The R&B singer-songwriter discusses the power of submission and not understanding the fans who still think he’s straight. 

WORDS MIKELLE STREET
PHOTOGRAPHY RYDER

Earlier this year, Destin Conrad was in an Uber riding through New York City. He was lost in his own world, in his own problems, staring out the window. And then he saw her: a girl standing at the bus stop with the word “Submissive” stamped across the front of her hoodie in big bold letters. 

“It brought me so much joy,” Conrad tells GAY TIMES. The hoodie was merch from his two-part Submissive project and accompanying from earlier this year. Though the driver was going too fast for him to roll down the window and call out to her, the experience stuck with Conrad. “I almost started crying in the Uber. [That hoodie] is something so loud. I’m sure that girl has gotten questioned about why she has it on. It’s just crazy how it can be a part of somebody’s everyday life. It was one of those moments that kind of hit me.”

But that’s the work that Conrad is making: stuff that people feel deeply. Over the span of five EPs, the Tampa, Florida-born, Los Angeles-raised, Brooklyn-residing R&B singer has solidified himself as a talent to be taken note of. He has a voice that, like some of America’s great singers, got its start in the church, and a face so compelling that he recently served as a video vixen of sorts in one of Lil Nas X’s latest visuals. (You also might recognise that face from the remnants of his Vine stardom that live on as GIFs to this day.)

The singer-songwriter, who takes both halves of that label as serious as the other, is a true crooner. You can hear it on his hit “In the Air” where he tries to carefully tread the line of telling a situationship what you want without being demanding. And if pining and yearning are physical manifestations of crooning, you can see it in his eyes through music videos for tracks like “Nosebleed” and “It’s Only You.”

Here, we talk to Destin about the role music plays in his personal life, why his biggest song doesn’t have a music video and what he thinks about men who can hear his song “WAR!” which claims he would go to war for the dick, and not be convinced he’s gay.

What’s the role that music plays in your life? For some people it’s therapy, for some people it’s a way of explaining their mood, what is it for you?

It’s definitely therapy for me in a sense. When I go through something with someone I’m definitely like I need to write about this. It all comes back to my actual life: my romantic relationships and even my platonic tiffs that I get in. I just want to write about them and how I felt. It’s about how I feel and it’s a form of therapy.

Do you write about things while they are happening or after?

I can’t write about it when I’m going through it. I have to feel it and then get over it and write about it. It would be really sour if I wrote about it while I was feeling it. When you feel things very strongly and it’s current, it’s hard to take yourself out of it. I definitely have to say ok that happened, let’s evaluate: how did that make me feel. That’s where the therapy comes in. 

It’s sort of like a debrief with yourself afterwards.

Exactly. 

So you’ve been singing like all your life, right?

Yeah. I grew up singing in church. My aunt was an evangelist so she was a big reason as to why I was in music and performance at an early age. She would have these church boat rides where she would rent a boat and everybody would come on and everyone would donate and fundraise and I would come on and sing. My mom also told me that I would hum a lot when I was a baby before I could talk. So it’s kind of always been a thing for me. 

It’s interesting because I’m too online – I’m on Twitter too much – but one of the things that’s said on there every few months is we don’t have the great singers we used to have because people aren’t growing up in church any more. 

I keep seeing that too. I mean the root of R&B is gospel. I feel like before we were making love songs about people it was definitely about God and then someone made it secular. I definitely agree in some way that it does play a role in R&B and why [the genre] isn’t as big as it used to be. Not a lot of my peers go to church. Even melodically there’s a lot of things that tie gospel and R&B together with runs and the inflection. I learned a lot of that in church and listening to gospel music. A lot of R&B artists I know are big fans of Kim Burrell and freak out over those church runs.

“Submitting is the ultimate power and strength.”

You said that Colorway changed your life forever. Was it just that it helped you decide to do music full time or was it something else?

That’s definitely what it was, the fact that it gave me purpose. I didn’t really know what I was doing. My friends were like well you can do this and you can do that, maybe you should act. I just feel like I didn’t want to choose one thing so I did a lot of different things. I sold t-shirts for a while, I did everything. But I’m in it now. I identify myself as an artist now. I’ve toured and done the whole thing. And maybe it was a little bit of imposter syndrome that played into it but now I walk in the room and I’m like I’m an R&B singer. 

Sometimes that feels like something you can be even more proud of if you discovered it on your own and it’s not something someone told you to do.

For sure. I’m definitely proud of it because it’s mine. It’s my story, these are my experiences, my melodies, my writing. Granted, I work with songwriters as well and I love collaborating with people but the majority of it is my story and my feelings. I’m very proud of it now. 

When you went in to start working on your Submissive project, did you know you wanted it to be a two-part project?

It’s something that had crossed my mind. But I didn’t really know I was going to make a part two until I started making it. A big reason I did part two was I wanted to tour and I didn’t have enough songs because my projects were EPs, they weren’t full-length albums. So that was a big reason: I wanted to have a full set list.

But I came up with the idea of Submissive being the title because I knew that it would draw people in because it has a sexual connotation and people are just horny. But my angle was submitting in a way of surrendering to the unknown and the strength that carries. To just submit in the way that “whatever is mine is mine.” Sometimes I feel like that is way more powerful than dominance. I feel like sometimes dominance can be fickle and fragile and too particular. I feel like submitting is the ultimate power and strength. That’s where I was coming from with it for the title.

In the leather and BDSM culture it’s often said that the dominant is only as dominant as the submissive allows. And in that way the submissive is the one really in control because they sort of lay out their boundaries and the dominant gets to be dominant within those parameters. 

That is so powerful to me. 

How was headlining your first tour earlier this year? I know obviously you’re onstage longer but vibe-wise how was that?

It was probably one of the most gratifying things I’ve ever done. Also one of the most tiring things I’ve ever done. Very different from opening up for another artist. I feel like there’s a pressure when you’re opening up for somebody else. I’ve just heard horror stories about people opening up and fans being horrible to them, though I never had that experience. I opened for Syd and that was my first time playing my music anywhere and I had just put out Colorway. That was my first tour and her fans were very receptive. Then my second tour was opening for my sister Kehlani which was very easy. They were very receptive to me because they knew me already. 

But opening wasn’t as gratifying as knowing that I was doing my own show and that people bought tickets to come see me. It goes back to the real-life-always-outweighs-the-internet shit. Because the numbers can be so high and you don’t make people feel anything. It doesn’t add up. But when you see it in person… that’s what makes it worth it. When I’m super tired and don’t want to work, seeing people who tell me how my music makes them feel or seeing them wearing my merch makes me feel like, okay, this is real I can’t stop. I got to keep doing it. I can’t disappoint people. 

How intentional are you with your visuals and music videos? I ask that because I’m thinking about the decision to have men be your romantic interests in the videos. Is that something you’re super conscious about?

I wasn’t in the beginning. As I said, before I was an artist I kind of ran away from the idea of being an artist in a way. I was kind of still in a limbo of if I wanted to do that. So that anxiety showed up when I started putting out videos because I just didn’t know what I wanted to do. I didn’t know if I wanted to be perceived. I’ve shot a couple of videos that will never see the light of day. One of my biggest songs actually, “In the Air,”  I shot a video to that song and never put it out. I probably should have because that was my first project. And even for me as a fan of other artists, it’s always cool to see their growth in the form of visuals. But I was just so particular and scared about how I would be perceived. So now I’m trying to convey a message in my videos. 

With the “In the Air” video was it that you didn’t want to be perceived or that you weren’t sure that was the way you wanted to be perceived?

