2024 saw LGBTQ+ artists take the forefront, unlike ever before! With the likes of Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Renee Rapp, Troye Sivan, Fletcher, G Flip, Romy, and Doechii setting precedence for queer artists, we’ve collated a selection of rising LGBTQ+ artists from multiple genres and different parts of the world that you should check out and support –
DESIREE
South African DJ/producer DESIREE has consistently been in the spotlight as a rising star with her infallible and eclectic tunes. Known to tinker around with house and techno bases, Palesa Desiree Shilabje aka DESIREE is prominent for her Afrocentric mixes that bridge Afro-house, deep and soulful house, electro, amapaino Afro-tech and more. In 2024, the MMINO label head unveiled her heartfelt two-track EP ‘Intersexy’ to raise awareness and share her experience of living as an intersex woman while also exploring her South African heritage.
Having shared the stage with heavy hitters such as Black Coffee, Keinemusik, Chloé Caillet, Honey Dijon, and Kitty Amor, among others, in her career so far, 2025 will see DESIREE debut at Coachella and perform her sought-after sets across the world.
Dua Saleh
What stands out in Sudanese-American artist Dua Saleh’s repertoire is their seamless vocal flitting across most tracks, done so to match the vehemence and intensity of each tune. This and their take on R&B and electronic indie pop are incandescent in the musician-actor’s latest record, ‘I SHOULD CALL THEM.’ Saleh’s upper hand in poetry and genre-bending fusion displays gender expression, queer love, survival, betrayal, and jealousy as a boundless start to the artist’s rising career.
I. JORDAN
2024 saw I. JORDAN reclaim their artistry and identity through their debut album, ‘I am Jordan.’ The record is an unequivocal announcement by the British DJ/producer about their self-discovery and transition as a transgender person. “It’s about my joy as a trans person, and trans joy generally, working with trans people, making all this fun music together,” said I. JORDAN about their record.
Paying homage to Northern sounds from the UK that Jordan grew up with, ‘I am Jordan’ punctuates oodles of donk, bassline, rave, trance, hardstyle and house that emphasize their signature kicks and twists to the dancefloor bangers. It was a year full of firsts for Jordan, who had their debut album out, created their debut live show and single video and performed at new and exciting venues. If the past year is any indication, I. JORDAN is coming in full force to take their hard-hitting tracks globally.
WAFIA
With her Arab and queer experiences on display, WAFIA embraces alternative pop firmament to lay bare her personal losses and heartbreaks. The intimate setup of WAFIA’s musical exploration will be further unearthed in her debut forthcoming album, ‘Promised Land,’ due to be out on February 7. Touted as a project about “transition, distance, and immigration,” WAFIA teased her incisive songwriting and stirring productions via a handful of pre-release singles.
Read more about WAFIA’s singles from ‘Promised Land’
Aleksiah
Adelaide’s pop connoisseur Aleksiah came into the picture with her sapphic opus, ‘Fern.’ Since then, the singer-songwriter has kept up with her trajectory by churning out fresh pop/rock bangers, immersive songs about love, heartbreak and life, opening for reputed artists, and kicking off her own headline tour across Australia. Aleksiah is fresh off her tour and debut EP ‘Who Are You When You’re Not Performing,’ which included hits such as ‘Ant Song’ and ’24.’
Nxdia
The world caught on to Nadia Ahmed aka Nxdia’s alt-pop, forthcoming, English and Arabic songs when their 2024 hit single ‘She Likes A Boy’ rose to prominence, thanks to TikTok. The UK-based Sudanese-Egyptian singer/songwriter relays their experiences of being queer and Arab with a sheaf of contemporary pop-punk tracks. Accompanying grungier and pop-forward undertones to put across their unique storytelling, upbringing and introspection, Nxdia unites the best of both worlds with their bilingual oeuvre.
YADAM
From being an up-and-coming openly gay Latin popstar to having his song featured on the Oscar-nominated film ‘Emilia Perez,’ Venuezlan artist Yadam is coming in full force this year! His velvety vocals and overt narratives of love and heartbreak as a queer person cascade gloriously over pop-forward sonics with a tinge of European-Latin influences. Yadam already has his best foot forward for 2025, as the singer-songwriter announced the first single of the year, ‘OREN POR MI,’ from his new era.
Ruhdabeh
In a short span, Indian independent singer-songwriter Ruhdabeh has tugged the heartstrings of listeners with their meshwork of reflective and earnest lyrical fragments. With their EPs ‘of dissonance and peace’ and ‘about hue,’ the multifaceted talent has built an eclectic collection of music that would goad you to ruminate on life and perhaps shed a tear or two. Ruhdabeh’s vocals and storytelling in English and Hindi take center stage as piano-laced backdrops, shuffling beats and sweeping harmonies buoy in. The artist is anticipating their next EP in 2025, following the release of their recent single, ‘foreign in my body.’
CATTY
CATTY is your answer to angsty and emotionally fraught music from a female and queer perspective, and the Welsh singer-songwriter’s latest pop-rock EP ‘Healing Out of Spite’ delivers just that. Filled with indignant, anguishing and tongue-in-cheek lyricism, CATTY aka Catrin Hopkins dons her lesbian Welsh witch persona to speak up on heartbreak and emotional turmoil in same sex relationships. Influenced by the likes of Fleetwood Mac, AC/DC and The Rolling Stones, and having already opened for Stevie Nicks at BST Hyde Park, CATTY is the one to watch to garner powerful pop bangers.
Listen to all of these LGBTQ+ artists and discover a plethora more through our playlist –
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