30 singers you may not know are LGBT

LGBT singers

We have listed singers you may not have known were lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer.

From iconic modern singers and those you may not have heard of, to the rock legends we all love, we list 30 LGBT+ singers.

How many of these queer superstars have you heard of?

1. Jason Mraz

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 18:Jason Mraz performs on NBC's "Today" at the NBC's TODAY Show on July 18, 2014 in New York, New York. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
Mraz was responding to speculation that he’s bi (Jamie McCarthy/Getty)

He has been married to Christina Carano since 2015.

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2. Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus has a gay dance party to inspire track seven – River – on Endless Summer Vacation (NBC)

In 2015, Cyrus said: “I’m very open about it – I’m pansexual.

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3. Kim Petras

Kim Petras
Kim Petras says she owes everything to the gays, Madonna, and Lizzie McGuire, apparently (Getty)

Kim Petras hit headlines as she underwent gender transition surgery at an early age.

The transgender singer-songwriter recently joined Troye Sivan on his Bloom tour in 2018, as the opening act.

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4. Troy Sivan

Troy Sivan
Troy Sivan is open about his sexuality. (Getty)

Troy Sivan is an openly gay South African-born Australian singer. He recently dispelled rumours that he and his model boyfriend Jacob Bixenman had broken up with a heartfelt tweet celebrating the couple’s three-year anniversary.

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5. Janelle Monáe

Janelle Monáe posts while wearing a black dress consisting of straps and drapped fabric with their hair styled on top of their head
Janelle Monáe feels “beyond the binary” and falls in love with a person’s “energy first” rather than their gender identity. (Paras Griffin/Getty for BET)

Janelle Monáe came out as queer in 2018.

“Being a queer black woman in America,” Janelle Monáe said as she came out, “someone who has been in relationships with both men and women – I consider myself to be a free-ass motherf****r.”

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6. Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury performing on Queen’s 1982 tour (Steve Jennings/WireImage)

While the Queen singer never formally labelled his sexuality, he had same-sex relationships.

In the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, he came out as bisexual to his live-in girlfriend in the early 1970s. The movie showed her responding by saying she thinks he is gay.

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7. Hayley Kiyoko

A photo of singer Hayley Kiyoko dressed in a white corset top and silver jacket as she poses at a press event
Hayley Kiyoko first came out as queer back in 2015. (Getty)

Hayley Kiyoko knew she was gay at six years old.

Kiyoko recently revealed that she was advised to ‘tone down’ her sexuality for her music career.

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8. Mykki Blanco

Mykki Blanco UK tour
Mykki Blanco on tour. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images)

Mykki Blanco is an openly gay genderqueer rapper.

On Facebook, he explained his preferred pronoun: “I am a Gay man but my Trans journey is who I am. I am not Cis normative or self hating. I use ‘he’ now because I am a he and that still makes me Mykki Blanco.”

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9. Elton John

David Furnish and Elton John sit with their sons Elijah and Zachary between them as they pose for a photo while wearing suits
David Furnish, Elijah, Zachary and Elton John attend the 23rd Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party in 2015. (Michael Kovac/Getty for EJAF)

This list of LGBT+ singers couldn’t exist without mentioning the legend that is Sir Elton John.

He is openly gay and is married to Canadian filmmaker David Furnish.

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10. Pabllo Vittar

Pabllo Vittar
Pabllo Vittar (Getty)

With over eight million followers on Instagram, Pabllo Vittar is the most followed drag queen in the world.

The Brazilian icon is a famous singer-songwriter who reached the top of Brazil’s pop charts in 2017… twice.

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11. Dusty Springfield

In a 1970 interview with Ray Connolly of The Evening Standard, Dusty Springfield went on the record about her sexuality. She said: “I know I’m perfectly as capable of being swayed by a girl as by a boy.”

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12. Anohni

Anohni is a transgender artist.

British singer Anohni
British singer Anohni

In an interview with Out, the singer said: “I’m an artist, I’m an animist. I’m transgendered. I’m very non-Christian. I’m mammal identified. Part of the mammal world.”

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13. George Michael

The openly gay singer was known for his timeless classics.

George Michael (1963 - 2016), of the group Wham, performs at Live Aid.
George Michael (1963 – 2016), of the group Wham, performs at Live Aid. (Steve Rapport/Getty)

Charities were still receiving hefty donations from the late musical legend George Michael’s estate nearly two years after his death on Christmas Day in 2016.

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14. Steve Grand

Openly gay singer Steve Grand opened up about the criticism he often experiences as a “young, good-looking, white, gay man.” Grand said that before judging him, people should remember that “there’s been a real person there the whole time.

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15. Brandi Carlile

Lesbian singer Brandi Carlile won three Grammy Awards in February 2019.

