Song of the Year

Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B – “Finesse (Remix)”
Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug – “Havana”
Drake – “God’s Plan”
Dua Lipa – “New Rules”
Ed Sheeran – “Perfect”
Post Malone ft. 21 Savage – “rockstar”

Best New Artist

Bazzi
Cardi B
Chloe x Halle
Hayley Kiyoko
Lil Pump
Lil Uzi Vert

Best Collaboration

Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line – “Meant To Be”
Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B – “Finesse (Remix)”
The Carters – “APESH*T”
Jennifer Lopez ft. DJ Khaled & Cardi B – “Dinero”
Logic ft. Alessia Cara & Khalid – “1-800-273-8255”
N.E.R.D & Rihanna – “Lemon”

Push Artist of the Year

July 2018 – Chloe x Halle
June 2018 – Sigrid
May 2018 – Lil Xan
April 2018 – Hayley Kiyoko
March 2018 – Jessie Reyez
February 2018 – Tee Grizzley
January 2018 – Bishop Briggs
December 2017 – Grace VanderWaal
November 2017 – Why Don’t We
October 2017 – PRETTYMUCH
September 2017 – SZA
August 2017 – Kacy Hill
July 2017 – Khalid
June 2017 – Kyle
May 2017 – Noah Cyrus

Best Pop

Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left To Cry”
Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug – “Havana”
Demi Lovato – “Sorry Not Sorry”
Ed Sheeran – “Perfect”
P!nk – “What About Us”
Shawn Mendes – “In My Blood”

Best Hip-Hop

Cardi B ft. 21 Savage – “Bartier Cardi”
The Carters – “APESH*T”
Drake – “God’s Plan”
J. Cole – “ATM”
Migos ft. Drake – “Walk It Talk It”
Nicki Minaj – “Chun-Li”

Best Latin

Daddy Yankee – “Dura”
J Balvin, Willy William – “Mi Gente”
Jennifer Lopez ft. DJ Khaled & Cardi B – “Dinero”
Luis Fonsi, Demi Lovato – “Échame La Culpa”
Maluma – “Felices los 4”
Shakira ft. Maluma – “Chantaje”

Best Dance

Avicii ft. Rita Ora – “Lonely Together”
Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa – “One Kiss”
The Chainsmokers – “Everybody Hates Me”
David Guetta & Sia – “Flames”
Marshmello ft. Khalid – “Silence”
Zedd & Liam Payne – “Get Low (Street Video)”

Best Rock

Fall Out Boy – “Champion”
Foo Fighters – “The Sky Is A Neighborhood”
Imagine Dragons – “Whatever It Takes”
Linkin Park – “One More Light”
Panic! At The Disco – “Say Amen (Saturday Night)”
Thirty Seconds To Mars – “Walk On Water”

Video with a Message

Childish Gambino – “This Is America”
Dej Loaf and Leon Bridges – “Liberated”
Drake – “God’s Plan”
Janelle Monáe – “PYNK”
Jessie Reyez – “Gatekeeper”
Logic ft. Alessia Cara & Khalid – “1-800-273-8255”

Best Cinematography

Alessia Cara – “Growing Pains” – Cinematography by Pau Castejón
Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left To Cry” – Cinematography by Scott Cunningham
The Carters – “APESH*T” – Cinematography by Benoit Debie
Childish Gambino – “This Is America” – Cinematography by Larkin Seiple
Eminem ft. Ed Sheeran – “River” – Cinematography by Frank Mobilio & Patrick Meller
Shawn Mendes – “In My Blood” – Cinematography by Jonathan Sela

Best Direction

The Carters – “APESH*T” – Directed by Ricky Saix
Childish Gambino – “This Is America” – Directed by Hiro Murai
Drake – “God’s Plan” – Directed by Karena Evans
Ed Sheeran – “Perfect” – Directed by Jason Koenig
Justin Timberlake ft. Chris Stapleton – “Say Something” – Directed by Arturo Perez Jr.
Shawn Mendes – “In My Blood” – Directed by Jay Martin

Best Art Direction

The Carters – “APESH*T” – Art Direction by Jan Houlevigue
Childish Gambino – “This Is America” – Art Direction by Jason Kisvarday
J. Cole – “ATM” – Art Direction by Miles Mullin
Janelle Monáe – “Make Me Feel” – Art Direction by Pepper Nguyen
SZA – “The Weekend” – Art Direction by SZA and Solange
Taylor Swift – “Look What You Made Me Do” – Big Machine Records – Art Direction by Brett Hess

Best Visual Effects

Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left To Cry” – Visual Effects by Vidal and Loris Paillier for Buf
Avicii ft. Rita Ora – “Lonely Together” – Visual Effects by KPP
Eminem ft. Beyoncé – “Walk On Water” – Visual Effects Supervisor Rich Lee for Drive Studios
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – “All The Stars” – Visual Effects by Loris Paillier for BUF Paris
Maroon 5 – “Wait” – Visual Effects by TIMBER
Taylor Swift – “Look What You Made Me Do” – Visual Effects by Ingenuity Studios

Best Choreography

Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B – “Finesse (Remix)” – Choreography by Phil Tayag & Bruno Mars
Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug – “Havana” – Choreography by Calvit Hodge and Sara Bivens
The Carters – “APESH*T” – Choreography by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Jaquel Knight
Childish Gambino – “This Is America” – Choreography by Sherrie Silver
Dua Lipa – “IDGAF” – Choreography by Marion Motin
Justin Timberlake – “Filthy” – Choreography by Marty Kudelka, AJ Harpold, Tracy Phillips and Ivan Koumaev

Best Editing

Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B – “Finesse (Remix)”– Editing by Jacquelyn London
The Carters – “APESH*T” – Taylor Ward and Sam Ostrove
Childish Gambino – “This Is America” – Editing by Ernie Gilbert
Janelle Monáe – “Make Me Feel” – Editing by Deji Laray
N.E.R.D & Rihanna – “Lemon” – Editing by Taylor Ward
Taylor Swift – “Look What You Made Me Do” – Editing by Chancler Haynes for Cosmo

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HRC releases ‘Queer Renaissance Syllabus’

Beyoncé’s hit album inspired curriculum

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Beyoncé performs at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., on Aug. 6, 2023. The Human Rights Campaign has released a curriculum that her "Renaissance" album inspired. (Washington Blade photo by Isabelle Kravis)

In a move aimed at celebrating the beauty, brilliance and resilience of the LGBTQ community, the Human Rights Campaign unveiled the “Queer Renaissance Syllabus” that Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” album inspired. 

Curated by Justin Calhoun, Leslie Hall and Chauna Lawson of the HRC’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program, the syllabus includes a variety of academic articles, essays, films and other media rooted in Black queer and feminist studies. Each piece is directly inspired by the tracks on Beyoncé’s Billboard 200-topping dance album, “Renaissance.”

Beyoncé’s album “Renaissance” stands as a cultural milestone, celebrating the Black queer roots of dance music while shedding light on overlooked Black queer artists. Inspired by her late-Uncle Johnny, the album not only garnered critical acclaim but also shed light on the often marginalized contributions of Black queer artists. Winning four Grammys and yielding chart-topping hits like “Break My Soul” and “Cuff It,” the album sparked discussions about economic impact and cultural representation.

Amid its success, legislative challenges arose, with Florida and Texas enacting bans on DEI initiatives in public colleges. Recognizing the album’s transformative potential, HRC developed the “Queer Renaissance Syllabus” to leverage its impact for education and activism.

Tailored for educators, youth-serving professionals, DEI practitioners, higher education leaders and admirers of Beyoncé’s artistry, the syllabus aims to encourage meaningful discussions, enrich lesson plans, and explore innovative ways to honor the vibrancy and significance of LGBTQ individuals and their culture.

With six themes anchoring the syllabus, ranging from “intersectionality and inclusivity” to “social justice and activism,” it provides a comprehensive exploration of various facets of LGBTQ experiences and expressions. Fan-favorite tracks from the album are paired with scholarly readings, offering insights into empowerment, self-acceptance and the transformative power of artistic expression. The syllabus also reinforces HRC’s efforts to highlight, amplify and re-center Black and queer voices.

By providing links to articles, books, podcasts and interviews, each associated with a song from the album, it celebrates the rich cultural heritage and contributions of the Black queer community.

The concluding section of the syllabus includes Beyoncé’s tribute to O’Shea Sibley, a young Black queer person who was murdered in Brooklyn, N.Y., last July while voguing to “Renaissance” songs at a gas station. HRC also includes a statement that condemns hate crimes.

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Movies

Neo-noir ‘Femme’ offers sexy, intense revenge fantasy

A work of real and thrilling cinematic vision

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George MacKay and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett star in ‘Femme.’ (Photo courtesy of Utopia)

They say “revenge is sweet,” and it must be true. Why else would so many of our popular stories, dating all the way back to “Medea” and beyond, be focused on the idea of getting “even” with the people who have done us wrong?

It’s a concept with obvious appeal for anyone who has felt unjustly used by the world – or, more accurately, by the people in it – but that has particular resonance, perhaps, for modern queer audiences, long used to being relegated to the status of “victim” in the narratives we see on our screens. In “Femme” — the new UK indie thriller helmed by first-time feature directors Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping, now in limited theatrical release and expanding wider over the next two weeks — it provides the irresistible hook for a gripping tale of calculated vengeance in the face of anti-queer violence. Like the best of such stories, however, it’s as much a cautionary tale as it is a wish-fulfillment fantasy.

Set in London, it centers on Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), aka Aphrodite Banks, a popular drag performer in the city’s queer club scene who, after a performance one night, steps out in full costume to buy a pack of cigarettes and becomes the victim of a traumatic “gay bashing” incident at the hands of a young man goaded to violence by a thuggish gang of friends. Months later, though he’s recovered from his physical injuries, he is still deeply affected by the inner scars that linger. Robbed of the confidence that allowed him to perform, he’s withdrawn into a reclusive life, until concern from his friends and housemates prompts him to finally venture out into the world for a night of cruising at a gay sauna – where he encounters his bully doing the same thing. 