I wasn’t sure that was the way I wanted to be perceived. I wasn’t in love with how it made me look. The story probably could have been told better, I don’t know. But looking back, I should have put the video out. It’s my biggest song and it doesn’t have a video because I was scared of perception. It is what it is. Now I have more of an idea of what I want and how I want my videos to look. I’ve been having love interests which is really cool to me and I feel like it’s important for people to see gay men be video vixens. It’s just important: music videos are important.

You’re working on your debut album now, what have you been listening to as you work on it?

It’s been a little different than the other projects, partially because it’s my first album. So it’s longer. If it was an EP it would probably be done already. But I’m really trying to do full length songs and have a bridge and polish them and mix them the right way. The transitions have to be incredible. So I’ve been listening to all the music that I love. Just the great R&B albums of the last couple of years and seeing how their songs transition into each other. Like Anti by Rihanna. I remember listening to that and being like this is a really good album: it’s the right amount of songs but it doesn’t feel like there’s a skip. Also Channel Orange. The big R&B albums that really impacted me. 

It’s important for people to see gay men be video vixens.

Where do you feel R&B sits in the market right now? Do you think it’s going through a renaissance or it’s the same as it’s always been?

I feel like there’s a lot of great R&B that needs a lot more attention. I’m ready for it to be mainstream how it was in the early 2000s, how I would turn on the radio and there would be a lot of fucking R&B playing. I don’t know if that was just regionally where I lived. I’m from Tampa and maybe it’s just because it was in the south but I feel like in the early 2000s R&B was it. Like they were pop stars but were making R&B music. But there’s a lot of good R&B coming out that I feel like a lot of people don’t know about and I’m excited for it to get the attention it needs. 

Is there something you think people miss about your music and your sound?

Sometimes I think people don’t realise I’m gay and I don’t understand it. Like, I’m talking about a grown-ass man. It’s just like you’re not listening. I say “he”, I’m talking about dick, I’m pretty gay in my music. I don’t know if people are just turning their ears off when I’m talking. I specifically get those comments from straight guys who are my fans which is partially why I started to have my boos in my videos.  But other than that I think my writing style, I’m not super cryptic. It’s really just how I feel. Sometimes I like that more than other times, sometimes I want it to be more eloquent but that’s my style. 

Is it important for you that people know you’re gay?

1000%. It’s super important that people know that I’m queer in the R&B space because there’s so many people that need that music. There’s so many gay boys that need songs about other gay boys and just queer people in general. So without shoving it down people’s throats I definitely try to indicate it. 

Destin Conrad’s latest single “Nosebleed” is out now, check out the video below.

The post Destin Conrad: “There’s so many gay boys that need songs about other gay boys” appeared first on GAY TIMES.

The cult musician talks queerbaiting, coming out and being “the original gay boy on Tumblr”.

WORDS MIKELLE STREET
PHOTOGRAPHY AND STYLIST IRIS LUZ
LIGHTING ALEX RADOTA

Babymorocco is sexy. For him, that’s a forgone conclusion. He wields that attribute, actually. He’s got a big mass in general –  “big thighs and a big butt” as he explains to me over Zoom. Later, he gives me a few flexing poses to illustrate a point he’s making. Becoming conscious of – and manipulating – that appeal started when he launched a Tumblr account under the Babymorocco moniker and was first exposed to how people reacted to images of his body. But it continues through to today.

“There’s a certain kind of power that I became obsessed with,” he says of those early online days. “You know, the validation you get from looking sexy.” The sort of reaction he was receiving, and the beefcake-like frame that came later, planted the seed for his career as a pop act, the essence of which is best encapsulated in his music video “Everyone” where he walks through the streets of New York City as people turn and stare.

“Everyone wants to look like me, everyone wants to talk like me,” he says in the hook. 

The Casablanca, Morocco-born star is in constant pursuit of that sort of attention, of fame, not just by way of being an online pin-up but via actual club bangers. His tracks largely don’t take themselves too seriously and hearken back to music from the 2000s and 2010s that worms its way into your ears and refuses to dislodge. The songs are fun, self-absorbed, and sometimes a bit trashy from the self-taught musician who is writing a lore that fans will hopefully obsess over as much as they do his biceps. All of this as the artist chases a brush with global stardom that happened while he was still in art school. 

Just over decade ago, Babymorocco went internationally viral as Clayton Pettet when he announced he would lose his virginity in a project titled “Art School Stole My Virginity.” The story of this 19-year-old CSM student’s project was covered incessantly for a year by multiple outlets, ending in a performance that contended with ideas of sexuality, stigma, fame and infamy amongst other things. 

“That was the time I probably existed as the most famous [I’ve ever been]. It was a drug – I crave it now all the time in a way,” Morocco explains of the pivotal era. “Now, each new character is like I’m writing a new book for attention. But that’s what I took from it: I can come up with these concepts and realise them and people will enjoy it.” His music has become the ink to write those characters.

And enjoy it fans have, with the hedonistic party boy that is Babymorocco unleashed through singles like “Crazy Cheap” and the newly released “Babestation”. But on his upcoming album he introduces us to even more characters. It all serves to build out the world of Babymorrocco with a realness that’s more true to life. “I think it’s the most honest work I’ve put out,” Morocco says of the project, expected out before the end of the year. “I wanted to show I have more emotion than just narcissism.”

Here we talk to Babymorocco about how being sexy can be a prison and what shaped him as an artist over time, before delving into those persistent questions regarding his sexuality and queerbaiting.

You mentioned you’re a British boy through and through – looking at your aesthetics, I’m curious if you consider yourself a bit of a “chav” or affiliated with that culture? I hope that’s not offensive, it’s my understanding some people are reclaiming it.

It’s not offensive to me. The town I grew up in and the school I went to, [chav culture] is what I grew up in. I take it as a point of pride to be a bit of a chav. But with chav culture there’s different versions of it. I was a bit scebby, like a bit dirty. I would go out and do a lot of drinking with a big bottle of K cider when I was like 14 and get messed up. That kind of chav. 

But I know what you mean. It’s interesting to hear you say that because I never hear Americans say it. 

Yeah, I think for me I’ve always understood it from more of just an aesthetic, from a fashion perspective. Like a tracksuit and t-shirts. 

It’s interesting to talk about the fashion aspect of it because I was always on Tumblr back in the day. Back then, for me, what really stuck was seeing the scene kids’ emo stuff but the colourful version. That, mixed with the chavvy thing – the tracksuits and the caps up and big necklaces. It almost went hand-in-hand so there was this element where I grew up in Bournemouth where it kind of melded and made this swaggy, weird British boy with all these colours. We kind of copied what was happening in LA and mixed it with British culture. That was when I was like 14 years old. 

“Art school was the fake version of me, the real version of me is what I am right now”

And that’s shaping the artist you are now?

It’s weird: when you grow up you really do find yourself going back to the stuff you liked when you were a kid no matter what form that takes. I’ve drank since I was a kid — alcohol has stayed a prevalent part of my life. We have under 18 clubs in the UK and back in the day we would drink before we would go out and then go and turn up to some of the craziest club music you’ve ever heard. Like back then it was massive EDM tracks and rave or trance, all of that stuff. Then there was a period where I became a “serious artist” and got rid of all of that. But after art school I brought all that stuff back which I knew innately was my shit. Art school was the fake version of me, the real version of me is what I am right now.

What does that mean? Are you referring to pretentiousness or…?

