Two of my favourite things are food and music. Since I’ve been talking your ear off with food reviews and the like, I thought it was time to give you a break and let music take my place. So, here’s a compilation of my most listened 7 local LGBTQ+ musicians to get on your radar.
While I was writing this article, I did have quite the dilemma about calling it a list of LGBTQ+ musicians. The musicians I’m about to highlight are so much more than the labels they identify as. While this article does aim to give this demographic of artists more exposure, they are in no way defined by being queer.
In fact, I think you’ll find something in the music to identify with, regardless of your personal experiences. Get your headphones on; it’s time to dance!
1. KIRSHANN
With sexy beats, bold imagery and a streak of vulnerability that lances through his music, KIRSHANN writes from the heart and strikes at the gut. His first professionally produced album, About Last Night, is quite simply, a soul-baring experience.
The man behind the music is 21 year old Kirshann Venu Das, whose songs mostly start from a recording of him singing into his phone. From school performances to public events such as The T Project Fundraiser, KIRSHANN has repeatedly demonstrated his vocal prowess.
About Last Night chronicles a moment of respite from routine, embodying the cycle of euphoric adventure and hindsight. My personal favourite off the album is Bad Timing, a rhythmic jam for a party of one.
Check out the full album on Spotify. You can also find KIRSHANN’s music videos and live performances on his YouTube channel.
2. Karen Grace
I was immediately charmed when I heard Karen Grace’s song, Didn’t I Learn My Love From You, which a friend shared with me. Amidst the synths and beats of my daily playlists, a little acoustic tune is a welcome change.
The melody of Didn’t I Learn My Love From You is definitely an earworm, and a welcome one at that. With clear vocals, a catchy tune and poignant lyrics, this song aptly captures the struggle many face to reconcile queerness, love and religion. I’d imagine this song will be welcome to people struggling to reconcile their sexual and religious identities. In this spirit, thank you to the LGBTQ+ musicians for what you do.
To Karen Grace, songwriting is almost like journaling, as a way to process her experiences, especially the painful ones. There is self-discovery to be found there, which she finds really cathartic. As a listener, I can almost feel that relief secondhand when I listen to her, which really epitomises the emotional magic of sharing music.
Didn’t I Learn My Love From You is particularly worthy of a listen, so do check it out on Instagram or YouTube.
3. Leon Markcus
With bright pop sounds and even brighter visuals to accompany that, Leon Markcus will add colour to your day. Listening to the first two seconds of his latest album Welcome to Hot City (Rebel Edition) already has me wanting to dance.
There’s diversification too—Welcome to Hot City features a stunning range of bubbly dance jams to dreamy, languid tunes. My favourite off this record is definitely the titular Hot City featuring vocals from Bilal Hassani. It doesn’t hurt that it comes with the most endearing vertical music video. I lit rally couldn’t stop listening.
Welcome to Hot City comes from Markus’s own experiences and struggles to find belonging and self-discovery. Check out the album on Spotify now. For a visual blessing, watch his videos on YouTube.
4. Jean Seizure
Heartfelt ballads brought to life with a soulful voice—this is what makes Jean Seizure’s music special. With her prolific portfolio of acting and singing ventures, Jean Seizure keeps it real with songs that just strike at the feels.
I really didn’t want to cry while writing this article, but damn, Jean Seizure, why do you gotta do me dirty with this music video?
Nose around on her Spotify page to find more of her music, and check out her YouTube channel for music videos, covers, and snippets of the artist’s life.
5. Cayes Hotwheels Hong
Cayes brings a compelling voice to the music scene with his rhythmic guitar work and soft voice, crooning both original tunes and covers that are comforting in equal measure. Each of his songs are specific to his personal experiences. As he puts it, he likes to think of his songs as intimate letters that embody certain memories or sentiments.
His latest original song, at least we are under the same moon, is a love song for a dear friend. Its conversational lyrics and homemade music video give an endearingly authentic quality to his repertoire.
Listening to Cayes’ music feels like being privy to a secret, which further cements my opinion that music is really an expression of subjectivity that manages to be universally relatable.
6. Wils
You might know of Wils, known as Wiltay in another life. Now based on Los Angeles, Wils has faced his fair share of discrimination as an LGBTQ+ musician in the Singapore music industry. He was dropped abruptly and unceremoniously by his old record label when he informed them that he was going to come out as gay to his following of over 400,ooo fans.
Fast forward to today, Wils now has several independently produced singles and an album under his belt. His latest body of work, Don’t Leave Too Soon, is closely intertwined with his experiences with love as a gay man.
My favourite off the album has to be Fuck Me Up, with its mix of matter-of-fact conversational lines and woeful hook. It is, as they say, a bop.
Check out Don’t Leave Too Soon on Spotify and find Wils’ music videos on YouTube.
7. lewloh
lewloh writes songs for rainy days, and a quick listen is enough to tell you why. Coming from a very personal and honest space, lewloh writes introspective lyrics about love in all its forms.
With his clear and calming voice that holds a streak of melodious melancholy, lewloh’s music creates a comforting cocoon to immerse your ears in on the days you’re feeling under the weather. It’s not all heavy emotion either—lewloh manages to inject humour in his content to remind us that neither happiness nor heartbreak are permanent states of being.
For all his beautifully produced EPs and albums, I’d like to give some love to his series, Letters To Let Go Of, which you can find on IGTV and YouTube. In this series, he writes a song about an old love letter from a past relationship before he quite literally, lets go of it. The songs, with their simplicity and peace, are a lovely way to think of growth.
Music comes from such personal spaces, yet they manage to hold this universal quality that many cannot resist. From the experiences and artistry of the local LGBTQ+ musicians listed here, I hope their songs will resonate with you as they did with me.
It has been a very inspiring experience to see the hard work and creativity that goes behind each song while researching for this article. Perhaps we can inspire them in turn to write more music.