She said: “I came out of the closet at 15 years old, when I was in high school, and I can assure you that I was never invited to any parties. I never got to attend a dance. To be embraced by this enduring and loving community has been the dance of a lifetime. Thank you for being my island.”

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16. Ricky Martin

Openly gay singer Ricky Martin ‘hid’ many gay lovers from the public for years before coming out.

Fashion designer Gianni Versace inspired him to come out.

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17. David Bowie

The queer star had adopted several personas over the years and made comments about his sexual orientation on several occasions.

His persona Ziggy Stardust, created when he released Space Oddity in 1969, was a bisexual alien rock star. The androgynous figure became a gay icon.

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18. Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga is a bisexual, queer icon.

After the 2019 Oscars, Lady Gaga sent a message of love to LGBT+ fans, and added that the ceremony should move away from gendered categories.

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19. Michael Stipe

REM singer Michael Stipe says he’s 80 percent gay but “hates” the term bisexual.

He told the Observer: “On a sliding scale of sexuality I’d place myself around 80-20, but I definitely prefer men to women. I had sex with, and enjoyed sex with, women until I met someone that I fell in love with, and who is now my boyfriend.”

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20. Adam Lambert

Adam Lambert has opened up about his performance of "Believe" that made Cher cry.
Adam Lambert has opened up about his performance of “Believe” that made Cher cry. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

The queer singer, who won American Idol in 2009 and tours with the surviving members of the band Queen, spoke about his mental health as he announced his first solo album in four years.

He also performed with Queen during the 2019 Oscars.

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21. Rylan Clark-Neal

Rylan Clark-Neal finished in fifth place in the 2012 X Factor series, and he won Celebrity Big Brother in 2013.

Rylan Clark.(Lorne Thomson/Redferns)
Rylan Clark.(Lorne Thomson/Redferns)

He is married to a former policeman who was also a contestant on the reality series.

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22. Fergie

Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie is bisexual.

Fergie of music legends Black Eyed Peas in Los Angeles, California
Black Eyed Peas star Fergie identifies as bisexual. (Getty)

In an interview with Esquire magazine, she said: “I have no question in my mind about being bisexual.”

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23. Frank Ocean

The groundbreaking musician came out as gay in 2012.

Frank Ocean moonlight foreword
Frank Ocean. (FilmMagic/FilmMagic for Bonnaroo Arts And Music Festival)

He has since become one of the most successful gay artists in hip hop.

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24. Rita Ora

Rita Ora tweeted that she has had same-sex romantic relationships as she apologised for her song “Girls.”

Rita Ora presenting the Best Electronic award at the MTV EMAs 2020
Rita Ora presenting the Best Electronic award at the MTV EMAs 2020 (Getty/MTV)
Rita Ora, who recently said she hopes her song "Girls" will help girls to come out as gay
Rita Ora attends the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2018 at the Theatre Royal on November 18, 2018 in London, England. (Jeff Spicer/Getty)

“’Girls’ was written to represent my truth and is an accurate account of a very real and honest experience in my life,” she wrote. “I have had romantic relationships with women and men throughout my life and this is my personal journey.”

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25. Sam Smith

Sam Smith publicly came out as gay in May 2014.

A photo shows Sam Smith wearing a sparkly jumpsuit while performing at Capital Jingle Bell Ball. (Getty)
Sam Smith performs at Capital Jingle Bell Ball. (Getty)

He has since been an outspoken supporter of LGBT+ rights.

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26. Rufus Wainwright

Rufus Wainwright is a gay American-Canadian singer-songwriter.

In 2014, he admitted he feels fortunate to not have a large gay fan base because “gay men have terrible taste in music.”

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27. Courtney Act

Courtney Act is an Australian drag queen and pop singer.

Courtney Act
Courtney Act rose to fame on season six of RuPaul’s Drag Race. (Jeff Spicer/Getty)

She won the UK’s 2018 Celebrity Big Brother.

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28. Le1f

Rapper Le1f is among the many BME gay people who have to face racism head-on in the LGBT+ community.

Le1f
(Instagram/Khalif)

In 2018, the LGBT musician shared horrendous racist abuse he gets on Grindr.

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29. Melissa Etheridge

Melissa Etheridge is an American singer-songwriter and activist.

Melissa Etheridge
Rock icon Melissa Etheridge (Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)
LGBT singers: Melissa Ethridge

The Oscar and Grammy-award winning rock singer, who came out as gay in 1993, married her partner Linda Wallem in Montecito, California, in 2014.

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30. Neil Tennant

Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys fame is an openly gay English musician.

Musician Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys performs onstage at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on November 12, 2016 in New York City.
Musician Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys performs onstage at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on November 12, 2016 in New York City. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty)

He revealed his sexuality in a 1994 interview in Attitude magazine.

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