It’s a mix. There’s definitely an aspect of pretension, especially with class. Coming from a working class background, everyone at art school has got money. So it was delving into that. But also I was just trying to be way more serious than I am as a person. I’m very earnest and I live with my heart on my sleeve – my new record is very that. But in art school I was thinking I had to be Marina Abramović and not speak and not have social media so I could be mysterious and post all my photos in black and white. Now, I look back at that time as the most swagless era of my life. I had a good time but I don’t look at that time as a time when I was very happy or anything.

Even though you weren’t happy do you think it had a lasting impact on what you do now?

Yeah, for sure. At art school I was doing a lot of performance. It was a lot of crazy shit. So for better or for worse I don’t feel like a human being anymore – I always feel like I’m playing a role since then. Even though I feel like the most authentic now, there’s still moments where I’m like, “Well since I’m doing this, I need to play into that part of my personality and leave this out.” So as much as I feel like I’m closer to where I was as a child, there’s still elements where I feel like I’m performing. But that’s music: it goes hand-in-hand.

While there you put on this super-viral performance piece supposedly about losing your virginity. Do you think that had a lasting impact on your relationship with sex and sexuality? Or even how people react to ideas about sex?

Totally. Like 40 scholars in America wrote about me, there was an essay that was titled “What Fucking Clayton Pettet Teaches Us About Cultural Rhetorics”. It made me realise where there is power in certain things and if I utilise them they will be able to reward me in some way.

At the time I was so young and the level of attention that had was so insane. I  didn’t even know how to make sense of it, I still kind of don’t. I had never had sex or any sexual experience when I did that, so it was such a weird thing. 

Maybe in the future I can bring that kind of performance into my music. But not now.

“In the UK we could do with more sexy male pop stars, for sure”

Being sexy is obviously a large part of that brand. Where does that come from?

I think it comes from a desperate place [to get] people to look at my work. I realise that being sexy is a very easy way to get people to pay attention. But it also bites me in the ass. People have a very certain opinion about my music. I can write some of the best pop music but there was this era, especially with my last record, when I realised I was trying to package [my music] as if I was this cheeky boy that wants you to come out and party with him. I love that, it’s part of me [but] I feel like each project should be different bits of you. 

But if you’re not from the UK, some people just didn’t get that first idea. They just didn’t get it. Especially with me [flexing] like this all the time. Then people only listen to your music because they want to fuck you. Or if you’re a gay guy retweeting my music other gay guys are saying “Oh, he’s not going to fuck you if you listen to his track.” And like, who knows? I could!

So right now, with the sexuality thing I’m trying to find a balance where there’s an element of seriousness to it. I think it was really easy to rely on for a while. 

Have your thoughts around that changed over time? Did you come in thinking you would just be sexy and love that attention before realising you didn’t?

That’s exactly how it went. And there will always be elements of my shit that will be sexy but at the beginning I was like, “I don’t give a fuck, I’m going to utilise all of this”. But now it’s more of me thinking I’ve made myself into a bit of a prison. If I want to promote something I have to do it in a sexy way. And I don’t want to be in that space any more. I want to be able to post a green symbol on my Instagram and for people to say “Oh my god.” It’s a prison that I made for myself being a sexy boy. That sounds so conceited but it’s definitely something you can see.

I think sexiness is an important part of music and in the UK we could do with more sexy male pop stars, for sure. I would like to be that, but I want the body and the music to be [equally appreciated.]

What have you been listening to, or thinking about, in terms of other music?

I was listening to a lot of French electro and there’s this thing in the UK, this era where there were a lot of pop groups like JLS and The Saturdays. I really loved that kind of old school pop writing from that era and even the sort of call-and-response songs. I have that on the record. There’s a part that’s like “What you doin’ when the lights go down?” and she’s like “I’m in the club.” That kind of stuff is super powerful to me and I want to bring that back to the UK sphere. 

It’s interesting because when I was younger I was super into dance culture and there was this French artist Yelle that was big with tectonic dance. I was thinking of that when I was listening to some of the tracks.

Oh, I love her. That was one of the biggest tracks that I pulled from for one of my songs. They were a very big inspiration for me. I think what I liked about Yelle is they have this song “Je Veux Tu Voir” and it’s all about the most dirty shit but I was singing it as a kid and didn’t know what it meant. I kind of love that it sounds so childish, like toys being played with, while talking about the nastiest shit. Just saying like the craziest stuff over a really fun track. 

On your most recent Instagram post you wrote that you’re about to come out. What is that about?

Should I come out now?

“I don’t feel like a human being anymore – I always feel like I’m playing a role”

What does that mean to you?

I don’t know. The thing is, I’ve been trying to wait to talk about the sexuality thing, honestly. Because I do think it’s easy enough, if you look hard enough, to find out what my sexuality is. I did actually want to use this interview as the right time to say it. Basically, with my sexuality, it’s just … I’m just going to say this. I had a boyfriend for four years. That’s what I’ll say about my sexuality. With the picture I posted it was more like, “I’m about to come out because I look so fucking hot.” But with this record I am talking about being more sincere and I think a brush that I’m always painted with is that people will always call me a queerbaiter. And I’m not! Like, I was the original gay boy on Tumblr, you know what I mean? 

I think the thing is that because I exist as what I am I’m going to get it. But I’ve done everything: I’ve fucked boys and I’ve fucked girls. But obviously you can’t have club references like me and be completely straight. You know what I’m saying? You can’t, sorry.

I find the queerbaiting conversation really interesting. Primarily because often when people say “queerbaiting” there’s no actual baiting. It’s just a gay guy finds a guy who they assume is not gay hot and so they feel baited. Even if the person wasn’t specifically appealing to gays but was just trying to be hot to anyone, in general.

Yeah. What I find confusing, and this is with everybody not just me: why is someone posting their body or flexing just considered to be queerbaiting because you are posting parts of your body you find sexy. If you find yourself sexy, your ass, your back, your hands and you post it and other people find it sexy, that’s on them. That’s not on you. I don’t think so.

I get there’s a conversation about other things that I’m not going to get into. But also I kind of like when men or women do whatever they want and dress however they want, straight, gay or whatever. But the reason I’m being a little bit more clear is because in some of the promo for the new record, I’m kissing boys and girls. So I feel like I should be clear because I really could be painted with that brush. 

I think that’s fair! I think if you’re actually committing like a gay act for promotional purposes, without meaning it, that definitely can be baiting.

So here’s the thing: if you’re hot, man or woman, I’m going to try it. For me, I don’t give a fuck. I’m here on this earth for what, like, 20 more years? Some figure of time. Maybe tomorrow! But I’m going to fuck who I want to fuck. That’s what I’m going to do. And people on the internet are not going to dictate anything about it. 

They aren’t going to make me feel guilty for feeling sexy. No one should feel guilty for being sexy, that’s a weird concept. I’m not going to feel weird about having a good time – sue me.

Babymorroco’s latest single, ‘Babestation’, is out now.

The post Babymorocco: “No one should feel guilty for being sexy” appeared first on GAY TIMES.

“This is where I get to see two burly men dancing with each other in close proximity.” 

WORDS MIKELLE STREET
PHOTOGRAPHY CYLE SUESZ
WITH THANKS TO STUD COUNTRY

In late 2021, Becca Cox was desperate to find a place to line dance in New York City. They were fresh off of listening to WNYC’s 9-part “Dolly Parton’s America” series which reignited their childhood love for country music and were itching to get on the floor. They started teaching themselves line dances in their office when no one was around, hitched a ride to New Jersey to buy a pair of cowboy boots, and then found a class in the Ukrainian Village. And then they heard about Stud Country.

