Music & Concerts
Troye, Olly, Haley light up ’18 pop music landscape
Queer artists increasingly mainstream with many high-profile releases


Some of this year’s top albums were by LGBT artists. (Photos courtesy the respective labels)
This has been a year filled with comebacks and breaks from extended hiatuses in the pop music world. But instead of returning to more of the same, this year artists have made surprising choices.
Kylie Minogue’s “Golden” had a country sound, Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears came out with his first full-length solo record and Cher released an entire album of ABBA covers.
Legendary singer Barbra Streisand released her politically charged, though somewhat disappointing, “Walls,” and Christina Aguilera was back with her first new album in six years. And Robyn ended an eight year gap with the release of her album “Honey.”
Additionally, a new generation of pop performers continues to thrive. Janelle Monáe, Ariana Grande, Hayley Kiyoko, Charlie Puth, Troye Sivan, Years & Years and Shawn Mendes have all come out with solid new albums. Monáe, Years & Years’ Olly Alexander, Kiyoko and Sivan have been forward with their queerness.
The following albums are some of the best albums released by queer artists this year and they leave us with (relatively) high expectations for the year to come. We could make it a solid 10 if we opened it up to straight acts but, ehhh, they get enough mainstream attention so we’ll just go with six here.
6. Panic! At The Disco ‘Pray For The Wicked’
Panic! At The Disco frontman Brendon Urie’s official coming out coincided with the release of the new album. Though the album is nothing revolutionary, it is an excellent pop punk record, a genre that Urie, along with groups like Fall Out Boy and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, has helped to perfect. The album hearkens back to some of the best Panic! At The Disco records, though Urie has taken a decisively pop turn.
“Pray For The Wicked” hit the Billboard No. 1 spot, right on the heels of the 2016 No. 1 “Death Of A Bachelor.” The songs “Hey Look Ma, I Made It” and “Dancing’s Not A Crime” stand out in particular. Despite the decline of good pop punk music in recent years, Urie has made it clear he plans to stick around and that the genre still has room to expand.
5. Years & Years ‘Palo Santo’
“Palo Santo” is Years & Years’ sophomore album and a sign that the group is continuing to develop in provocative ways. Queer frontman Olly Alexander has considerable musical and thematic range.
Much like Janelle Monáe’s “Dirty Computer,” “Palo Santo” is set in a quasi-dystopian future that does not shy away from politics. The accompanying visual album illustrates this nicely, if not strangely. The production value is superb and the album has a good overall flow. This is definitely a group to keep on the radar and the album as a whole is excellent, beyond just the catchy lead single “If You’re Over Me,” which had success on the Billboard Official U.K. Singles Chart.
4. Hayley Kiyoko ‘Expectations’
Hayley Kiyoko’s “Expectations” was one of the most exciting album releases of the year. Kiyoko, a lesbian, made a big splash with her debut album “Expectations,” which landed at the Billboard No. 12 spot. It is very smart dance pop record and less redundant than others in the genre.
This is perhaps because of the variety on the album. Lead single “Sleepover” has strong R&B feel that Kiyoko pulls off quite well. And “Feelings” is solid dance pop track. But “What I Need,” featuring Kehlani, is perhaps the most memorable of the new record. We have good reason to look forward to the next iteration of Kiyoko’s sound.
3. Jake Shears ‘Jake Shears’
Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears came out with his first full solo album, titled eponymously.
Following the hiatus of Scissor Sisters after the release of their 2012 “Magic Hour,” Shears has ventured out, moving to New Orleans and making his Broadway debut in “Kinky Boots.” The album features much of the fun, quirky, eccentric qualities one expects from a Scissor Sisters record, but with a more diverse array of music influences.
Shears regularly mixes blues, country and pop in his refreshing instrumentations. The pervasive influence of artists like Elton John and Queen are felt throughout, but Shears remains convincingly original. “Creep City” and “Sad Song Backwards” are among the most enjoyable tracks on the album.
2. Troye Sivan ‘Bloom’

