With a long weekend ahead, celebrate the end of summer with some new tunes from your favorite queer artists. Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of First Out, our weekly roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ artists.
From Betty Who & Pabllo Vittar’s club-ready team up, to Fletcher’s heartfelt new single, check out a few of our favorite releases below:
Betty Who feat. Pabllo Vittar, “She Can Dance (Brabo Remix)”
Betty Who’s most recent single off of her upcoming album BIG!, “She Can Dance” was already a certified banger — but the new version she’s unveiled, featuring Brazilian drag superstar Pabllo Vittar, amps that energy up to an 11. The Brabo remix of “She Can Dance” brings Latin, ballroom, and deep house elements to the track, giving it a stunning new perspective that will have you shaking your booty in no time.
Fletcher, “Sting”
After the tumultuous, drama-fueled success of “Becky’s So Hot,” Fletcher is still left with plenty of questions. In the lead up to her new album Girl Of My Dreams, Fletcher is posing a few of those questions with “Sting.” Questioning what she’s supposed to do in the midst of heartbreak, Fletcher takes aim once again at her ex, this time wondering what it’s going to take for her to genuinely stop hurting. The production and beat pull more on the themes she’s been touching on throughout her career, while the songwriting offers newfound clarity: “Maybe I like the way it sting.”
Shygirl, “Nike”
It’s not a far jump to take sneaker brand Nike’s famous catchphrase “just do it” and turn it into a simple innuendo. It’s a jump South London rapper Shygirl takes on “Nike,” a sexed-up new single where she gives her lover exactly what they want, the way they want it. The stripped-down production of a simple beat and occasional xylophone-esque synths places Shygirl’s sensual bars in the forefront, as she shows us just how good she is at taking a simple idea and executing it with natural swagger.
Dodie, “Hot Mess”
Having an existential breakdown isn’t a fun scenario — but British singer-songwriter Dodie makes it sound delightful. On her new single “Hot Mess,” the singer establishes the cycle she finds her life going in (“Wake up, do the same thing/ Break up, then we’re dancing”) before surrendering control to anyone else who feels like they have their s–t together. Her soft, pulled-back vocals make her declarations of being over it sound almost fun, as she attempts to navigate through the chaotic mess her life continues to throw at her.
Cakes Da Killa, “Svengali”
Ready for pure seduction? Cakes Da Killa certainly is on “Svengali,” the mesmerizing new track off of his upcoming album of the same name. Spitting bars over a thumping beat and distorted melody, Cakes details a steamy night out when he meets a mysterious stranger that he just needs to get with. His bossed-up raps and decadent depiction of a hot night in the club is the exact kind of release we’re all in need of right now — so quit wasting time reading this and press play!
