Pride Flag skin from Just Dance 2020
Hello again everyone! June is Pride Month and similar to last month Fandom is celebrating LGBTQIA+ characters, franchises, and more! Similar to last month's AAPI Heritage Month blog, this blog will take a look at some LGBTQIA+ artists in Just Dance, as well as some notable allies.
Just Dance has a large LGBTQIA+ following and has always included artists from a variety of backgrounds. The amount of artists has gotten bigger over the years and Just Dance 2022 alone has over 10 LGBTQIA+ artists if this year's Just Dance Unlimited exclusives are included. In fact, two are coming in the season that started today and will appear in the game in the upcoming months. We've got LGBTQIA+ artists from many countries across many genres. We've got Americans, Brits, Brazilians, French artists, and more covering a variety of genres including pop, hip-hop, disco, dance music, and more!
Notes[]
- This blog covers a large portion but may not list everyone. There are a lot of artists to go through.
- This blog covers public figures only in order to ensure accuracy and no privacy violations. As a result, only major artists are listed.
- This blog primarily focuses on artists due to minimal lore.
- For the sake of simplicity, songs exclusive to Just Dance Unlimited are listed as the game they came out alongside. An asterisk denotes these.
- This blog does not cover unreleased/scrapped content.
Mehdi Kerkouche[]
Before we get to artists let's start with openly gay French dancer and choreographer Mehdi Kerkouche. Kerkouche has been with the series since Just Dance 3 and is one of the longest-tenured people there. Additionally, he is a public figure (which is why he is the only staff member highlighted here), having received press coverage relating to him specifically, working on other projects outside of Just Dance such as movies, and even competing on the French version of The X-Factor. He also holds the distinction of being the first in the series to perform a routine in drag with Drop the Mambo in Just Dance 2016.
LGBTQIA+ Artists in Just Dance 2022[]
Anitta[]
Brazilian pop singer Anitta is bi and makes her third appearance on Just Dance 2022 with her Major Lazer EDM collaboration Sua Cara. The song has been heavily requested by fans since it came out in 2017.
Bronski Beat[]
British band Bronski Beat was comprised of all openly gay members and their music often reflected this, covering related themes and political commentary. They made their series debut in Just Dance 2022 with the synth-pop song Smalltown Boy.
Lady Gaga[]
American singer Lady Gaga is bi and is one of the most notable artists and LGBTQIA+ advocates. She is active and philanthropic and she has been raising awareness and money for various LGBTQIA+ causes for most of her career. She appears in Just Dance 2022 with Judas and other notable songs of hers in the series include the pride anthem Born This Way and the series' namesake.
Madison Beer[]
American singer Madison Beer is bi and she also made her debut in Just Dance 2022. She appears on-disc as a featured artist on K/DA's Pop/Stars and would later appear on Just Dance Unlimited as a lead artist with Follow the White Rabbit.
Pabllo Vittar[]
Brazilian drag queen Pabllo Vittar is another LGBTQIA+ artist debuting in Just Dance 2022. We got two songs, one of which is a collaboration with Anitta, mentioned above.
Sia[]
Australian singer Sia is queer and has appeared in the main series five times. Her song Chandelier was another song that fans had been requesting for a long time.
Sylvester[]
American disco singer Sylvester was openly gay and was noted for his flamboyant performances and androgynous appearance. Just Dance honored this with his first entry in the series, You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), which features the first non-binary character in the series.
Todrick Hall[]
American singer Todrick Hall is openly gay and he announced Just Dance 2022. He appears in the game in-person as the dancer for his song Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels (Just Dance Version), which features lyrics specifically written for Just Dance, as well as the song's official choreography, which uses the radio edit of the original. He is the first openly LGBTQIA+ artist to appear in the game dancing to their own song, and the first artist overall to do it as a classic routine and not a video alternate.
Ashnikko[]
Moving onto this year's Just Dance Unlimited artists, we've got gender-fluid American singer and rapper Ashnikko. Her song Daisy will be released to Just Dance Unlimited on June 30th. However, this is not her first song in the series as a writer. She co-wrote Doja Cat's Boss B****, which appears in the game as the clean Ubisoft-made cover Boss Witch.
