The most iconic LGBT music artists in history

Elton John - The 71-year-old singer, husband, and father has been championing LGBT causes since he came out as bisexual in the 1970s and as gay in the 1980s. Sir Elton John said in 2017 that, “Too often LGBT people are tolerated rather than accepted, let alone embraced,” as reported by Eyewitness News.

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Lance Bass - The NSYNC singer publicly came out as gay in a 2006 cover story for People. After receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 2018 along with his other bandmates, Bass said, “Let me say loud and proud to all my LGBT brothers and sisters, who embrace me and show me the way to be who I am, thank you so much,” as reported by the Huffington Post.

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Frank Ocean - When the rapper admitted to also being attracted to men, many artists, including Beyoncé and Jay-Z, expressed admiration for his courage. Hip-hop business magnate Russell Simmons even wrote an article for Global Grind in which he stated that Ocean’s decision “gives hope and light to so many young people still living in fear.”

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Josephine Baker - This bisexual star of the 1920s was an exceptional singer and dancer. Although born in the United States, she became an icon in France during the Jazz Era.

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Ney Matogrosso - Though the 76-year-old Brazilian singer has said he identifies as a man and enjoys being a man, he freely moves between the two ends of the gender and sexuality spectrum, according to Folha de S.Paulo.

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Vanessa Carlton - The ‘A Thousand Miles’ singer came out as a “proud bisexual woman” at the 2010 Nashville Pride festival, according to CBS News.

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Freddie Mercury - The Queen frontman’s flamboyant performances have long placed him among the greatest LGBT icons. Though he openly had relationships with both men and women, the singer often evaded questions about his sexuality. His ambiguity has been celebrated by many as a defiance of gender binarism, as argued by Ultimate Classic Rock.

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Adam Lambert - The 'American Idol' star's success hasn’t prevented him from suffering discrimination over his sexuality. “Concerned citizens” launched a petition after Lambert announced he would be performing at the popular Countdown 2016 concert in Singapore to prevent him from participating, according to The Independent.

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Christian Chávez - The Mexican singer has been openly gay since 2007 and has since become an important figure in the LGBT movement in Latin America. His song ‘Libertad’ has been embraced as an anthem for the Latin LGBT community, according to Billboard.

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Titica - The transgender Angolan pop star has been recognized for her efforts to fight discrimination against LGBT people. As an UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador, Titica said she has been beaten and stoned for who she is and pledged to fight discrimination in her country and beyond, according to a UNAIDS press release. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0)

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Rob Halford - The frontman of heavy metal band Judas Priest publicly came out as gay in 1998 during an interview. He's said he received an outpouring of support from fans, which he described as “a tremendously uplifting moment for metal,” as reported by Blabbermouth.

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Pabllo Vittar - The Brazilian drag queen singer has been taking Brazil, and now the world, by storm. The singer is now a favorite and expected presence at São Paulo Gay Pride.

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k.d. Lang - The Canadian singer-songwriter came out as a lesbian in 1992 in an article for The Advocate and has been an activist for LGBT causes ever since.

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Miley Cyrus - The pop singer has risen as a voice for the LGBT community since she came out as pansexual and gender fluid. In 2014, she founded the Happy Hippie Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on vulnerable populations, including youth homelessness and the LGBT community.

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David Bowie - The legendary glam rock artist came out as gay in 1972, then as bisexual in 1976, and later as a closeted straight man. But whatever his sexuality, the late Bowie “projected an otherness that thousands of LGBT people could relate to,” as written in an Out magazine obiturary.

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Indigo Girls - Emily Saliers and Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls came out in 1988, putting them at the forefront of the queer rights movement, according to PrideSource.com.

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Kehlani - After years of public speculation, the singer came out as queer on Twitter earlier this year, explaining she is attracted to people with various gender identities and sexual orientations. As she herself put it, “ERRYBODY FINE.”

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Daniela Mercury - Ever since coming out as a lesbian in 2013, the Grammy Award-winning Brazilian singer has been championing LGBT cause after cause. In 2014, Mercury became one of the faces of UN Free & Equal, a United Nations’ campaign pushing for equal rights and fair treatment for LGBT people.

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RuPaul - RuPaul Andre Charles is the gay man behind the persona of the iconic drag queen. Charles has been at the forefront of the fight against male-dominated culture and toxic masculinity. However, he’s been under fire recently for comments he made about whether to allow or not allow transgender contestants on his popular show, 'RuPaul’s Drag Race,' according to The Guardian.

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António Variações - The Portuguese singer’s unique and provocative style has earned him the status of being one of the most innovative artists in Portugal’s recent music history. In 2015, the singer—who died at the age of 39 in 1984—was voted as the country’s biggest LGBT icon, according to Jornal de Notícias. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY 2.0)

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Janelle Monáe - The innovative singer and actor came out as pansexual earlier this year. She talked about being a queer black woman in America in an interview with Rolling Stone.

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Saara Aalto - 'The Voice of Finland' 2012 runner-up—and most-Googled person in Finland in 2017—became an inspiration to countless people after openly discussing coming out as a lesbian, according to the Mirror.

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Boy George - Like other androgynous-looking performers, Boy George has been vague about his sexual orientation. He claimed he was bisexual in the '80s, later said he preferred “a nice cup of tea” to sex, but by the early 2000s he made it clear he's a gay man. He's been in the hot seat with the LGBT community as well, like when accusations of biphobia popped up in early 2017, as reported by PinkNews.

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Scissor Sisters - Being part of a band that rose to fame from New York’s gay scene, the members of Scissor Sisters have sought to advance LGBT causes through their platform.

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Ani DiFranco - The musician and activist has identified as bisexual since her twenties. Through her record label, Righteous Babe Records, she has supported causes ranging from gay visibility to abortion rights.

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Jake Zyrus - The transgender Filipino singer, who came to fame under the stage name Charice prior to his transition, has candidly discussed transitioning in the Philippines, a country still struggling with equality and freedom, as reported by USA Today.

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Tiziano Ferro - The Italian pop star came out at the height of his fame in 2010, according to la Repubblica, and has since been open about his previous struggles related to self-acceptance around his sexual orientation.

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Mykki Blanco - The transgender rapper who uses multiple pronouns has been called a hip-hop queer pioneer, though Mykki Blanco struggles with being put in that box.

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Tegan and Sara - The identical twin sisters from Canada are both openly gay and strong advocates for LGBT equality. In 2016, the sisters launched the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which focuses on issues around health, economic justice, and representation for LGBT women and girls.

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