“One of the first couple of times they had a [Stud Country party at Brooklyn Bowl] there was a couple that had been dancing together for 30 plus years who was out on the floor,” Cox tells GAY TIMES. She watched the couple glide, arm-in-arm in a two-step under the venue’s massive spinning disco ball. “It was so beautiful to see. Country dance and country music has such a rich queer history that isn’t always acknowledged because of the heteronormative hegemony so being able to reclaim that – even if you didn’t grow up in the South – is amazing.”

Initially a Los Angeles-based event launched in 2021 by Sean Monaghan and Bailey Salisbury, Stud Country is now a U.S. phenomenon with recurring events in Los Angeles, New York City, Nashville, San Francisco and Sonoma. At its core it remains a casual recurring two-step and line dancing night but has also expanded, incorporating workshops in addition to mixers and more formal balls. Its purpose is to preserve a more than 50-year history of queer line dancing captured in the short film of the same name, that some felt was in danger of being lost with the closure of various bars.

“The biggest difference is the LA one is so established in a sense,” says Spencer Pond, who is into the queer history of many dance forms including Lindy Hop. Pond first attended the original LA-version of Stud Country, which is currently being held at Club Bahia, before being recommended to the one in Brooklyn. “In New York it’s still growing and building. Because there’s so many people in New York City, you can come here every week and still find people you’ve never seen before.”

At Brooklyn Bowl, while vintage clips of gay men line dancing played on screens, the night started on the no-drinks-allowed dance floor (you can drink from the sidelines) with partnered dancing – linked couples moved across the space like the impressionable pair Cox first spotted. Susanna Stein, an organiser of one of New York City’s other gay and lesbian country western dancing groups, Big Apple Ranch, then broke down a basic two-step for any newcomers.

“This was the very first time where I felt at home,” says Philip Lau, who started off Western dancing at Sundance Saloon in San Francisco before attending Big Apple Ranch and then Stud Country. “This is where I get to see two burly men dancing with each other in close proximity.” In this queer-specific space, couplings shirk preconceived notions of who should do what and how.

“I’m really tall and I’m a woman-ish so being able to lead is really nice but also being able to follow…” Cox says. “Yes, I’m super tall but if I want to follow there are five-foot short kings on that floor who will lead me. It’s so beautiful to see the subversion of ‘tradition’ and expectation.” But the partnered dancing was only a wholesome precursor.

“There’s nothing hornier on this Earth than watching a couple line dance directly in front of each other"

Before long, the night switched to the line dancing segment. With the DJ playing songs like Shania Twain’s “I Ain’t No Quitter” and Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” hundreds of dancers packed the floor for a series of hot and sweaty shuffles. Organisers teach two new line dances per night where the assembled kneel so even those in the back of the venue can see the on-stage instruction. But otherwise, regulars throw themselves into the choreography they know from weeks prior. 

“To me, line dancing is all about dancing alone together and dancing together alone,” Pond says of the dynamic where though you don’t have to rely on anyone else for your moves, you are still interacting with the entire room. “Every time I’ve been at any social dance event I’ve always been able to have a moment on the dance floor where I make a special connection with someone else where you might catch each other’s eye while dancing and that’s really the moment that I look forward to.”

That connection can feel entirely wholesome and affirming. As a learning-first space, people are quick to help one another out, immediately establishing a level of connection as the learning happens collectively. But it also can become downright steamy. When Luke Bryan’s “Country Girl” came on there was thigh slapping, hip shaking, spinning, and hair tossing as regulars shimmied into a set of choreography that had previously been taught. 

“There’s nothing hornier on this Earth than watching a couple line dance directly in front of each other, and they know how to dance up on each other while still doing the choreography which is really hard,” Cox says. “There’s people flagging and really embracing these unfortunately bygone ways of expression and bringing them back.” Flagging is a form of nonverbal communication queer people use the styling of fashion items to indicate sexual interests, often by way of the hanky code which was popular in the 1970s. 

Stud Country is a space that doesn’t necessarily feel radical because it overwhelms attendees with joy, fun and a sense of community, but it is. Here, the leaders are those who choose to lead and the followers are those who allow themselves to be led. Apprehension about what others might think to see how your body moves and who it moves for are largely absent. What’s left is pure and largely unbridled freedom. 

“I probably wouldn’t have gone if it were a straight thing,” Naomi Linnell, who was attending the event for her first time after participating in a line dancing night in British Columbia. She had come with Cox and other members of their softball team at Cox’s persistent urging. “There’s this history of queer people not being able to dance in public but now we can and we should.”

They added one more thought before running to the packed floor, where another line dance was starting: “And it’s so fun!”

The post At Stud Country, line dancing is undergoing a queer reclamation appeared first on GAY TIMES.

The perreo pop princess and bicon discusses her ‘Fashion Freak’ aesthetic, representing the queer community and flipping reggaeton’s gender script.

WORDS MIKELLE STREET
PHOTOGRAPHY ADAM MARTIN
STYLIST SHAHAN ASSADOURIAN
HMUA ISABELLA LOVESTORY
COVER DESIGN JACK ROWE

Isabella Lovestory is a creation all her own. The Honduran-born artist who spent time in the United States and then Montreal growing up, has fashioned herself into a pop star of her own imagining. After initially idolising the likes of Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani, Lovestory has built her own image as an aesthetic-forward (have you heard “Fashion Freak” or “Kitten Heels”?), sexually empowered and femme-centric voice disrupting the often narrow sound of reggaeton with a dose of experimental pop. 

Lovestory represents a banner under which supposed outsiders and outcasts have often rallied: her shows are a stomping ground for queer latine freaks and so-called weirdos, or frankly anyone in favour of the cuntier things in life. And it makes sense, as those are communities she herself is a part of.

“I’ve always been a part of this community and I’ve always wanted to speak up for people that don’t have a voice,” says Isabella, who has been given names like “bicon” and “Latina Gaga” by fans. “Especially being from Honduras, I think it’s super important to represent the community and let them know that we’re out here and you can do anything you set your mind to. Don’t let yourself be made to feel weird or that you’re not a part of this beautiful world.”

From her first song that she recorded inspired by her cat – she finds them elegant, mysterious, independent and slightly clumsy all at once – to some of her latest inspired by … well very important pussies, Lovestory’s tracks are about not taking themselves too seriously. But she’s also keen to offer new perspective without breaking it down for those who don’t get it: ”I don’t have time to explain myself, this life is too short,” she quips. 

All this manifests itself in tracks that are as varied as the camp hysteria that is ‘Botoxxx’ and the flip of expectations that is the sapphic lust on ‘Gateo’. In that queer anthem, men become dogs and women become cats as Isabella raps lines like “Tu gata ya está harta de besarte / Por eso viene hacia mi to’as las tardes / Las dos nos ponemo’ a ronronear.” (Your cat is already sick of kissing you / That’s why she comes to see me every night / So we can both get to purring.) “In reggaeton, it’s always about putting the girl as the prop but in ‘Gateo’ I was saying ‘no, the props can have fun together and we don’t need you,’” Lovestory says. 

Here, we talk to Isabella about the creation of Lovestory, how Tumblr rewired her brain, and building a fan base so supportive they’ll make her tour wardrobe.

Your career as a pop artist started as an art project. Can you talk to me about the specifics of that?

I was always more into visual art so I studied art when I went to university. I was doing pretty good, doing shows here and there. But the art world is so bleak. I didn’t want to be inside a gallery with white walls and fluorescent light. I wanted to make my art more accessible and music, to me, is the most accessible art form. I’m also multidisciplinary as an artist and, with being a pop star, you have all those things in one: music, fashion, art work, videos, editing. 