Kim Petras[]
German singer Kim Petras will become the series' first openly trans female artist with her song Malibu, which will arrive on July 7th, 2022.
Lil Nas X[]
Openly gay American rapper Lil Nas X has appeared in the series three times. His most recent appearance was with Montero (Call Me By Your Name), a song that is noted for its queer themes.
Notable allies in Just Dance 2022[]
This section acknowledges the achievements of notable allies who appear in Just Dance 2022, as well as artists who have frequently alluded to being LGBTQIA+ but have not actually confirmed it.
Ariana Grande[]
Ariana Grande is an active supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community, frequently using her platform to raise awareness and funds for various issues. She has 12 songs in the series, with an additional appearance in the Kids series, making her the second most prolific artist in the series after Katy Perry. Her 2022 appearances include Save Your Tears (Remix) on the main game and Positions on Just Dance Unlimited.
Bella Poarch[]
As part of #GivingTuesday in November 2021, Bella Poarch and Just Dance teamed up with the Trevor Project, a charity that helps LGBTQIA+ youth. Both Poarch and Just Dance each donated US$50,000 as part of the project.
Beyoncé[]
Beyoncé is another artist who uses her platform to raise funds and awareness for LGBTQIA+ and other social issues. She has appeared in the series five times (although two are covers) and appears in Just Dance 2022 with Run the World (Girls).
Doja Cat[]
Doja Cat is private about her personal life and has never explicitly confirmed her sexuality and only makes hints suggesting she is possibly either bi or pan, which is why she is in this section. She debuted last year with Say So and has since appeared two more times, although one was a cover.
Katy Perry[]
Katy Perry is vocal about LGBTQIA+ rights and is another artists who uses their platform to raise awareness in funds. She is also the artist with the most appearances in the series, with 15 appearances excluding spinoffs. She appears in Just Dance 2022 with Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.), which had been requested by fans for several years.
Imagine Dragons[]
Imagine Dragons made their debut in Just Dance 2022 with Believer and lead singer Dan Reynolds is an active supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community. He is noted for his organization of LoveLoud, a youth pride festival. This was documented in the 2018 documentary, also called Believer, which received a GLAAD Media Award and an Emmy nomination.
Taylor Swift[]
And last but certainly not least, longtime ally Taylor Swift made her long-awaited debut in the series with Love Story (Taylor’s Version).
But wait, there's more![]
Of course, those are only the most active (or JD-related) artists. Several other artists such as Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, Meghan Trainor, and more, all appear in Just Dance 2022 and all support the community through donations, activism, and other means.
LGBTQIA+ Artists in the main series[]
Since this is getting really long and there are still a lot of artists to get through, this section will be in bullet points and will not include a song gallery.
- Gender non-conforming singer Alex Newell, who appeared in Just Dance 2021 with Boy, You Can Keep It.
- Israeli singer Arista, whose collaboration with Omer Adam, Tel Aviv, was the anthem of Tel Aviv Pride 2013 and was later featured on Just Dance 2020. It is the first non-English pride anthem in the series.
- Bounce artist and drag queen Big Freedia, who appeared in Just Dance 2018 with Make It Jingle, marking the debut of the twerking reindeer.
- Bi rapper Cardi B, who has appeared three times since Just Dance 2019.
- Singer Demi Lovato, who was the first non-binary artist in the series (although they were not out at the time).
- Elton John, who appears (albeit covered) in Just Dance 2019 with I’m Still Standing.
- George Michael, who appears both as a solo artist and as a member of Wham!.
- Janelle Monáe, who has appeared twice, most recently with Make Me Feel, described as a "bisexual anthem".
- Queen, who have appeared three times since Just Dance 3.
- Village People, who have appeared twice since Just Dance 2014.
- And many more including
And of course let's forget notable allies such as:
- Bad Bunny
- Fergie
- Harry Styles
- Lizzo
- P!nk
- Selena Gomez
- And more!
Spin-offs[]
To conclude this blog, let's take a quick look at three LGBTQ+ artists that have not appeared in the main series yet.
- Da Brat (The Hip Hop Dance Experience)
- Dove Cameron (Just Dance: Disney Party 2)
- Willow (covered, Just Dance Kids 2)
Conclusion[]
Happy Pride Month, everyone!