Troye Sivan (Photo courtesy of Universal)
Troye Sivan was finally out with his new album “Bloom” following after his widely successful 2015 debut, “Blue Neighbourhood.” And in comparison to “Blue Neighbourhood,” “Bloom” is slightly underwhelming. For the most part, Sivan is relying on the same formula. “Bloom” is more of a part two to “Blue Neighbourhood” than a new chapter. The only song to go against the trend is “Animal,” which takes a quasi-psychedelic, Frank Ocean-esque turn — and with great success.
Singles “My! My! My!,” “Bloom” and “Dance to This” are extremely catchy dance tunes and Sivan seems very much in his element, awkward dancing and all. Though it explores little new territory, Sivan remains reliably good and the most prominent young gay artist in the pop music world and that is a very good thing.
1. Janelle Monáe ‘Dirty Computer’
Janelle Monáe’s “Dirty Computer” is one of the best conceived and best executed albums of the year. Her fully fleshed out dystopian world is smart, fresh and thematically substantial in a way rarely seen in pop music (with notable exceptions like Lady Gaga). And she uses this dystopian universe as a means of talking about politics, race and sexuality — and often in very bold ways, as in her “PYNK” music video, a celebration of the female body.
But it’s not just the concepts that count. Songs such as “Make Me Feel,” where one feels the inspiration of Michael Jackson and Prince, and “Crazy, Classic, Life” are both catchy and musically innovative.
Building on the success of her previous albums “The ArchAndroid” (2010) and “The Electric Lady” (2013), “Dirty Computer” and its accompanying visual album (or “emotion picture,” as she calls it) make for a seamless third chapter. It’s clear Monáe understands the importance not only of an overarching concept but also of each individual track.
Music & Concerts
Underdog glorious: a personal remembrance of Jill Sobule
Talented singer, songwriter died in house fire on May 1

