Midweek Music Update
for 3rd July, 2019
The Midweek Music Update (published on Wednesdays) is intended to give you a "sneak peek" at some new music that hasn't made my chart yet. It's comprised of two sections: the Hot New Track and the Fresh New Releases.
Each week, I'll choose one video for the Hot New Track -- one song that is certain to make my chart & playlist next weekend (based on all the points it's earned so far).
The Fresh New Releases are two or three videos that appear likely to enter my chart in the near future (based on YouTube views alone). All of the songs in this 2nd section will be relatively recent (i.e., released in the past month or so). Because they are so new, it might take them an additional few weeks to work their way onto my chart.
Although I mention the total number of views for each video below, song selections are based on their YouTube views from the past seven days only.
Hot New Track:
This week's Hot New Track is "Don't Shoot" by transgender American singer/songwriter Shea Diamond. Even as a young child, Shea identified as a girl but she was punished by her parents whenever she acted feminine. As a teen, she ran away from home (in Flint, Michigan) and then, desperate for money, Shea robbed a convenience store at gunpoint. She was incarcerated in a Michigan men's prison for a decade. After her release, she relocated to New York and was signed by a major label. This will be Shea's second track on the LGBT Top 50 chart (her song "Seen It All" debuted last weekend at #46). As I write this, Shea's latest video has 30,022 views on YouTube (an increase of 28.31% from the week before).
Fresh New Releases:
The first Fresh New Release this week is "You Need To Calm Down" by straight American singer (and lately, vocal LGBT ally) Taylor Swift. The video advocates for the passage of the Equality Act (a non-discrimination bill that would protect LGBT rights in employment and housing) and the clip is filled with LGBT celebrities making cameo appearances (including Laverne Cox, Hayley Kiyoko, Chester Lockhart, the cast of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Adam Lambert, RuPaul, Hannah Hart, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Todrick Hall, Adam Rippon, Ellen DeGeneres, Billy Porter, and Katy Perry).Taylor is already on the LGBT chart this week with the rainbow-tinted video for "Me!" (a collaboration with pansexual singer Brendon Urie), which peaked at #3 and is currently at #30. Taylor's newest video currently has 68,046,455 views on YouTube.
The second Fresh New Release this week is "Blame It On Your Love" by bisexual English singer Charli XCX and label-rejecting (but definitely queer-friendly) American singer Lizzo. This bizarre video features multiple same-sex couples who tell the camera they "evolved in 2023" into elf-like creatures. In early June, Charli XCX teamed up with gay Australian singer Troye Sivan to launch a new LGBT Pride festival called the Go West Fest in Los Angeles. The clip now has 1,302,908 views on YouTube.
In the last two editions of the Midweek Music Update, I've provided links for a few videos that didn't quite make the LGBT Top 50 chart (but came very close) and were being "retired" after 3 months. However, the list of eligible videos is quickly becoming so long that it's unmanageable and I need to cut it down to size. I'll now be retiring the videos that have the fewest points each week, rather than doing it by release date. There are 16 videos being retired this week, which have all had multiple opportunities to make the chart but they just can't seem to break through. Next week I'll likely eliminate even more videos. Links are provided below, just in case you're curious and you'd like to watch them:
A couple of people have inquired as to whether I'd consider making the chart a Top 75 or a Top 100 instead. I'd really like to keep it down to a Top 50, which I think is a manageable size for most people. With 50 videos on the playlist each week (and each one averaging about 3 to 4 minutes apiece), it's possible to watch the entire playlist in about 3 hours. Obviously, a Top 100 would take double that amount of time to watch -- more than 6 hours. It's never been my intention to catalog every single song that comes out, and I don't think people have time to watch so many videos. For now, at least, I've decided to keep the Top 50 format.
That's it for another edition of the Midweek Music Update. Make sure to come back on Saturday or Sunday (depending on your time zone) for the latest LGBT Top 50 chart & playlist. Until then, I hope you all have a great week!
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