Now, they’re not only able to be candid about their lovers - they’re allowed to get sexy, too. While heterosexual artists have long had the freedom to sexually express themselves in music, the success of moments like “Montero” signifies a turning point for LGBTQ+ artists. Only a decade earlier, Adam Lambert was lambasted for kissing a male bassist during a 2009 AMAs performance, Frank Ocean divided fans with an open letter on Tumblr about his sexuality, and Mary Lambert’s use of same-gender pronouns in Macklemore’s 2013 hit “Same Love” felt subversive. “I want to say thank you to the gay agenda,” Lil Nas X said during his acceptance speech, marking not only an edifying moment for a rising musician, but a milestone for queer representation. Critics celebrated it as an “ unabashedly queer” work of art, something the artist nodded to when he took home Video of the Year at the 2021 VMAs.
“Shoot a child in your mouth while I’m ridin’,” Lil Nas X quips on “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” complete with an explicit visual in which he makes out with himself in the Garden of Eden and, of course, gives Satan a lap dance. On March 25, 2021, listeners were captivated, aroused, and scandalized by a rapper’s shameless descriptions of gay sex.
