10 New Songs to Add to Your Pride Playlist in 2023

Happy Pride Month! We're back with another round of 10 songs to add to your ever-expanding Pride playlist. This list will include big hits that have caught our attention in 2023, as well as bangers from recent years past that we've overlooked until now. In any case, they all include LGBTQ+ themes and stories, as well as confident vibes to help boost up your self-love and uniqueness.

Oh and, by the way...practically all the songs included below are made by queer artists! Whether you're looking for pre-game songs to broadcast before a Pride parade or some lovely tunes to dance to for an at-home Pride party, we hope you enjoy our 10 picks below!


1. "Vulgar" - Sam Smith and Madonna

This is THE Pride anthem of 2023. Sam Smith and Madonna form the ultimate team-up of "S&M" on this club-ready pop banger. "Vulgar" is a scathing response to the critics who have shamed Sam Smith's new "Unholy" image (cough, Piers Morgan, cough cough), and also shows just how iconic, relevant, and "with the times" Madonna still is. "Vulgar" is beautiful, filthy, and gorgeous. As Sam and Madonna proclaim: this song doesn't need a chorus to make you dance.


2. "Story of a Boy" - JORDY

We featured JORDY last year on our 10 LGBTQ+ Artists You Should Know in 2022 list. This year, the artist has released a new queer love song called "Story of a Boy" that will absolutely charm your pants off! It's got a nostalgic early 2000s quality to it, and that's intentional: the song samples Nine Days' bop “Absolutely (Story of a Girl).” On "Story of a Boy," JORDY told MTV News, "I’m at the age where you start thinking about those childhood experiences that you buried for a while, especially as a queer person. And one of those things that every queer person can relate to is, there wasn’t a lot of music that we really heard ourselves in when we were younger. It came back into my realm recently, and I was like, how do I make this my own? Can I make this my own? Can this be an homage to my younger queer self, who didn’t have lots of guys to listen to who were gay and singing about other guys? Like, this is exactly what we needed as queer kids. We just wanted to hear a love song from our perspective."


3. "Girls Just Wanna Have Sex" - mazie

We cannot get enough of this rockin' track from mazie! "Girls Just Wanna Have Sex" is a single from the artist's amazing sophomore album blotter baby and is an ode to female libido. And it's also an ode to, you know, girls having sex with girls. mazie's bi-panic is heightened with roaring guitar riffs, spritely chiptune-esque sounds, a rapid pace, and some wonderfully raunchy lyrics. We hope Cyndi Lauper is proud of this queer masterpiece.


4. "Boyfriend" - Dove Cameron

Dove Cameron's sultry and dramatic "Boyfriend" was released last year as the lead single to her debut album, Celestial Bodies. It became a viral TikTok sensation, and was dropped earlier than exepected because so many people loved it on one of Cameron's social media posts. "Boyfriend" highlights her queerness, and emphasizes Cameron telling the object of her affection just how much better a partner they’d be than their current boyfriend. You know, maybe what this troubled girl in question actually needs is, well...a girlfriend! If you're a confident girl who has a crush on another girl in a relationship – particularly a relationship with a less-than-satisfying boy toy – then this track will hit you hard.


5. "Cherry" - FLETCHER and Hayley Kiyoko

Two of the hottest queer lady artists of our times in one awesome track? Sign us up! "Cherry" was released by FLETCHER and Hayley Kiyoko all the way back in 2021. (It's a song we've forgotten to include on our Pride playlist posts...until now!) It was the prequel to FLETCHER's hit "girls girls girls" and has some playful, breezy, flirty, and free production. The lyrics have such great imagery, that you can just see, smell, taste, and feel the interactions FLETCHER and Hayley are having with their lovers. We especially love the "mon chéri" wordplay used in the chorus.


6. "Lipstick Lover" - Janelle Monáe

Have you listened to Janelle Monáe's latest album The Age of Pleasure yet? The whole album was tailor-made for Pride Month, but one of our favorite tracks has to be the summer fun "Lipstick Lover." With a little bit of reggae influence and a whole lot of smooth vocals, Monáe sings sweet odes to her very kiss-able squeeze. Some of the lyrics on "Lipstick Lover" are considered provocative (and the original music video is definitely NSFW – hence a clean version being made), but that doesn't make the song any less catchy, chill, or refined.


7. "Turn Up the Love" - Wrabel

This is a universally touching song created by up-and-coming artist Wrabel. "Turn Up the Love" is a song about self-love, romantic love, brotherly love...all forms of love and the beauty they bring to the world. With a bouncy chorus that's perfect for any Pride parade, this song will bring out your shining light. Additionally, all streaming proceeds on "Turn Up the Love" will go to The Trevor Project for one year. So keep replaying this jam if you love it! Turn it up!


8. "Looking Good, Feeling Gorgeous" - Trixie Mattell

Oh, Trixie Mattell...you never disappoint with your music. This is a solid cover of RuPaul's 2004 tune that has definitely gone under the radar. "Looking Good, Feeling Gorgeous" may be the ultimate getting-ready-for-Pride-celebrations pep song. Like, THIS is the song we're blasting in the house as we're putting on makeup and donning our colorful costumes. Trixie's energy in this banger will make you feel confident, self-assured, and not afraid to hold back!


9. "Fashion" - Billy Porter

We're so excited to include a Billy Porter song on this year's list! Especially a song that's made to strut to as if you're a model on a catwalk. Porter dropped "Fashion" back in May. It's a glitzy, synthy number that shows off Porter's powerful voice and style expertise. There's also a lyric about "glowing up in the summer shade," so you know Billy intended this to be a Pride piece. Ultimately, "Fashion" is a feel-good romp about embracing your uniqueness, and how a positive attitude (or, "turning a lime into lemonade") is always appreciated.


10. "Gay Barz" - Bob the Drag Queen

Last but not least, we have a song from an act that is about to blow up once Madonna goes on her highly-anticipated tour this year. Yes: we're talking about her opening act, Bob the Drag Queen. We recently featured her on our 10 LGBTQ+ Artists You Should Know in 2023 list, and we feel "Gay Barz" was the song that got our attention. The lyrics may be campy ("Fly, Wingardium Leviosa!"), but the intention is totally cool. There's also fantastic features from Kamera Tyme, Allxmllr, Mikey Angelo, & Ocean Kelly. Can a song be hardcore, goofy, and earwormy all at the same time? It's giving Childish Gambino's "Bonfire" but gay, and we're here for it.


Need more modern songs to add to your Pride playlist? Check out last year's list of recommendations.

You can also check out the Live365 stations offering up Pride-related programming by clicking here. Once again, happy Pride Month!

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Article Image: A cheerful woman with Airpods in her ears holds up a Pride flag. (HayDmitriy via DepositPhotos.)