With Leap Day officially behind us, let’s use the extra time we’ve been given to jam out to some new songs from our favorite queer artists. Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ artists.
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From St. Vincent’s furious new rock song to Fletcher’s latest pop confessional, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
St. Vincent, “Broken Man”
“What’re you looking at? Who the hell do you think I am?” When you hear St. Vincent snarl those lyrics on the chorus of her bombastic new single “Broken Man,” you understand that there’s no “character” here — it’s Annie Clark, in all her glory. But the star’s scornful lyrics are just one piece of the puzzle that is “Broken Man,” as the self-produced track gradually ramps up its industrial furor with each passing moment. Guitar chords become blown out sirens, drums invade like an approaching phalanx of soldiers (thanks to all-star assists from Mark Guiliana and Dave Grohl) and Clark’s voice growls with intensity as she asks again; what are you looking at? The answer, it turns out, is an artist at the pinnacle of her craft.
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Fletcher, “Doing Better”
What happens in the aftermath of releasing a much-discussed breakthrough hit? Fletcher would like you to know exactly what goes down on “Doing Better,” her latest pop banger dedicated to the fallout from her last pop banger, “Becky’s So Hot.” Written in the form of a letter to her ex, Fletcher immediately establishes the myriad ways Fletcher’s been doing better since “making [your girlfriend] go viral” — new cars, “bougie IVs,” performing with Miley Cyrus — before declaring that, at the end of the day, it didn’t change as much as she’d have liked. “My tummy still hurts,” she opines. “Why does better feel worse?”
Olly Alexander, “Dizzy”
Eurovision is about to get flipped on its head thanks to Olly Alexander’s new single. Shedding the Years & Years label and moving forward as a solo artist, Alexander’s new single “Dizzy” — which will serve as the United Kingdom’s entry in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest — spins his established electropop sound up to new heights. The It’s a Sin star’s remarkable voice remains as clear as ever, while the production from Danny L Harle elevates the song into vertiginous reverie, mimicking the lyrics’ giddy passion in flowing scales that keep the song in a state of perpetual, blissful motion.
Mannequin Pussy, I Got Heaven
Where desire and defiance meet, you’ll find Mannequin Pussy’s ridiculously good new album I Got Heaven. Equal parts protest and proposition, I Got Heaven sees the Philadelphia punk rockers hosting a carnival of raw emotion, between telling bigots to sit and spin on the album’s raucous title track and demanding nothing short of pleasure on the raging “Aching.” It’s that rare punk record that keeps juking right when you think there’s a left turn coming, perhaps best encapsulated by Marisa Dabice’s insistent affirmation on “Loud Bark”; “I want to be a danger,” she croons. “I want to be adored.”
Cat Burns, “Alone”
Stuck in a dating rut? Cat Burns feels your pain on “Alone,” the UK singer-songwriter’s stunning new song detailing her struggle with loneliness. Diaristic lyrics detail Burns’ lack of dating experience, and her frustration with trying to catch up to her peers while still looking for love for the right reasons. With each passing lyric, her voice grows more emotive as she declares that “I don’t wanna be a pessimist, but I’m getting kind of pissed at this” — a feeling anyone in the dating scene can understand to their core.
Isaac Dunbar, “Backseat Girl”
While he’s made a name for himself for his theatrical output, Isaac Dunbar is a performer of many different faces. On “Backseat Girl,” the singer takes on the persona of the titular background character, perennially pushed to the margins of the story, yearning for their moment in the spotlight. For fans of Dunbar, though, there’s still plenty of his signature flair in “Backseat Girl” — between an instantly-catchy ’70s rock melody and his campy vocal choices, the singer delivers plenty of drama through this tenderly written ballad.
Jade LeMac, Confessions (Deluxe Version)
Jade LeMac would like to take a well-deserved victory lap. Following the release of her applauded EP Confessions, the singer’s new deluxe version of the project gives fans just enough new content to properly recontextualize the music they already love. Whether she’s literally critiquing her lover’s technique (“Bad Kisser”) or responding in kind to unwanted negging (“Pick a Fight”), LeMac leaves it all on the page as she proves yet again why she’s the name to watch in the pop space.
Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below: