30 singers you may not know are LGBT
LGBT singers.
We have listed singers you may not have known were lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer.
From iconic modern singers and those you may not have heard of, to the rock legends we all love, we list 30 LGBT+ singers.
How many of these queer superstars have you heard of?
1. Jason Mraz
He has been married to Christina Carano since 2015.
2. Miley Cyrus
In 2015, Cyrus said: “I’m very open about it – I’m pansexual.
3. Kim Petras
Kim Petras hit headlines as she underwent gender transition surgery at an early age.
The transgender singer-songwriter recently joined Troye Sivan on his Bloom tour in 2018, as the opening act.
4. Troy Sivan
Troy Sivan is an openly gay South African-born Australian singer. He recently dispelled rumours that he and his model boyfriend Jacob Bixenman had broken up with a heartfelt tweet celebrating the couple’s three-year anniversary.
5. Janelle Monáe
Janelle Monáe came out as queer in 2018.
“Being a queer black woman in America,” Janelle Monáe said as she came out, “someone who has been in relationships with both men and women – I consider myself to be a free-ass motherf****r.”
6. Freddie Mercury
While the Queen singer never formally labelled his sexuality, he had same-sex relationships.
In the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, he came out as bisexual to his live-in girlfriend in the early 1970s. The movie showed her responding by saying she thinks he is gay.
7. Hayley Kiyoko
Hayley Kiyoko knew she was gay at six years old.
Kiyoko recently revealed that she was advised to ‘tone down’ her sexuality for her music career.
8. Mykki Blanco
Mykki Blanco is an openly gay genderqueer rapper.
On Facebook, he explained his preferred pronoun: “I am a Gay man but my Trans journey is who I am. I am not Cis normative or self hating. I use ‘he’ now because I am a he and that still makes me Mykki Blanco.”
9. Elton John
This list of LGBT+ singers couldn’t exist without mentioning the legend that is Sir Elton John.
He is openly gay and is married to Canadian filmmaker David Furnish.
10. Pabllo Vittar
With over eight million followers on Instagram, Pabllo Vittar is the most followed drag queen in the world.
The Brazilian icon is a famous singer-songwriter who reached the top of Brazil’s pop charts in 2017… twice.
11. Dusty Springfield
In a 1970 interview with Ray Connolly of The Evening Standard, Dusty Springfield went on the record about her sexuality. She said: “I know I’m perfectly as capable of being swayed by a girl as by a boy.”
12. Anohni
Anohni is a transgender artist.
In an interview with Out, the singer said: “I’m an artist, I’m an animist. I’m transgendered. I’m very non-Christian. I’m mammal identified. Part of the mammal world.”
13. George Michael
The openly gay singer was known for his timeless classics.
Charities were still receiving hefty donations from the late musical legend George Michael’s estate nearly two years after his death on Christmas Day in 2016.
14. Steve Grand
Openly gay singer Steve Grand opened up about the criticism he often experiences as a “young, good-looking, white, gay man.” Grand said that before judging him, people should remember that “there’s been a real person there the whole time.
15. Brandi Carlile
Lesbian singer Brandi Carlile won three Grammy Awards in February 2019.
She said: “I came out of the closet at 15 years old, when I was in high school, and I can assure you that I was never invited to any parties. I never got to attend a dance. To be embraced by this enduring and loving community has been the dance of a lifetime. Thank you for being my island.”
16. Ricky Martin
Openly gay singer Ricky Martin ‘hid’ many gay lovers from the public for years before coming out.
Fashion designer Gianni Versace inspired him to come out.
17. David Bowie
The queer star had adopted several personas over the years and made comments about his sexual orientation on several occasions.
His persona Ziggy Stardust, created when he released Space Oddity in 1969, was a bisexual alien rock star. The androgynous figure became a gay icon.
18. Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga is a bisexual, queer icon.
After the 2019 Oscars, Lady Gaga sent a message of love to LGBT+ fans, and added that the ceremony should move away from gendered categories.
19. Michael Stipe
REM singer Michael Stipe says he’s 80 percent gay but “hates” the term bisexual.
He told the Observer: “On a sliding scale of sexuality I’d place myself around 80-20, but I definitely prefer men to women. I had sex with, and enjoyed sex with, women until I met someone that I fell in love with, and who is now my boyfriend.”
20. Adam Lambert
The queer singer, who won American Idol in 2009 and tours with the surviving members of the band Queen, spoke about his mental health as he announced his first solo album in four years.
He also performed with Queen during the 2019 Oscars.
21. Rylan Clark-Neal
Rylan Clark-Neal finished in fifth place in the 2012 X Factor series, and he won Celebrity Big Brother in 2013.
He is married to a former policeman who was also a contestant on the reality series.
22. Fergie
Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie is bisexual.
In an interview with Esquire magazine, she said: “I have no question in my mind about being bisexual.”
23. Frank Ocean
The groundbreaking musician came out as gay in 2012.
He has since become one of the most successful gay artists in hip hop.
24. Rita Ora
Rita Ora tweeted that she has had same-sex romantic relationships as she apologised for her song “Girls.”
“’Girls’ was written to represent my truth and is an accurate account of a very real and honest experience in my life,” she wrote. “I have had romantic relationships with women and men throughout my life and this is my personal journey.”
25. Sam Smith
Sam Smith publicly came out as gay in May 2014.
He has since been an outspoken supporter of LGBT+ rights.
26. Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright is a gay American-Canadian singer-songwriter.
In 2014, he admitted he feels fortunate to not have a large gay fan base because “gay men have terrible taste in music.”
27. Courtney Act
Courtney Act is an Australian drag queen and pop singer.
She won the UK’s 2018 Celebrity Big Brother.
28. Le1f
Rapper Le1f is among the many BME gay people who have to face racism head-on in the LGBT+ community.
In 2018, the LGBT musician shared horrendous racist abuse he gets on Grindr.
29. Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Etheridge is an American singer-songwriter and activist.
The Oscar and Grammy-award winning rock singer, who came out as gay in 1993, married her partner Linda Wallem in Montecito, California, in 2014.
30. Neil Tennant
Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys fame is an openly gay English musician.
He revealed his sexuality in a 1994 interview in Attitude magazine.
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