Is \u201cGood Luck, Babe!\u201d destined to be this year\u2019s Pride anthem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trying to find a queer song of the summer not from rising superstar Chappell Roan? Well, good luck, babe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The American singer has absolutely exploded this spring following a meteoric rise that includes a Tiny Desk concert<\/a> and a massive set of Coachella appearances<\/a>. Her album that dropped in the Fall 2023, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess<\/em>, reached a new peak of #16 on this week\u2019s Billboard 200, and her single \u201cGood Luck, Babe!\u201d just became her first-ever Top 40 hit. Log on to TikTok and you\u2019ll see everyone from cats to Kermit the Frog dancing along to her other song \u201cHot To Go.\u201d She is a, well, femininomenon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But is that momentum enough to crown Chappell Roan and \u201cGood Luck, Babe!\u201d as our queer song of the summer? Or even just the<\/em> song of the summer, full stop? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Or could another artist still make a run for it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n The song of the summer<\/a> is a debate held every year amongst broader culture, and it is here that I think we make a vital distinction between the song of the summer, and the queer<\/em> song of the summer. Sometimes the two overlap: think of \u201cFancy\u201d by Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX<\/a> in 2014 or Carly Rae Jepsen\u2019s \u201cCall Me Maybe\u201d<\/a> in 2012. These tracks were embraced and beloved by the gays and straights alike, and still stand the test of time as summer bops today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But more often there\u2019s a strong distinction\u2014last year\u2019s queer song of the summer was undeniably Kylie Minogue\u2019s \u201cPadam Padam\u201d<\/a> in its inescapability at literally every Pride event, from brunches to parades. But it was basically nowhere to be found on the mainstream charts, which were instead dominated by the likes of the almost aggressively straight Morgan Wallen\u2019s \u201cLast Night.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The queer song of the summer deserves to have its own category. It\u2019s the song that makes its way on to Pride floats and party playlists. It\u2019s a top choice for drag performers on stage and Instagram stories online and captures a sense of joy and community and fun for the queers. It\u2019s distinctly ours. And yes, like in 2012, we may share it with the straights. But just as easily it could be known by every queer person on the planet without ever making its way to mainstream charts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With all of those qualifications in mind, let me introduce the candidates for queer song of the summer, from the obvious to the underdogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe juggernaut: \u201cGood Luck, Babe!\u201d by Chappell Roan <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n