I had this multimedia class where I was doing more video editing. I decided to do a music video for the class but I needed music to do it. So I started Isabella Lovestory as a pop star to unite all these mediums. But I realised I actually like music and I’m not bad at it. Plus I needed money.

Has that initial creation changed over time or is it now just a more complex version of what you started as?

I think it’s a more complex version for sure. It’s an evolution. That was an easy way for me to start because I didn’t have any rules. I had no music background so I just did whatever I wanted. Out of that came experimental music and things I wasn’t seeing being done in reggaeton particularly. I feel like having that sense of carelessness and freedom just made me have more fun with it and be fearless. And really it’s just been an evolution from that birth. I’ve learned the hard truths of the industry but I’m still trying to have fun.

How important was having reggaeton as a central component of the music even though you’re blending genres?

It was important to me because I grew up with reggaeton, being from Honduras. So it was my favourite music growing up and is such an integral part of my culture and who I am. Also, being in Canada I was like, everything there was so boring to me. I wanted to show people where I was from and what I am. Plus the reggaeton world is still run by very, very straight, almost white men. At least what we see, like Daddy Yankee and stuff like that, it’s a very male-dominated genre. So I wanted to put my voice in there. I thought it just needed to be experimented with.

How have you found the industry’s reception to that experimentation?

It’s been amazing! I feel like people who feel weird and outcast in their own countries feel connected to me. So I have a lot of young queer people, artsy queer people and queer people in general who come up to me at my shows and tell me that I represent them. They tell me they look up to me because I’m doing something they want to do. I love inspiring those kids, especially in the Latin communities which are still very restricted.

It makes me happy to know I’ve made a lot of kids feel represented and seen. Especially at my shows, seeing them calling me the Latina Gaga, I’m like, ‘Oh my god, yes.’ Of course at the same time there’s people that are like, ‘Who is this girl? What the fuck is she doing? She’s so weird.’ But I don’t care about being misunderstood, I just want to be me. Whoever likes it, likes it and whoever doesn’t can look away. I’ve tried to make myself understood and there’s still a misunderstanding, so why not just go the most eccentric route and do what you want. 

"People need some manners. They need to learn how to have boundaries. I’m not saying I want to be groped by a million people and I want to be stalked"

You mentioned all of these outcasts and I know you were really into Tumblr growing up – it’s kind of interesting because Tumblr was always really great for those groups as well. 

Absolutely! Were you on Tumblr?

I was! And looking at your visuals it does feel very child of Tumblr-esque. Do you make that mental connection?

Totally. I feel like Tumblr completely rewired my brain and how I work. I do a lot of research and a lot of collages and curation for my visuals. Tumblr was a very visual type of learning and you had so much freedom to look up whatever you wanted. I feel like that’s sort of missing now in the youth, they don’t go out and research it’s more of everything is fed to them. But researching, making mood boards and being a very visual person on the internet has definitely stuck with me from Tumblr. 

Also that sense of community! You would connect first with the visuals of people and then you had that, ‘Oh my god we’re all weirdos. Let’s rule the internet.’ Also all my best friends I met from Tumblr. 

But that extends to your collaborators also right? It’s not Tumblr but you met Chicken through the internet as well right?

Yeah, I met him through Instagram. I’m a very Internet girl. I feel like without it I don’t know what I would have done because I didn’t study music and I wasn’t a nepo baby. It really helped me to be this person. People still think I have millions of people making my art and like it’s just me and my little pencil. So the Internet has been a very good place to build fantasy and connect with people.

Is the visual always a part of a project from the inception for you?

Yeah, definitely. I think of the lyrics and the themes of the song visually before anything else. I love movies and cinema and I’m a very cinematic person so every song I want to be a little movie. My albums as well. Or maybe they are different rooms in a house. Maybe it’s because I have ADHD but this is how I think of things. Always visual, cinematic, with a lore and full of colour and fantasy. It just gives me freedom to do everything I want when I put all that abstract chaos into one thing. 

You’ve mentioned how Isabella Lovestory is an exaggeration of your actual personality but also the purest expression and that reminds me a lot of how people refer to their drag personas. 

Totally! It’s all cinematic, going out in the world in this fearless persona that you always wanted to be as a child. You go and you decorate it to the fullest and you feel so good in it. It’s not something you do every day because you don’t want to put on the wig and the makeup every day but it’s like a celebration or a ritual for your purest inner child. It’s something you sort of look up. I totally feel like I’m doing drag whenever I go on stage. I can be completely naked and I still feel like I’m doing drag – it’s about the philosophy.

Right before your first tour, you lost all of your luggage which had your wardrobe in it and your fans ended up sending in a bunch of stuff for you to wear. Did you ever imagine you would ever have that level of support from fans?

Oh my God, you have no idea. I was saying to myself this is so good for my movie or my autobiography but it was not good for me in real life. Like it’s so good for a tragic moment in a movie but horrible to experience. It was my first tour and I had done all the costumes myself, like sewing them myself. I had designed about 10 costumes – some of it was old looks I was remixing. I had it all in my luggage with a few really cute vintage stuff that I’ll never get back. And it all got stolen a day before my first show.

It felt like a fated event like karma was being put on me or lifted. It just felt like I had to find the lesson in it. Then all of these people just started sending me clothes and fans were making me clothes that they wanted to see me wear onstage. It just strengthened the community because they would come up after and introduce themselves. I also learned that like with any material loss you realise you don’t need it at the end. You can perform naked and just use your inner glam to do your thing.

I think that’s true but also you’re an artist with songs like ‘Fashion Freak’ and ‘Kitten Heels,’ so aesthetics definitely mean a lot.

Exactly! That’s it! What was crazy is that I was just like who am I any more? But I also have another song called ‘Exibisionista’ where I’m just covered in glitter and that’s my outfit. 

What do you attribute that close connection with your fans to?

I think they see me as a friend, kind of. They get me and they see me as someone they are rooting for because they see themselves in me. They know that I’m not inaccessible. They see the freak and the weirdo in me and they want to help me. Maybe.

"You can perform naked and just use your inner glam to do your thing"

You’ve mentioned accessibility a few times but I’m curious do you ever feel like things are maybe a little too accessible. 

People need some manners. They need to learn how to have boundaries. I’m not saying I want to be groped by a million people and I want to be stalked. There needs to be more respect from the stans with just how they are so entitled. I totally agree. I try not to go on Twitter because people are so entitled with their popstars. There needs to be that boundary and a respect for artists that I think is missing. They are just like “give me a song right now.” It’s hard.

I think the accessibility I’m talking about is more about being humble and grounded. I want to access people through my music and my performance instead of having to sit down and talk to them. Because I’m actually pretty introverted. 

Has your career changed how introverted you are?

It has. I feel like I’m more introverted now. Since this is my job and I’m so exposed and I’m putting my heart out there, and being truly possessed on stage. It’s draining, so I feel like I don’t want to go to parties any more, I just want to sleep because I’m sleep deprived. 

But it’s a little of both. I feel like I can handle social situations better if I have to. If I’m with my friends I’ll enjoy it and I’m super confident. But [my career] has made me appreciate my bed and my pets. I’ve seen a lot of people not take care of themselves and become a shell of a person and not make the best decisions. Especially artists. 

Isabella Lovestory’s latest single, ‘VIP’, is out now. Check out Isabella’s September – November live dates across North America, Latin America and Europe here. 

The post Isabella Lovestory: “I can be completely naked and still feel like I’m doing drag” appeared first on GAY TIMES.