Unrecognizable and anonymously masculine out of his drag persona, Jules finds himself beginning a dangerous and duplicitous game in which he plans to “out” his former attacker – whose name, as he learns, is Preston (George MacKay) – in the most humiliating way possible. As his scheme begins to play out, however, he encounters an obstacle: in getting to know the closeted Preston, he is surprised to discover not only empathy for someone living their life in terrified camouflage, but a mutual attraction that develops despite the horrific history between them.

Framed as a self-described “neo-noir” story, a designation that implies a certain flavor of moral ambiguity as much as it does a tense and shadowy tale of intrigue or a psychologically complex tone, it’s a movie that relies heavily on style in order to sell its conceptual premise. Realistically, we might question the boldness that permits our protagonist to enact such a potentially hazardous scheme, but in the context of its genre trappings we are lulled into accepting it. And while most of us are likely “jaded” enough to question the possibility of tenderness between its two leading characters, the accepted conceits of the film noir form are enough to sell it to us – or at least allow us to grapple with it alongside Jules, whose righteously Machiavellian master plan is threatened by the feelings he “catches” in spite of himself.

That, of course, is part of the whole point. “Femme,” though it establishes itself by virtue of its very title as a testament to the struggle to “pass” for straight in a world that places a value judgment on perceived adherence to a strict norm for gender and sexuality, hinges on the idea that such things aren’t quite as clear-cut as we want to make them. Despite the black-and-white certainty we cling to when it comes to the subject of abusive or toxic relationships, there’s an emotional component that can only be ignored or dismissed at our peril, and even our most resolute intentions can be undermined by the shades of gray we discover in our hearts. 

Freeman and Ng – who also wrote the screenplay, adapting their own BAFTA-nominated short film from 2021 (starring Harris Dickinson and Paapa Essiedu) into a feature-length expansion – seem bent on challenging our snap judgments, on forcing us to sympathize with our oppressors by showing us the ways in which they, too, are prevented from living a fully authentic life by the expectations of their cultural environment. Even more challenging for many modern audiences, perhaps, may be the unavoidable observation that, in enacting his plan of revenge, Jules crosses the line between being a victim and being a victimizer – a fine point that may trigger uncomfortable implications in a social environment that has become marked by divisive moral constructs and hardline ethical posturing.

Before we scare you off with discussion of high-concept themes and “culture war” rhetoric, however, it’s crucial to bring up the elements that lift “Femme” above and beyond the level of so many such narrative films and makes it a somewhat unexpectedly potent piece of cinematic storytelling – and all of them have to do with the skill and intention behind it.

As to the former, the movie’s first-time directors manage a remarkable debut, steeping their film in moody, genre-appropriate visuals and murky morality. They pave a path beyond the easy assessments proscribed for us by conventional thinking, and force us to follow our sympathies into a disquieting confrontation between what we “know” as right and what we feel as true; at the same time, they push back against any natural sentimentality we might have about the situation, stressing the toxicity of the relationship in the middle of their film, the ironically-reversed insincerity of its dynamic – and, perhaps most importantly, the reality of the defining circumstances around it. While we might find ourselves longing for a happier resolution than the one we expect, the film makes no pretense that these two men might overcome the deep denial and traumatic associations – not to mention the calculated lack of honesty on the side of its de facto protagonist, to achieve some kind of “happy ending” between themselves. Nevertheless, we hope for it, in spite of ourselves.

That delicate dynamic works largely because of the movie’s lead actors. Both Stewart-Jarrett (“Candyman”) and MacKay (“Pride”, “1917”) deliver fully invested, utterly relatable performances, finding the emotional truth behind their interactions with as much palpable authenticity as they bring to the chemistry between them. They force us to abandon our preconceived ideas about each character by finding the human presence behind them, and it makes the story’s final outcome feel as heartbreaking as it does inevitable.

As for intention, “Femme” – which premiered at last year’s Berlin International Film Festival and went on to gather acclaim across the international film fest circuit – might be a little hard to take for the easily triggered, we won’t deny it. Still, it’s a work of real and thrilling cinematic vision that goes beyond easy morality to highlight the tragedy that comes from being forced to live behind a mask for the sake of societal acceptance. It’s also exciting, smart, and unexpectedly sexy – all of which make it a highly- recommended addition to your watchlist.

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Out & About

Trans Day of Visibility is here and here’s how to celebrate

Howard County LGBTQIA Commission to host Columbia event

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Howard County LGBTQIA Commission will host its inaugural event celebrating Trans Day of Visibility on Sunday, March 31 at 4 p.m. at Busboys and Poets in Columbia, Md.

The purpose of this inaugural event is to create a welcoming and inclusive space that celebrates and amplifies the voices of the trans community and its allies, highlights the joy and resilience of trans and non-binary individuals everywhere, and elevates their voices and shares their diverse experiences. 

This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite

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