I’ve always prided myself on being the kind of music consumer who purchased music on impulse. When I stumbled across “Things Here Are Different,” Jill Sobule’s 1990 MCA Records debut album on vinyl in a favorite Chicago record store, I bought it without knowing anything about her. This was at a time when we didn’t have our phones in our pockets to search for information about the artist on the internet. The LP stayed in my collection until, as vinyl was falling out of fashion, I replaced it with a CD a few years later.
Early in my career as an entertainment journalist, I received a promo copy of Jill’s eponymous 1995 Atlantic Records album. That year, Atlantic Records was one of the labels at the forefront of signing and heavily promoting queer artists, including Melissa Ferrick and Extra Fancy, and its roster included the self-titled album by Jill. It was a smart move, as the single “I Kissed A Girl” became a hit on radio and its accompanying video (featuring Fabio!) was in heavy rotation on MTV (when they still played videos).
Unfortunately for Jill, she was a victim of record label missteps. When 1997’s wonderful “Happy Town” failed to repeat the success, Atlantic dumped her. That was Atlantic’s loss, because her next album, the superb “Pink Pearl” contained “Heroes” and “Mexican Wrestler,” two of her most beloved songs. Sadly, Beyond Music, the label that released that album ceased to exist after just a few years. To her credit, the savvy Jill had also started independently releasing music (2004’s “The Folk Years”). That was a smart move because her next major-label release, the brilliant “Underdog Victorious” on Artemis Records, met a similar fate when that label folded.
With her 2009 album “California Years,” Jill launched her own indie label, Pinko Records, on which she would release two more outstanding full-length discs, 2014’s “Dottie’s Charms” (on which she collaborated with some of her favorite writers, including David Hadju, Rick Moody, Mary Jo Salter, and Jonathan Lethem), and 2018’s stunning “Nostalgia Kills.” Jill’s cover of the late Warren Zevon’s “Don’t Let Us Get Sick” on “Nostalgia Kills” was particularly poignant as she had toured with him as an opening act.
Jill was a road warrior, constantly on tour, and her live shows were something to behold. My first interview with Jill took place at the Double Door in Chicago in early August of 1995, when she was the opening act for legendary punk band X. She had thrown her back out the previous day and was diagnosed with a herniated disc. To be comfortable, she was lying down on a fabulous-‘50s sofa. “I feel like I’m at my shrink’s,” she said to me, “Do you want me to talk about my mother?”
That sense of humor, which permeated and enriched her music, was one of many reasons to love Jill. I was privileged to interview her for seven of her albums. Everything you would want to know about her was right there in her honest lyrics, in which she balanced her distinctive brand of humor with serious subject matter. Drawing on her life experiences in songs such as “Bitter,” “Underachiever,” “One of These Days,” “Freshman,” “Jetpack,” “Nothing To Prove,” “Forbidden Thoughts of Youth,” “Island of Lost Things,” “Where Do I Begin,” “Almost Great,” and “Big Shoes,” made her songs as personal as they were universal, elicited genuine affection and concern from her devoted fans.
While she was a consummate songwriter, Jill also felt equally comfortable covering songs made famous by others, including “Just A Little Lovin’” (on the 2000 Dusty Springfield tribute album “Forever Dusty”) and “Stoned Soul Picnic” (from the 1997 Laura Nyro tribute album “Time and Love”). Jill also didn’t shy away from political subject matter in her music with “Resistance Song,” “Soldiers of Christ,” “Attic,” “Heroes,” “Under the Disco Ball,” and the incredible “America Back” as prime examples.
Here’s something else worth mentioning about Jill. She was known for collaboration skills. As a songwriter, she maintained a multi-year creative partnership with Robin Eaton (“I Kissed A Girl” and many others), as well as Richard Barone, the gay frontman of the renowned band The Bongos. Jill’s history with Barone includes performing together at a queer Octoberfest event in Chicago in 1996. Writer and comedian Julie Sweeney, of “SNL” and “Work in Progress” fame was another Chicago collaborator with Sobule (Sweeney lives in a Chicago suburb), where they frequently performed their delightful “The Jill and Julia Show.” John Doe, of the aforementioned band X, also collaborated with Jill in the studio (“Tomorrow Is Breaking” from “Nostalgia Kills”), as well as in live performances.
On a very personal note, in 2019, when I was in the process of arranging a reading at the fabulous NYC gay bookstore Bureau of General Services – Queer Division, I reached out to Jill and asked her if she would like to be on the bill with me. We alternated performing; I would read a couple of poems, and Jill would sing a couple of songs. She even set one of my poems to music, on the spot.
Jill had an abundance of talent, and when she turned her attention to musical theater, it paid off in a big way. Her stage musical “F*ck 7th Grade,” a theatrical piece that seemed like the next logical step in her career, had its premiere at Pittsburgh’s City Theatre in the fall of 2020, during the height of the pandemic. The unique staging (an outdoor drive-in stage at which audience members watched from their cars) was truly inspired. “F*ck 7th Grade” went on to become a New York Times Critic’s pick, as well as earning a Drama Desk nomination.
In honor of the 30th anniversary of Jill’s eponymous 1995 album, reissue label Rhino Records is re-releasing it on red vinyl. Jill and I had been emailing each other to arrange a time for an interview. We even had a date on the books for the third week of May.
When she died in a house fire in Minnesota on May 1 at age 66, Jill received mentions on network and cable news shows. She was showered with attention from major news outlets, including obits in the New York Times and Rolling Stone (but not Pitchfork, who couldn’t be bothered to review her music when she was alive). Is it wrong to think that if she’d gotten this much attention when she was alive she could have been as big as Taylor Swift? I don’t think so.
Music & Concerts
Tom Goss returns with ‘Bear Friends Furever Tour’
Out singer/songwriter to perform at Red Bear Brewing Co.

Singer Tom Goss will bring his “Bear Friends Furever Tour” to D.C. on Sunday, June 8 at 8 p.m. at Red Bear Brewing Co.
Among the songs he will perform will be “Bear Soup,” the fourth installment in his beloved bear song anthology series. Following fan favorites like “Bears,” “Round in All the Right Places,” and “Nerdy Bear,” this high-energy, bass-thumping banger celebrates body positivity, joyful indulgence, and the vibrant spirit of the bear subculture.
For more details, visit Tom Goss’s website.

Aussie pop icon Kylie Minogue brings her acclaimed “Tension” world tour to D.C. next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Capital One Arena. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.
The show features songs spanning her long career, from 1987 debut single, “The Loco-Motion,” to “Padam, Padam” from her album, “Tension.”