A new study from GLAAD gives a failing grade to five of the top six social platforms when it comes to queer safety.

words by MIKELLE STREET

photos by THE GENDER SPECTRUM COLLECTION

Social media is often a dumpster fire. And while many of us can say that anecdotally, just reading the comment sections of posts, or scrolling through viral content, a new report from GLAAD has made the assertion more definitive.

In its fourth annual Social Media Safety Index, GLAAD gave the lowest score to X (formerly known as Twitter). But not by much: the report gave a failing grade to Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and YouTube as well based on the platforms’ policies and implementation of those policies around LGBTQ+ safety, privacy, and expression. TikTok passed — barely — with a D+.

“Leaders of social media companies are failing at their responsibility to make safe products,” Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD president and CEO, said in a statement about the report.

“When it comes to anti-LGBTQ+ hate and disinformation, the industry is dangerously lacking on enforcement of current policies. There is a direct relationship between online harms and the hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ legislative attacks, rising rates of real-world anti-LGBTQ+ violence and threads of violence, that social media platforms are responsible for and should act with urgency to address.”

To that point, the report points out that 10% of all anti-LBGTQ+ incidents nationwide targeted schools and universities. That follows a concerted effort, bolstered largely online, and fronted by accounts like Chaya Raichik’s Libs of Tiktok, linking queerness and gender identity with false tropes of indoctrination, grooming, and pedophilia. Raichik’s posts on social media have specifically been linked to instances of real-world violence including bomb threats

Compiled in collaboration with an advisory committee that includes writer and media personality Alok, Media Matters for America Deputy director of External Affairs Brennan Suen, journalist Kara Swisher, and more, the report offers key recommendations for each platform.

For X, the report encourages training for content moderation on the needs of LGBTQ+ users. For Instagram, the report encourages the platform to develop a policy that prohibits targeted deadnaming. YouTube should “show greater commitment to addressing wrongful demonetization and removal of LGBTQ+ creators and their content.” 

In 2021, YouTube and Google were sued by a group of LGBTQ+ creators for discrimination, alleging that the creators were demonetized and deplatformed more often than their peers. In 2023, that suit was dismissed though many creators still complain of being over-policed. 

“In addition to these egregious levels of inadequately moderated anti-LGBTQ hate and disinformation, we also see a corollary problem of over-moderation of legitimate LGBTQ expression — including wrongful takedowns of LGBTQ accounts and creators, shadowbanning, and similar suppression of LGBTQ content,” Jenni Olson, GLAAD’s senior director of social media safety, said. “Meta’s recent policy change limiting algorithmic eligibility of so-called ‘political content,’ which the company partly defines as: ‘social topics that affect a group of people and/or society large’ is especially concerning.” 

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Peck thanked his partner at the 2024 GLAAD Media Awards in a speech about inclusivity in Country music.

WORDS BY MIKELLE STREET
PHOTOS VIA GLAAD

Orville Peck turned up to the GLAAD Media Awards in New York City on Saturday with someone special on his arm. The “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other” crooner walked the red carpet hand in hand with his partner William Mikelson. The appearance was the first time the pair have been publicly identified as a couple.

Peck was at the event to accept the GLAAD Vito Russo Award. That honor is named for Vito Russo, a founding member of the organization, and is presented annually to an out media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equality for the LGBTQ+ community. Prior recipients have included RuPaul, Tom Ford, Cynthia Nixon, Ricky Martin, Billy Porter, Samira Wiley, Wilson Cruz, and Jonathan Van Ness. 

For those who didn’t catch Peck and Mickelson on the red carpet, Lawrence brought attention to the couple in her introduction after taking shots at former Vice President Mike Pence (“I know conversion therapy doesn’t work — did you hear me Mike Pence?”). 

“Billy grew up in a religious household and struggled with accepting his sexuality for a long time,” she said of Mikelson. “When he met Orville, he described falling in love as healing. Orville had a different upbringing. His mom loved and accepted him. And because of that she made a boy that loved himself and listened to himself.” Lawrence became emotional during her speech, her voice breaking. 

Jennifer Lawrence and Orville Peck attend the GLAAD Awards. pic.twitter.com/eYpLJYOTiv

— Bulletin Film (@BulletinFilm) May 12, 2024

In his acceptance speech, Peck also mentioned Mikelson, with whom he has also spotted at this year’s Elton John AIDS Foundation Party. After discussing how he came to country music, perplexed by its homophobia, the Willie Nelson and Shania Twain collaborator spoke of how he made space for himself in the genre.

“I am just one of many of us that at one time or another felt excluded or held back because of who we are,” he said. “Whether that be a genre, a culture, sport, a job, a school, a friendship or even our own families. But we as a community have always had the incredible power to take our hurt and our tragedy and turn them around as art, humor, and culture.”

“I am so proud to work with GLAAD in making country music more diverse, and the world at large more diverse and more of an understanding and loving place,” he continued later. “In closing, I would like to thank my beautifully encouraging family, friends, and my incredible partner Billy. Thank you for encouraging me to be myself, which is a skill I hope I can pass on to others.”

 

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A post shared by GLAAD (@glaad)

This weekend, Peck released “Stampede: Vol 1,” an album of country duets that include names like Nelson, Elton John, Noah Cyrus and more.

The 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards also honored the likes of Jennifer Hudson. The ceremony was notably picketed by a group from ACT UP NY. Drag performer and protestor Chiquitita also interrupted Ross Matthews inside the event, yelling “GLAAD is complicit in genocide” over and over, following a presented montage about drag being political from its origins. Chiquita was escorted out of the event.

 

Orville and his partner Billy Mikelson 🥹💖
byu/glitteryrainbows88 inOrvillePeck

The post Orville Peck’s boyfriend revealed: Watch his moving speech introduced by Jennifer Lawrence appeared first on GAY TIMES.

From Hari Nef to Dan Levy — here are some of the winning looks from fashion’s night out.

WORDS BY MIKELLE STREET

For so many events, the red carpet is the hearty appetizer. It whets your appetite but serves largely as a kicking off point for some awards show where newsworthy things happen. For the Met Gala, however, the red carpet is the main dish for all intents and purposes. Yes, there’s a dinner and program once the celebrities get inside, but no one is writing about that. Everyone wants to talk about what’s “on theme,” and if you ask me, what would have made Andre Leon Talley (God rest his soul) sigh an appreciative “That’s how you do it.”

This year, the exhibit is “Sleeping Beauties: Awakening Fashion,” while the red carpet theme is “The Garden of Time.” The theme is based on a short story in which a man must cut a crystalized flower a day to keep away impending doom, but in practice means a hell of a lot of florals — as well as a handful of archival looks (aka “Sleeping Beauties”). 

We would be remiss to not call out the way co-chair Zendaya and her image architect Law Roach did what needed to be done with two looks on the carpet: One was a Maison Margiela remake of a Christian Dior couture look from 1999 and the other was an actual Givenchy couture look from 1996. But for the purposes of our list tonight, let’s talk about the LGBTQs!! Only!

 

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A post shared by GQSpain (@gqspain)

1. Colman Domingo 

Going to kick this off with one of my personal favorites. With his first press tour as a proper leading man, Colman’s fashion has been applying pressure at each and every opportunity. And while I didn’t expect him to let up now, I also didn’t expect him to call in the hot New York City-based menswear designer Willy Chavarria. 

The look kept with Chavarria staples: voluminous trousers taking on a slight feminine sexuality with its satin flutters, as well as the exaggeratedly peak lapel. The cape, according to Domingo, was a nod to both Andre Leon Talley and Chadwick Boseman who were both fond of the accessory. The ability to pull it all off and look on theme without veering into costume territory requires true skill. (Thanks, bouquet of lilies.) 

