From disco floor-fillers to powerful ballads, join us as we celebrate the most iconic songs that have empowered and united the LGBTQIA community through the decades. These timeless anthems have provided strength, joy, and solidarity during both celebration and struggle.
00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the songs that have best empowered and uplifted the LGBTQIA plus community.
00:21Number 10, Beautiful, Christina Aguilera.
00:30It's easy to see why this gorgeous piece was one of the most celebrated of its time.
00:36Though the lyrics of Beautiful can apply to anyone struggling with themselves, it holds a special place in the hearts of queer individuals around the world.
00:43Besides the empowering lyrics encouraging listeners to embrace themselves, the music video made it a point to highlight the bigotry experienced by many individuals, including gay and transgender people, simply for being who they were.
00:55It was a powerful political statement and has provided strength in the midst of particularly hateful climates.
01:09It proved her allyship in more ways than one, and even earned her a GLAAD Media Award.
01:14Don't you bring me down.
01:20Number 9, 360, Charlie XCX.
01:23Though they're more celebrated now, for years, elements of queer culture have been stifled, and that has extended to the artists that champion them the most.
01:38Over the past few years, elements that were typically only found in underground scenes have begun to come to the mainstream.
01:43And Brat Summer is the peak of that phenomenon.
01:53The Brat album's release catapulted Charlie XCX, an artist who was previously mostly known in LGBTQIA plus circles, to new heights, with 360 at the helm.
02:02Yeah, 360, when you're in my neighborhood, do you like what you see?
02:05When you're in my neighborhood, you're just looking at me.
02:07Though not overtly gay itself, its message of unapologetic self-confidence has made it a favorite among her fans.
02:14The song embodies the themes of Brat and its accompanying season perfectly, creating an instant anthem for younger generations in the process.
02:26Number 8, Dancing Queen, ABBA.
02:29Not every anthem was necessarily created to be an anthem.
02:41ABBA's infectiously joyous hit, Dancing Queen, is the ultimate proof of that.
02:45Though it doesn't have an outright political message, its positivity and purely fun lyrics and sound have made it a long-lasting favorite for the community.
02:52It serves as a breath of fresh air and allows listeners to let go of the hate and strife they go through, even if only for a few minutes.
03:06And when you get the chance, you are the dancing queen.
03:14It just goes to show that even songs that seem to have little substance can still hold deep meaning to whole collectives of underserved individuals.
03:22Dancing Queen, feel the beat from the tambourine, oh yeah.
03:30Number 7, We Are Family, Sister Sledge.
03:41One thing that the movement had championed across the years is the idea of a chosen family.
03:46Given how many gay and trans people have been disowned or otherwise turned away by their blood relatives,
03:50it only makes sense that many took to creating their own platonic familial units.
04:02Sister Sledge's We Are Family was the ultimate way for them to celebrate that newfound sense of community.
04:07The jovial song pointed out how important the idea of family was,
04:11while also allowing listeners to interpret the definition of it to fit their own needs.
04:15It's no wonder why it's been a long-standing staple of the gay scene since its release back in 1979.
04:27We Are Family, I can hear you guys.
04:32Yes, everybody's saying.
04:34Number 6, Come to My Window, Melissa Etheridge.
04:38I would dial the numbers just to listen to your breath.
04:42Coming out isn't an easy thing to do, especially when your career is just starting to take off.
04:47In 1993, Melissa Etheridge shocked the world by coming out as a lesbian,
04:52and later that same year, released an unquestionably queer love song about her girlfriend at the time.
04:57Come to my window
04:59Her coming out took the track from a classic romantic ballad to a powerful anthem
05:06that resonated with those in the gay rights movement,
05:08with the bridge in particular serving as a proud proclamation against those with homophobic beliefs.
05:18I don't care what they think
05:21I don't care what they say
05:26It was also proof of LGBTQIA plus solidarity,
05:29with people coming together to uplift a fellow member and ensure her success,
05:33granting her a bona fide hit despite the societal climate of the time.
05:44Number 5, You Make Me Feel Mighty Real, Sylvester.
05:481978 was the year of the queer anthem.
06:00Besides Gloria Gaynor's defiant and celebratory I Will Survive,
06:03it was also the year that Sylvester's You Make Me Feel Mighty Real hit airwaves.
06:14It's considered to be a cornerstone of disco,
06:16but beyond that, it's the very essence of gay liberation bottled into song form.
06:21It's iconic enough on its own,
06:23but the singer ensured it would remain a staple for generations
06:27by using the profits to give back to the community years later at the height of the AIDS crisis.
06:37He still lived the message up until the very end,
06:40and to this day, it's a reminder and tribute to those the movement has lost.
06:46Number 4, Believe, Share.
06:59Given her status as one of the most celebrated gay icons of all time,
07:03it's hard to choose just one of her songs that has continuously uplifted the movement.
07:08However, it's arguably the ever-enduring and groundbreaking Believe that has had the largest impact.
07:13It's message about persevering through even the hardest times resonated throughout the population.
07:25It allowed countless people to have a modicum of hope during a period of elevated homophobic violence,
07:30reminding them to stay strong even in the face of hate.
07:32With one track alone, the icon cultivated a fourth musical comeback for herself,
07:43and gave her fans a moment of pure Europop escapism.
