This year, we have seen the rise and domination of ‘Gay Pop’ across the industry, the charts and the media. Many, like myself, are overjoyed to see the sudden shift that is happening in the pop world; after years of cis heterosexual artists ruling the charts creating that art, a whole community simply found it difficult to relate and apply their own lives, too.
We must also acknowledge the lack of representation and role models found in history and appreciate the way things are changing for the better—it really feels like the music business, and the world alike, is moving in a positive direction.
Let's look at some of the LGBTQIIA+ artists who have taken this year by storm.
Troye Sivan
Troye Sivan, an artist who has been working in the industry for many years, truly dominated the scene this year. Sivan’s most notable achievement in 2024 was the ‘SWEAT’ tour alongside his friend and co-star Charli XCX.
The tour had 22 dates across America and Canada, earning a whopping $28 million in revenue across the entire tour, and sold 297,000 tickets. The Australian star spoke at the 2024 Fall Summit alongside Charli XCX about ‘redefining pop music’. This year, Sivan took home three Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards. The dance-pop star even earned the top prize, album of the year, for his 2023 record Something to Give Each Other. He also won Best Solo Artist for the second year running, as well as Best Pop Release.
Sivan not only achieved fame in his music but became the face of this year's ‘GAP’ Fall campaign. If this wasn’t enough for the Aussie singer, he has just been appointed ‘Chief Vibes Officer’ at Smirnoff as part of a multi-year partnership with the brand. As Pink News writes, “Is there anything Sivan can’t do?”
For the pop-prince of Down Under, 2024 has been nothing short of magnificent.
Chappell Roan
Saying Chappell Roan kicked off 2024 with a bang is an understatement. In March, the singer performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series, which described her as “The utterly commanding artist [who] takes the Tiny Desk stage with a magnetic performance and a towering wig”. With a glowing reference like that, it’s no wonder the video went viral with 9.5 million views and counting. This performance also sent her monthly Spotify listeners skyrocketing up by an astounding 500 percent. For Roan, this was only the start of world denomination, and she hadn’t even started enticing the masses into the Pink Pony Club.
In April, she became arguably the biggest story from Coachella, growing her followers by 45.12%. This set also shook the world of social media with many viral posts using quotes from her set and coincidentally widening her public reach. In June, she was the most prominent story of the Governor’s Ball and has recently just played Lollapalooza, with reports suggesting she attracted the biggest crowd of all time. Roan has also recently just joined forces with Sabrina Carpenter for her upcoming Netflix special, A Nonsense Christmas.
Chappell has dominated this year, and I can’t see her slowing down for 2025.
Renee Rapp
As DIVA mag puts it, “Reneé really can do it all: not only does she have vocal cords to die for, but she is also an incredibly talented actress both on the stage and the big screen”. Rapp kicked off 2024 starring in the Mean Girls musical movie, which grossed over $104 million worldwide against a $36 million budget. Rapp was set to stardom after her feature in this film which sent the single ‘Not My Fault’ feat Meghan Thee Stallion to number two in the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles published by Billboard. Just after the release of this single, Rapp went on to perform on the comedy and variety series Saturday Night Live, where she performed "Snow Angel" and "Not My Fault".
Rapp also performed at one of the biggest US music festivals, Coachella, this year. Rapp went on a worldwide tour, which she described as “a brilliant performance from start to finish”. It’s clear this pop-princess’ efforts have paid off in 2024, as Chartmetric reported the singer/actress has an astounding 7.5 million fans.
Rapp is sure to have a career of success if she continues on this path of grabbing every opportunity and presenting that undeniable charm.
Billie Eilish
Of course, we all know Billie Eilish has been achieving unprecedented success since she took off in 2019, but this year, Eilish has smashed it out of the park. As DIVA mag puts it, “Billie has been a household name for a number of years. However, more recently, she has cemented her place as a queer icon”.
This year, she announced her third album, ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and charted all 10 of its songs in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. A track called ‘LUNCH’ described as a “celebration for same-sex attraction,” was the top dog of Billie’s third album. Eilish also announced a tour for this album which sold out every date across the world almost instantly. If this wasn’t enough for young Billie, she was also featured on ‘Guess,’ a track by Charli XCX. The track charted at number one across the entire world, including Australia and Ireland.
With a sold-out tour ahead of her, 2025 is set to be another year of stardom and success for Eilish.