 

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A post shared by Jordan Roth (@jordan_roth)

2. Jordan Roth

On that note, I honestly don’t know if I think Jordan Roth looks costumey or not. And honestly I don’t care. The Broadway producer has developed a reputation of going all in on fashion all the time. It is going to be drama, it’s going to be divisive, and if there’s one place you can and should make those choices, it’s at the Met Gala.

The theme called for a garden and Roth gave that exactly in a custom couture look from Valentino by Pierpaolo Piccioli. If we are being frank, it gives RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 Flower Power runway. But why not? If anything, it should secure the fashion stalwart a guest seat on an upcoming season. 

Dan Levy in Loewe at the MET GALA. More red carpet later on our site. #MetGala pic.twitter.com/uzOEOedZCw

— Tom and Lorenzo (@tomandlorenzo) May 6, 2024

3. Dan Levy

Mr. Levy opted for what I am going to graciously assume is an intellectual take. Year after year there are online groans about men wearing “just another black suit” to the Met Gala. Where’s the excitement? Where’s the theme?! These are the questions people have. Levy’s Loewe suit — which starts from the top as a run-of-the-mill suit before ombréing into a floral print — feels like a wink to that critique. The ombré is not a print but an extremely intricate work of caviar beading we saw at fashion week earlier this year.

It certainly isn’t as gaggy or gasp-inducing like, say, his decision to wear literal art by David Wojnarovicz a few years ago. But hey, it’s not just a black suit either. 

So happy for Queen Latifah 🥹 pic.twitter.com/CNeUDWlNIH

— Cowboy Robert (@rmlundyjr) May 7, 2024

4. Queen Latifah & Eboni Nichols

Both by Thom Browne, Latifah had a sequined dress with Birds of Paradise embellishments, while Eboni wore a plaid off-the-shoulder coat dress with patent leather platform stilt shoes (Cynthia Erivo also wore a pair). They’re the epitome of chic. While I love Queen Latifah until the end of time, she was slightly upstaged by her partner Eboni Nichols and that’s not a bad thing. 

 

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5. Hari Nef 

Hari Nef was also dazzled in a custom white dress with iridescent paillettes from H&M, featuring an oversized bow on the back with a massive train. There was something that felt so Barbie about the look. Maybe it was the little crystals that twinkled from the perch in her hair. Maybe it was just Hari being Hari. But whatever it was, it all just worked.

The post 5 favorites from the 2024 Met Gala red carpet appeared first on GAY TIMES.

The world-touring ballroom titan and Beyoncé-anointed star has a “new era” incoming.

WORDS BY MIKELLE STREET
PHOTOGRAPHY BREANNA JOHNSON and DEONTE LEE 

“I’m not your average model,” Honey Gonzales says, perched on a stool with a printed kimono wrapped around her shoulders, exposing her décolletage. “I’m cunt!” she emphasizes. There’s a pause before she looks at me again.

“Can I say that in GAY TIMES?” Well, we’ll find out. 

Though it’s a dreary Thursday afternoon, Honey’s mug is anything but. Her makeup is being carefully applied (by Tiffany the Artist) for The Center’s annual gala: a who’s who of queer talent fundraising over $1.3 million dollars for the New York City institution. Honey’s invite, and fit, came by way of Jean Paul Gaultier who was one of the night’s honorees. A nude, flower-embroidered dress and asymmetrical coat hangs swaddled in a garment bag in the closet of the Brooklyn apartment where she’s getting ready.

You undoubtedly know her by her stage name, Honey Balenciaga. And if you don’t know her, you’ve at least seen her: likely in one of the many viral videos of her voguing. Or, there’s a possibility you’ve spotted a clip from her appearances in two seasons of the ballroom competition show Legendary on the platform formerly known as HBOMax. Or better yet, you’ve at the very least spotted her dipping in shoddy iPhone footage from Beyonce’s Renaissance tour, or featured in the documentary film of the same name. (If she wasn’t dipping, then maybe she was galloping on all fours as her alter ego Alice.) The figure in your mind is impossibly acrobatic, full of contagious energy, often in boots, and almost definitely blonde. 

wake up babe! a new honey balenciaga in kansas city angle just dropped! pic.twitter.com/D3QVdVhYrD

— ٓ (@notherewithme) October 20, 2023

“It’s so surreal,” she says of her life at this moment. Coming from the ballroom scene, of which she’s been a part since 2019, houses often borrow their names from renowned ateliers, but now Honey is working with fashion in an official capacity. “I’m using all that I have within me to get where I want to be.” 

Though to be fair, Gaultier is only the latest brand Honey has worked with. She may have started out by wearing pieces inspired by luxury brands, but these days she’s working with them directly. Her relationship with Nike has lasted for years and she’s used it as a way to platform her genderfluid identity, appearing in the women’s ads. That work has also extended to labels like Coach, Savage X Fenty, Gypsy Sport, and now the good graces of Diesel — she shows me a few bags they’ve sent over. 

And so, while Honey is a world-touring dancer, her new era as an unlikely fashion model and influencer is about showing she can be more. 

Tiffany styles the performer’s locks into wet, swirling finger waves. They aren’t the blonde you may remember, but are black, a color Honey chose after coming back from tour to signal the aforementioned new era. It all fits perfectly in line with the darkly sexy persona she’s been cultivating recently. She normally opts for latex or bondage-inspired pieces to enhance that vibe, but the Gaultier, hiked up just a little to reveal a few extra inches of thigh, provides the necessary sex appeal.

When she reaches to unbox her first pair of Louboutins — the Follies Strass suede pumps, if you’re curious — she tells me she’d only bought them a few hours before. 

“Stiletto pumps are becoming my new thing,” she says. It’s a revelation, given her now infamous spat with Law Roach on Legendary when she was given a shoe that wasn’t a boot to perform in. 

“I’m getting into pumps more than boots now. There’s something more classy about them. With boots it’s giving very ‘bangy cunt.’” Later she tells me that after growing up revering the likes of Amanda Lepore wearing red bottoms on the red carpet, she knew she needed a pair after wearing some for the first time in a film for a fashion brand that hasn’t been released yet.

In the Uber to Cipriani’s Wall Street where we’ll rush Honey through the carpet and to her table, Honey applies her lipstick. A fan of her naturally pink lips, she often opts for a color from Kosas that she says reads natural on camera. 

“I’ve always wanted to be in a movie,” she remarks of one of her eventual goals. With her background as a dancer leading to her ascension in fashion, Honey has her eyes set on bringing these talents to television and film. 

“I’m trying to moreso be a chameleon and let people know that I can transform into as many beings, with so many talents, and fit into so many spaces,” she says — it’s the thrust behind her video series “Hidden Gems” which uses dance as a tool of character building and storytelling. “I’m in the process of redefining myself. When I went on tour, I got closer to God. I had never been more sure of myself. So I wanted to use that drive and that energy to transform myself into a different field of art.”  

We chat about how moving to LA gave her a requisite freedom that in turn sparked her love for fashion. “I needed to get out of New York,” she says, but has since let go of her place on the West Coast and is considering whether to go back to NYC or just travel indefinitely. 

“I just want to keep breaking barriers,” she says. “I want to keep breaking my barriers.” After a second, she states it plainly:

“I just want to be a star.”

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What happens when one lip-sync assassin meets another? That’s the question Drag Race poses on its latest episode. After whittling the pack down to a final three, the show has called back all of the eliminated competitors for one final challenge: a lip-sync Lalaparuza. The prize: a guaranteed $50,000 in cold hard cash (minus taxes) as well as the title of She Done Already Done Had Herses.

