June 18th: Bella Thorne
Date of Birth: October 8th, 1997
Genre: Pop
What she identifies as: Pansexual
Where is she from: Pembroke Pines, FL
Star of the now-off-the-air Disney Channel show “Shake It Up,” Bella Thorne is a redheaded youth famous for looking up to previous Disney Channel star Miley Cyrus and being part-Hispanic but not looking it. Her music career has been very stop-and-go, with minor EPs and singles released here and there, with some being good like “Jersey,” and others not so good, like “B*TCH I’M BELLA THORNE” in which the only lyrics are the title phrase repeated over and over. Bella came out as Bisexual over Twitter in 2014, to Miley’s support, however in 2019 she adjusted her identification to pansexual.
Recommended Songs: Jersey, Paperweight, Burn So Bright, Call it Whatever
June 19th: Billie Joe Armstrong/Green Day
Date of Birth: February 17th, 1972
Genre: Alternative Rock
What he identifies as: Bisexual
Where is he from: Oakland, CA
Billie Joe Armstrong is the guitarist and lead singer of one of the most famous Alternative Rock Bands, Green Day. Their first claim to fame was the song “Time of Your Life (Good Riddance),” which was used in the clip show before the series finale of Seinfeld for the final montage. Green Day was an outspoken critic of the George W. Bush administration, possibly due to Armstrong’s orientation, creating the album “American Idiot” and asking for the removal of Bush and his cabinet from office. Post the Bush administration, Green Day released “21 Guns,” a pacifist anthem used in the film “Transformers; Revenge of the Fallen.” (He was also born on the same day of the year as the director of that film, just seven years later than Michael Bay) Billie Joe’s name inspired the name of a character in Pokémon Black and White, Billie Jo, the guitarist to punk rock bass player and Poison gym leader Roxie. Armstrong was one of several musicians interviewed for the Joan Jett; Bad Reputation documentary released in 2018 and released the anti-Trump anthem “Father of all…” (Mother$@#%ers) in early 2020.
Recommended songs: Time of Your Life (Good Riddance), Basket Case, 21 Guns, Fire, Ready, Aim, I Think We’re Alone Now (Tiffany Cover, Billie Joe Armstrong solo), Dreaming (Blondie cover)
June 20th: George Michael
Date of Birth: June 25th, 1963
Date of Death: December 25th, 2016
Genre: Pop
What he identified as: Gay
Where was he from: London, UK
George Michael was one of the bigger Pop Stars of the late 80s, with his song “One More Try” making his album “Faith” multi-platinum. He had already found success with his group Wham! Earlier in the decade, them being the originators of the songs “Last Christmas” and “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.” Michael appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert, singing “Somebody To Love” with the remaining members of Queen. During the early days of his solo career, he came out, frustrated with the “identity” he had created to hide himself during his days with Wham! To this point, he set fire to a leather jacket during one of his music videos. George Michael influenced later LGBTQ+ singers, namely Tegan and Sara, who mourned him upon his death towards the end of 2016. Cause was officially listed as dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and fatty liver.
Recommended Songs: Careless Whisper (with Wham!), Last Christmas (with Wham!), Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me (Live, With Elton John), One More Try, Somebody To Love (Live, With Queen)
June 21st: Sinead O’Connor
Date of Birth: December 8th, 1966
Genre: Folk/Alternative Rock
What she identifies as: Lesbian
Where is she from: Ireland
With her shaved head, Sinead O’Connor is one of the most instantly-recognizable musicians on this list. Never afraid to speak her mind, Sinead O’Connor has written a number of protest songs and covered artists such as Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Nirvana. Devoutly Protestant, she’s covered Dylan’s “Property of Jesus” and tore apart a picture of the then-current Pope on a Saturday Night Live appearance I believe in the 1980s. This drew backlash from Madonna, though most commented this was the only time Madonna showed off her Catholic roots in the public sphere. O’Connor also criticized Miley Cyrus after Cyrus claimed inspiration for the “Wrecking Ball” music video came from Sinead O’Connor. O’Connor’s cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” influenced Chris Cornell to cover the same song in the same style, leading to his daughter to do the same in tribute to Cornell in the aftermath of him taking his own life in 2017. Sinead O’Connor is tough as nails, yet has a good heart behind it all, often pointing towards greater equality and understanding. She contributed to a song against Police Brutality recently, but the song has been removed from Spotify, possibly because the title was "Kill Black Boys."
Recommended Songs: Why Don’t You Do Right, All Apologies, Property of Jesus, Nothing Compares 2 U, How About I Be Me
June 22nd: Rina Sawayama
Date of Birth: August 16th, 1990
Genre: Pop
What she identifies as: Bisexual and Pansexual
Where is she from: Born in Niigata, Japan, raised in London, UK
A relative newcomer to the music scene, Rina Sawayama’s first full-length album was released this last April. Sawayama presents a kick-butt Alpha female style of Pop wherein she takes little to no crap, blending Pop with Hard Rock. This is due to taking inspiration from modern acts like Lady Gaga and JoJo, while growing up listening to bands like Evanescence. Sawayama came out in a magazine interview in between her first EP in 2017 and her first album in 2020, saying she often writes love songs about women. Her parents divorced when she was young and she was raised by her single mother in London, where her side projects enabled her to go to college and get her music career started. She has mentioned she faced discrimination in college, not just for orientation reasons, but also for her race. One of her songs is also called “Comme des garcons (Like the boys)” in which she says “Comme des garcons, (like the boys, like the boys) I’m so confident,” expressing her desire to have “swagger like a gay man.”
Recommended songs: STFU, Comme des Garcons (Like the boys), Love Me 4 Me, Tokyo Love Hotel, Who’s Gonna Save U Now?
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