16 LGBTQ Music Videos You’ll Love
Watch these visual masterpieces by MIKA, Dorian Electra, Shea Diamond, and more.
Have all those hours on TikTok finally taken a toll on your attention span? Maybe it’s time to take in a new form of media. This week, OutSmart has compiled our picks of the queerest music videos you should watch. As always, we invite our readers to check out something new and unexpected, in hopes that you’ll find your new favorite musician among our recommendations. At the very least, you’ll have some new songs to spice up (or start creating) your Pride playlist.
1. Flutua by Johnny Hooker feat. Liniker
Brazilian queer pop sensation Johnny Hooker teams up with the frontwoman of Liniker e os Caramelows for this track. The funky, soulful beat paired with an intimate depiction of intersectional love in Brazil makes this video an unforgettable watch. Filled to the brim with raw emotion and ‘70s disco-era camp, little is lost in translation from song to music video. Trigger Warning: depictions of non-graphic violence.
Known as the first openly gay K-pop star, Holland personally financed and produced his debut single and music video Neverland, which earnt a 19+ rating in South Korea for featuring two men kissing. After the release, he was able to find more mainstream success and became even bolder in his second single, I’m Not Afraid. Aptly named, this video brings more diversity and queer love to the forefront of K-pop.
3. Amor Libre by Esteman and Javiera Mena
International queer icons
Esteman and Javiera Mena unite in Mexico City for this pop Pride anthem, which celebrates love and expression. Dance-filled and colorfully enthusiastic, this music video is perfect for when you need a little more positive energy and queer love in your life.
4. Les Filles Désir by Vendredi sur Mer
This hypnotic, techno-beat French music video is equal parts style and substance. Depicting the turbulent love between two young women, its visuals consist of carefully staged scenes with superb aesthetics that tell this story as if it was a film made for the big screen.
In the new single from his latest album, My Name is Michale Holbrook, out singer MIKA blends the nostalgic longing for a childhood memory with the desire longing to be able to live and love freely. While the video is set in 1960s Italy, it was filmed in present-day Croatia by local LGBTQ activists, in the hopes of bringing more representation and incite tolerance within their country.
6. What’s It Gonna Be? By Shura
This music video is probably better than most 80s teen films, as it depicts two parallel high school love stories to the beat of out singer Shura’s magnetic lyrics and techno-pop rhythms. Subverting expectations at every turn, this video is as entertaining as it is heartwarming, whether you’re watching it for the first time or the hundredth.
This music video tells the story of the tale as old as time: a queer girl has a crush on her straight best friend—only here, she turns out to be not-so-straight. Reminiscent of an early alternative rock sound, this music video is funny and endearing to all those who’ve been in the situation, and relatable to even those who haven’t.
By far the most cinematic entry on our list, this indietronica hit borrows concepts from classic spy films to make an unexpectedly queer rhomp of a music video. Complete with a dance duet at the halfway mark, there’s virtually nothing wrong about it.
9. Man to Man by Dorian Electra
Houston-native and genderfluid style icon, Dorian Electra brings their signature retromodern ‘80s synth-pop sound to this unique music video. Colorful and theatrically styled, this video and song provide commentary on the contradictory homoeroticism of hypermasculine confrontations, while not taking itself too seriously and camping it up left and right.
10. Alone Together by Anna Akana
This slow techno ballad captures the aimless emotion that pervades a life post-breakup. While depicting the lonely adjusting period for two newly single people, this music video manages to avoid morose and melancholic tones, and instead showcases both the ups and downs of having loved and lost.
11. Kiss Me At Midnight by Pansy Division
The quintessential queercore band Pansy Division has been making LGBTQ rock classics for three decades. This music video might have a smaller production value than some of the others on our list, but this only serves to render it more intimate.
What can only be dubbed as a trans Pride pop anthem, this song is sweet and uplifting, while the music video is part protest and part empowerment.
13. Flowerbomb by Sienna Liggins
Mixing Latin reggaeton inspired beats with a soft pop ballad melody, this summer love song is the perfect morning pick-me-up. The music video expertly captures the tender romance of the song’s lyrics with the bright colors of nature in summer, unique within the often flashy glam and hypersexual styles found in many other queer music videos.
Written while she was incarcerated and housed with male inmates, transgender singer-songwriter Shea Diamond’s lyrical story is as inspirational as her soulful R&B beats. Filmed almost like a documentary around New York City, this song and video double as a gospel monologue you won’t be able to stop watching.
Bringing a queer femme twist to the rap scene, Drebae seamlessly enters the luxury-in-excess lifestyle the genre is well known for. Killer beats and catchy rhymes make for an earworm song and rewatchable video you’ll keep coming back to.
This bold ‘90s punk rock song isn’t exactly a family friendly watch. But what it lacks in subtlety, it makes up in catchiness. With a great video that exudes sexuality, we guarantee that after checking out this pick you’ll find yourself feeling a little more badass, regardless of your identity.