There’s a funny thing about this fandom and the title “lip-sync assassin” over the years. As time has gone by, like many terms, it has sort of lost its meaning. These days, any person who makes it through two or three lip-syncs is an “assassin,” when in reality many are simply survivors. On a season that’s boasted an alleged three “lip-sync assassins” (that would be Geneva Karr, Mhy’ia Iman LePaige and Morphine Love Dion) the notion is really put to the test.

For this Lalaparuza the first battle is Dawn and Amanda Tori Meating. Dawn gets washed by the characteristically wide-eyed Amanda in a performance Dawn practically phones in. And then it’s an immobile Q versus a heartfelt Megami — and Q doesn’t even attempt to take centerstage.

Now, we have our first battle of “lip-sync assassins.”

Morphine and Geneva take on ‘Million Dollar Baby’ by Ava Max and Morphine turns out the charismatic, perfectly paced performance we’ve come to know her for. Contrasting the pair is truly a lesson in giving a show: while Geneva is looking up into the lights for much of her performance with choices that don’t really consider the song, Morphine is considering it all. She allows the show to build, taking everything into account, including Geneva. It’s quite masterful.

The reality is, surviving through nine lip-syncs is not only about your ability to dance, remember lyrics, and keep your energy level high. It’s also a hell of a lot of strategy. Sure, there’s the strategy of who you will battle, the song, etc. But keeping people engaged and locked on you, song after song, is much more difficult than it sounds. Silky Nutmeg Ganache made this point in All Stars 6. Morphine, also, has the juice.

Mirage is next up with Hershii LiqCour-Jete and while both of them have the words down, Hershii oddly gives more hypeman than headliner. Then, Mhi’ya bulldozes her way though a threesome with Plasma and Xunami Muse with her flips and headstands.

Megami’s next battle is where she plants her stake as a possible undiscovered lip-sync assassin. While Amanda is still doing her wide eyed hair flipping thing, Megami goes for a comedic Cher performance that hits all the right points. It’s a clear inkling that she too has the goods.

Morphine is back, now up against Mirage. To Donna Summer’s ‘This Time I Know it’s For Real’, Mirage serves up the same flirty, bubbly and long legged limbs she’s known for while Morphine embodies the actual song. As she says herself, she’s giving “WOMAN,” soaking up the moment (and the spotlight).

The result leaves us with the actual three lip-sync assassins of the season: Megami, Morphine, and Mhi’ya.

Megami chooses Mhi’ya. The choice is very clearly an attempt to get her lick back as Mhi’ya eliminated her in a matchup she didn’t feel was fairly judged. Their redo is almost tied, but there’s something about Mhi’ya that feels like she’s going through the motions. Megami’s touches of comedy win her Ru’s favor, sending her to Morphine for the final lip-sync. The queens are gagged that Megami wins over Mhi’ya, which is fair, but it is what it is.

As we say in ballroom: it’s Morphine and Megami in the battle “for the cash”. They perform to ‘Gonna Make You Sweat’ by C + C Music Factory — as a complete side-note, I wouldn’t be who I am if I didn’t say that Martha Wash provides the power vocals here, though she had to sue for credit.

As Megami says at the top, “I will never outdance Morphine, but I know I can out-stupid Morphine.” Not going to lie, it’s clear that both girls are feeling the test of endurance but they still give us a show. Megami cements herself as a lip-sync assassin with yet another surprise: instead of rapping along with Freedom Williams, she has her hand puppet take the role. It’s a hilariously high start to a performance that sort of coasts downhill from there. Morphine’s high performance fights through to the literal last beat (mock-shooting Megami with a cannon, a move she’s pulled before).

I hope she enjoys that cash.

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It’s been over three months but now, my dear children, it’s time. The RuPaul’s Drag Race semi-finals have arrived (and gone). We must place our bets. But first: the episode.

Instead of doing the largely time-honored tradition of remixing one of RuPaul’s songs for the semi-final, queens are expected to “write” their own memoir, shoot the cover, and promote it on a podcast with Matt Rogers. It’s obviously pointing back to Ru’s own recently released memoir, and the podcast interview is a cute new take on the Tic Tac brunch. And plus, the queens still get time with Ru as she’s coaching them through the cover shoot, which is actually quite beautiful to watch. We call her “Mama Ru” but to me she has a tendency of instruction that can err more like a father. Or at the very least, momager.

Sapphira Cristal knocks every single part of the challenge out of the park like the professional we know she is (including the fan-themed runway) and chums it up with Ru in a way that reads like more older-younger sister than parent and child. It’s a vibe she’s kept up with Ru throughout the show that she’s uniquely positioned to pull on. Nymphia Wind turns out a sneak upset win, going to an emotional interior the judges haven’t really been allowed into on the series. Q struggles with her cover and has a solid but not great interview. And what seems like for the first time, Plane Jane kind of flounders: she is holding so steadfast to her persona that she misses the challenge. 

In the end it’s Nymphia for the win with Plane and Q in the bottom, and Plane titty shakes Q right out of the competition. Given Q’s proven status as a sore loser, she is probably still feeling it to this day. But, she’s ultimately held down her place in the competition all the way to the semi-finals and hopefully, she’ll be able to be proud of that some day.

But who will take home the crown? 

When we look at the scoreboard, Sapphira Cristal and Plane Jane have a rough statistical tie: Four wins and one lip sync for your life a piece. And though ultimately whatever performance the girls do in the finale will play into it all, it’s more fun if we place our bets now.

And if it comes down to Sapphira and Plane, we are going to have to say Sapphira.

It’s not because she managed to pack some of the biggest costumes week after week, or that those looks are so impressive the judges never really mentioned her reliance on the color blue. It’s not because she makes RuPaul (and me) guffaw — and not just in the pre-written bits but in the off handed, extemporaneous patter that is the sign of a career drag queen. It’s also not because she’s already, post-show, picking up gigs like appearing onstage with Madonna. It’s because she’s the full package. And even as the full package, she still show us the person beneath it all. 16 years ago, in the initial casting call for Drag Race, Ru said she was searching for someone who is “American Idol, a fashion designer, and a top model all in one.” Sapphira is all of those things and more. 

This final three was a calculated bunch. I’m not sure if I actually remember a group of girls who have jointly, and so expertly, played the game. I clocked Plane early on, sometimes referring to her as a sort of persona created by artificial intelligence specifically to win on this show. But over time, Sapphira and Nymphia’s strategic minds became clear as well. During Snatch Game when RuPaul confessed she loved James Brown and asked why Sapphira had chosen him, her response was simply because she knew that exact fact already. And even Nymphia was intently strategic: though everyone saw her “manipulation” of her fellow competitors, I think that her choice to show so many non-yellow looks early on in the series was to address a critique before it appeared.

Which brings me to my other point: If we aren’t basing the win on track record, I think from a statement or even a storyline perspective, Nymphia Winds feels right for a win too. After 15 seasons of Drag Race there is the feeling that, to be frank, we’ve seen it all. And we haven’t. Nymphia is proof of that. She incorporates a set of references and a perspective that much of the American-based audience simply has not been exposed to. The semi-final cracked open a part of her that, in a way, completes her storyline: after weeks of having trouble connecting, she does so beautifully and deeply here. And at a time in drag where so many queens are sitting front row at fashion week or walking the runway themselves, and commissioning top dollar couture garments from a growing coterie of designers, there is something to be said about crowning a queen who is a couturier herself. It’s a statement that even though these queens can outsource the work, they don’t have to. It’s a statement about persevering creativity and the resourcefulness of drag.

And that … that certainly can make a winner.

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