Queer Jams of the Week: New Music From Ethel Cain, Cynthia Erivo, King Princess & More

Gay-dies and gentle-thems, happy Pride! With the queerest season of the year officially upon us, what better way to celebrate than with some new bangers from your favorite queer artists? Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ+ artists.

From Ethel Cain’s plaintive new single to Cynthia Erivo’s emotional new album, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:

Ethel Cain, “Nettles”

After taking a brief detour with her droning EP Perverts, Ethel Cain is back to the task at hand with “Nettles,” the long-awaited first lead single off her forthcoming album, Willoughby Trucker, I’ll Always Love You. Taking fans back five years before the narrative of her critically-acclaimed LP Preacher’s Daughter, “Nettles” paints a gentle, melancholy of a young couple, deeply in love with one another for better or worse. The stunning country-blues production and Cain’s echoing, gorgeous vocal, makes “Nettles” yet another song in her growing discography you’ll keep going back for, picking out new details every time.

Cynthia Erivo, I Forgive You

After a career spent bringing others’ characters to life — whether it’s The Color Purple‘s Celie, Wicked’s Elphaba or dozens of others — Cynthia Erivo steps into herself with her stunning sophomore album I Forgive You. Over the course of 20 songs ranging from slinky R&B (early standout “Play the Woman”), touching adult contemporary, (“She Said”), or straight-up power ballads (“Worst of Me”), Erivo lets her voice do the work, showcasing her once-in-a-lifetime instrument at every given opportunity. As she told Billboard in our latest cover story: “People don’t know me as a musician in the way they’re getting to know me now.” So, get to know the real Cynthia Erivo with her lush new LP.

King Princess, “RIP KP”

What better way to kick off your Pride celebrations than with a capital-L Lesbian Anthem? King Princess returned with “RIP KP” this week, and she made sure that her first single back was a certified banger. Slinky guitars and a shuffling drum beat punctuate Mikaela Straus’ playful vocal, as the singer lists all the various ways the object of her affections can take her — “on the floor,” “up against the door,” you name it, KP is down. The title might suggest a passing on, but rest assured; King Princess is back and better than ever.

Big Thief, “Incomprehensible”

With their latest single “Incomprehensible,” Big Thief are touching on a universal theme — getting older — while still giving it enough specificity to make it feel like something brand new. Adrienne Lenker’s voice, in particular, cuts through this shimmering single, as she struggles with her own moratlity, and what that does to her identity. “And as silver as the rainbow scales that shimmer purple blue/ How can beauty that is living be anything but true?” she questions.

Scott Hoying, “PRAY”

How conversion therapy is still a legal practice in this country is beyond us — but Pentatonix’s Scott Hoying is here with a bit of a rebuttal to the folks claiming you can “pray the gay away.” On his infectious new gospel-tinged single “Pray,” Hoying sings (and believe us when we say that he sings) about his own experiences with the anti-LGBTQ+, before making it clear that the only thing we ought to be praying for is the courage to accept ourselves as we are.

Check out all of our picks below on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist: