When Pride season comes around each year, pop-R&B superstar Tinashe doesn’t hesitate to get on stage in front of her queer fans.
Speaking to Billboard before her set at this year’s WeHo Pride, Tinashe says the audience’s vibe at Pride events tends to be unmatched “The audience is already ready to party,” she tells Billboard‘s Tetris Kelly. “Everyone’s here with great energy, great excitement. So, I think it’s gonna be a good time.”
Along with being a member of the LGBTQ community (she identifies as bisexual), Tinashe says that her music helps speak directly queer fans who might be looking for a needed morale boost. “I think [there is] just a sense of confidence, that bad b—h, sexy unapologetic energy,” she says. “Like, who doesn’t like that?”
That energy is especially needed today, considering the perilous state of affairs the queer community faces across the U.S., where nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in 2023 alone, according to the ACLU. Amongst those proposals are “drag bans,” would-be laws intended to restrict where and when drag artists can perform.
For Tinashe, seeing drag queens perform to her songs is one of her favorite pastimes. “Any time I put out a new song, I love seeing [drag artists perform them],” she says. “And then at first, you’re like, ‘Wait was that [me]?’ You have that double take moment.”
As for what’s coming down the line in her own career, Tinashe gives fans a small teaser of what they can expect from her upcoming new music. “It’s a little bit of a melting pot,” she says. “I like to draw influence from different places — electronic music, R&B, pop, hip-hop — there’s all of those influences on this new music.”
Check out the full interview with Tinashe above, in which she discusses working with Kaytranada, filming the upcoming reality show Stars on Mars and much more.
This story originally appeared on Billboard
