Cover ‘One of Your Girls’ by Troye Sivan is one of those summer songs that will get you grooving in no time (Photo: Katja Ogrin/Redferns)
‘One of Your Girls’ by Troye Sivan is one of those summer songs that will get you grooving in no time (Photo: Katja Ogrin/Redferns)
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11 summertime songs we’ve hand-picked from LGBTQ+ artists, from Billie Eilish to Joya
Music has long been the heartbeat of summer. Whether it’s an infectious disco track that compels you to drop everything and dance in the streets, or a poignant ballad that makes you feel understood, certain songs become timeless summer anthems.
From singer-songwriter Billie Eilish’s breezy pop to Hong Kong indie artist Joya’s soulful harmonies, to Danny Chung’s titular cover featured in Wong Kar-wai’s 1997 romantic drama Happy Together, the 11 tracks in this list capture the very essence of the summer season. So put on your dancing shoes and get ready to groove to the rhythm.
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1. ‘Lunch’ by Billie Eilish
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Billie Eilish is not one to shy away from thorny subject matters, from being candid about her eating disorder to her pornography addiction, on her sophomore album, Happier Than Ever (2021).
In Lunch, the new track in her highly anticipated third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft (2024), she writes about what it means to be queer and the newfound freedom that comes with embracing her sexuality.
By all accounts, Lunch is as much of a return back to Eilish herself as it is a herald of change, a change that would only be made possible if people take away the message the song has to offer, that is, encouraging and empowering—not just queer—people to talk more openly about sex and identity while celebrating all things that make them feel authentic.
2. ‘One of Your Girls’ by Troye Sivan
Troye Sivan channels pop perfection in this synth-pop heartsore-discotheque banger released in 2023. More confident and sensual than ever, Sivan opens up about the one thing that quintessentially encapsulates the rite of passage of many gay men: being in a relationship that is jinxed from the start. One of Your Girls is the electrifying trademark of the Aussie pop star’s vocal and sartorial versatility, attesting to his dynamic range both as a songwriter and performer.
The music video starring Ross Lynch is equally attention-grabbing—especially the moment where Sivan has all of us shell-shocked when he unrecognisably transforms into a pop diva femme fatale.
3. ‘The girl, so confusing version with Lorde’ by Charli XCX and Lorde
Above Charli xcx - The girl, so confusing version with lorde (official audio)
In June 2024, when Charli XCX dropped the remix to her song Girl, so confusing, it was hailed as an instant classic. A few days later, she dropped The girl, so confusing version with Lorde—the latest addition to join the star-studded line-up of remixes of songs in Charli’s sixth studio album, BRAT, which received critical acclaim upon release.
It’s sobering to realise that behind the iconic public images of Charli and Lorde are their private selves that have grappled with insecurities, jealousy, and body image issues. Yet there’s something poignant about seeing these two cultural powerhouses collaborate on a remix, transmuting their personal struggles into art.
4. ‘Challengers’ (original score) by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross from ‘Challengers’
“Tennis is a relationship,” says Tashi Duncun played by Zendaya in Luca Guadagnino’s tennis-romance film Challengers (2024), co-starring Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist. The same can be said about our relationship with the movie’s original score —we just can’t get enough of it.
Serving adrenaline pumps and high-octane techno rumbling, the titular track Challengers is cut out for sweating it all out in the summer, whether at the tennis court, the gym, the beach or in the comfort of your own home.
5. ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ by Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Dubbed the most divisive film of 2023, Emerald Fennell’s grisly class satire psychological thriller Saltburn is not for the faint of heart. On a lighter note, this film features English musician Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s 2001 hit Murder on the Dancefloor when the protagonist Oliver, played by Barry Keoghan, dances au naturel in a mansion he has newly acquired. We have since then been unable to get this song out of our heads.
6. ‘I'm Free’ by Paris Hilton & Rina Sawayama
When Paris Hilton launched Stars Are Blind in 2006, it became an instant hit. 18 years later, the star is back and stronger than ever. This time, she is joined by Rina Sawayama on the track I’m Free in the upcoming sophomore album Infinite Icon. Hiltonaissance—if you will—is just around the corner.
7. ‘Dancing on My Own’ by Robyn
No one understands heartbreak the way Robyn does. But she also understands the power of freedom and the empowerment that comes with cutting loose on the dance floor. Robyn’s lyrics in Dancing on My Own (2010) reinforce that there is empowerment on the flip side of every heartbreak and every time you dance on your own.
8. ‘Confetti’ by Joya
In Confetti (2024), independent Hong Kong-based singer-songwriter Joya shares what it is like when a woman takes ownership of her life. At times an ode to self-love, at times a commentary on the expectations stacked against women, Joya draws attention to her rebellion against gender-specific social mores and fighting the good fight with naysayers who stand in her way of realising her full potential.
9. ‘Lose My Focus’ by Raveena
Raveena paints a vivid, rosy picture of a person in love through the heartfelt lyrics in Lose My Focus (2024).
Bearing uncanny resemblances to Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2017 romantic period drama film Phantom Thread, it’s safe to say that being helpless in the face of all-consuming love is a universal experience and a motif that keeps finding its way back to us in popular culture.
10. ‘To Be Honest with You’ by bb sway
Above bb sway - On Your Journey [Official Video]
Chinese-British musician bb sway, also known as Ash Johnston, put into words a deep sense of loss that can come with transitioning, despite the beauty of the journey itself.
Sway conceives of a society, if not a legacy, that he can build and leave behind, where progress is made one step at a time—a society wherein tolerance and acceptance are normalised, bettering the human condition for trans people for good measure.
11. ‘Happy Together’ by Danny Chung
Above Danny Chung - Happy Together
“Imagine me and you, I do / I think about you day and night, it’s only right”—the lyrics of Happy Together from Wong Kar-wai’s 1997 film by the same name evoke the same emotions that its distraught protagonist Lai Yiu-fai (played by Tony Leung) feels while reminiscing about a bittersweet romance. Vestiges of the former lover Ho Po-wing played by Leslie Cheung are violent, fleeting and volatile—but hope(lessness) and hurt linger on and on.
This is where Danny Chung’s Happy Together jumps to the rescue. Borrowing its name from The Turtles’ 1967 song, Chung turns Wong Kar-wai’s art-house lovesickness into danceable rhythms that we all can have a good time (sobbing) to.
