Looking back, 2023 was nothing short of pure chaos. This year alone saw the election and ousting of the same person as speaker of the house, simultaneous labor strikes from writers and actors in the entertainment industry, boycotts against the world’s top beer brand, criminal indictments against a former president, the disappearance of a submersible filled with millionaires and approximately one million other once-in-a-generation stories that dominated the news cycle.
It’s fitting, then, that the world of music seemed to embrace that feeling of mayhem. Years-old songs made their way into the upper echelons of the Billboard Hot 100, while hip-hop relinquished its hold over the charts to make room for a much broader spectrum of genres. That same energy suffused releases from LGBTQ+ artists throughout 2023 — queer and trans performers delivered in just about every genre, including pop, rock, country, folk, house, hip-hop, dance, Latin and everything in between. Topics ranged from fighting back against injustice to romantic trysts in the dark corners of nightclubs. Putting a label on music from LGBTQ+ artists in 2023 was, in a word, impossible.
So, with such a wide spectrum of singles to listen to in this tumultuous year, which songs from queer and trans artists managed to stand out from the pack and leave their mark? Below, Billboard staffers pick the 25 best songs by LGBTQ+ artists from 2023, where performers embraced and reflected the chaos of an unruly year.
Also — check out Billboard‘s list of the 20 Best Pride Albums of 2023 here.
