1.
Billie Eilish wrote her 2024 hit “LUNCH” (which is about a woman performing oral sex on another woman) before she had that sexual experience herself. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she said, “I wrote some of it before even doing anything with a girl, and then wrote the rest after. I’ve been in love with girls for my whole life, but I just didn’t understand — until, last year, I realized I wanted my face in a vagina.”
2.
And, in Billie Eilish’s/FINNEAS’ music studio, on the piano there’s a Saturday Night Live cue card from the time Eilish hosted and performed on the show in 2021.
3.
Chappell Roan’s signature look (her face painted in white clown-like makeup) is a direct dig at her anti-gay peers from her Midwestern hometown. Trixie Mattel recently interviewed Roan for PAPER Magazine, and asked how she approaches beauty and fashion in her performances and music videos.
4.
In Beyoncé’s song “Smoke Hour ★ Willie Nelson” from her 2024 album Cowboy Carter, she pays homage to Black artists who laid the foundation for country/rock music. If you pay attention, you’ll catch onto songs by revolutionary artists like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Chuck Berry, and Roy Hamilton.
5.
Janelle Monáe is notorious for hosting fun and sexually adventurous courtyard parties, which mainly inspired her 2023 album, The Age of Pleasure.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, she said, “I have a whole spreadsheet with 50 to almost 100 experiences that I’ve had [at these parties]. I wear red lipstick at these parties — I’ve had moments where if me and a girl or an energy want to engage, you’re going to see lipstick.”
6.
Megan Thee Stallion’s song “Thot Shit” was inspired by the negative reactions she and Cardi B received from their 2020 hit “WAP.” In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Megan Thee Stallion said, “I know the Republicans have had a bad year, and they probably need to take their frustration out somewhere. But, I want to tell them ‘thank you for the streams,’ because without [them], I don’t know if we would’ve been here. I mean, them people crazy.”
So the following summer, the queen of Hot Girl Summer released “Thot Shit.” The music video dramatized Megan Thee Stallion’s take on the negative reactions from “WAP.” In the beginning of the video, she showed a senator leaving hateful comments on one of her videos. Then in the middle of the song, Stallion rapped, “Watchin’ me go through it, still tryna drag me / Actin’ like you winnin’, if you think about it, actually / Are they supportin’ you, or really just attackin’ me? I don’t give a fuck ’bout a blog tryna bash me / I’m the shit, per the Recording Academy.”
7.
In her spare time, Miley Cyrus exercises with her LGBTQ+ friends to music by famous female artists (as well as learn their iconic choreography). “They come over, and we do a whole class based off of Nicki Minaj, or we have a Britney series,” Cyrus said. “I have a Madonna ‘Vogue’ series, which is doing the entire bow choreography with, like, our little weights.”
8.
Dua Lipa bought her notebook where she wrote down lyrics and ideas for her new album Radical Optimism from CVS Pharmacy. On the first page in the notebook (which, if I can make this fact about myself for a lil’ bit, I wish I COULD get my hands on!!!!), she actually scribed “radical optimism.”
In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Dua Lipa admitted that the term “radical optimism” came from her friend who interviewed her. Dua “lived with that thought for so long” and “it became more and more prevalent as time went on.”
9.
During one of Taylor Swift’s concerts in LA for her Eras Tour, she took a break to do something so, so heartwarming. In the middle of her song “22,” Swift went to the front of the stage and gave her iconic black hat to Kobe Bryant’s daughter, Bianka.
10.
Ashanti sang demo vocals on one of Jennifer Lopez’s biggest hits: The Murder Inc. remix to “I’m Real.” She also claimed that she helped write Lopez’s second big remix, “Ain’t It Funny.” Ja Rule (who was also featured on both remixes) said the producers kept Ashanti’s demo vocals on “I’m Real.”
“It’s weird because obviously you get frustrated for not getting credit or not being properly labeled,” Ashanti told Metro UK in 2022. “But then that turns into something you get admired for.”
11.
When Fleetwood Mac went on their Tusk Tour from 1979–1980, there was a horrible incident on stage. According to member Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham threw his electric guitar at her during a show. “He threw a guitar at me, and I ducked — I’m that fast,” Nicks said. “But Christine [McVie’s] vantage point, she’d see it all. So, she took it to heart that night. Lindsey left the stage, I chased him down, but Christine beat me to him.”
12.
In 2015, Brittany Howard (and Alabama Shakes) performed at Prince’s home, Paisley Park. They jammed together on Alabama Shakes’ song “Gimme All Your Love,” and after the night ended, Prince called Howard up. “He called me, and he had a super-deep voice,” Howard revealed. “[He said], ‘Did you have a good time tonight? Check your e-mail — we should work together.'”
13.
Dionne Warwick hosted an intervention in the ’90s with Snoop Dogg and Tupac about their misogynistic music lyrics. “We were kind of scared and shook up. We’re powerful right now, but she’s been powerful forever,” Snoop Dogg said. “Thirty-some years in the game, in the big home with a lot of money and success.”
Dionne Warwick told Snoop Dogg and Tupac, “You’re going to have families, you’re going to have children, you’re going to have little girls. One day, that little girl is going to look at you and say, ‘Daddy, did you really say that? Is that really you?'”
14.
And finally, in 1990, Madonna’s music video for “Justify My Love” was banned from airing on MTV because it celebrated bisexuality and voyeurism. After the video’s release, Madonna received backlash among music fans and the media, and did an interview on Nightline to set the record straight.
When questioned why she submitted the video to MTV knowing it had nudity, she responded, “When I did my ‘Vogue’ video, there’s a shot of me where I’m wearing a see-through dress, and you can clearly see my breasts. They told me that they wanted me to take that out, but I said I wouldn’t, and they played it anyway.”
Madonna went on to say she thought she could “bend the rules a little bit” with her “Justify My Love” music video, but she still received judgment from her interviewer on Nightline.
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