It’s Pride Month! Throughout June, HollywoodLife is running The Sound Of Pride, a month-long feature where members of the LGBTQ+ community pick songs that should be on your Pride 2022 playlist. Today, Grag Queen shares her picks for the playlist and a message for those celebrating Pride this month.
“We are not celebrating just our existence,” says Grag Queen. “I think we are celebrating our resistance and everything that has passed through these last two years. Being queer people, our community knows we don’t have the same opportunities and realities as other people. And so, I think we’re celebrating everything we [have endured]. As a Brazilian queen, where I live in the place that most kills LGBT people. Every day is a celebration. So being alive in my country, being queer, being open, and getting my breath from my wigs, it’s a very huge reason for a big celebration of Pride.”
Grag has quite a lot to celebrate this year. The Brazilian-born drag performer won Queen of the Universe, the international drag queen singing competition that aired on Paramount+. Grag competed against fellow singing drag performers from China (Woowu), India (Rani Ko-He-Nur), Mexico (Regina Voce), Australia (Gingzilla), France (Leona Winter), and England (La Voix), along with a handful of competitors from the USA (Ada Vox, Aria B Cassadine, Jujube, Chy’enne Valentino, Novaczar) and Canada (Matante Alex). Grag also dropped “You Betta,” her first-ever English language song, “You Betta.”
Fans will be able to experience Grag’s fierceness in person. She will perform all over North America and England in June. Be sure to check out the dates below.
Grag Queen, “You Betta” / “Party Everyday”
Grag Queen: We’re coming up from a very crazy time. We’ve been locked in our houses, and we have been away from art and people. [We’re now] getting the chance of making our shows and being nearby the people.
In the middle of this chaos, there is that Brazilian girl that comes from very far and full of… no hope, just passing through a very crazy and terrible moment in her country. And then she went [to America], and she won the title of Queen of the Universe.
I love celebrating Pride, but I think at this time, besides celebrating Pride beyond, we also got to remember that we are still perfect. We are still okay and able to dream and achieve whatever we want to achieve.
HollywoodLife: “You Betta” is fun and exciting to listen to. It really could be a song of the summer.
“I love that one, but I’m coming with new songs, and I’m sure that’s going to be one of them. I have some English songs like “Getting Cooked.”
What is that going to sound like?
So I have one that I’m doing with Disney. It’s for the soundtrack for Love, Victor. That is the one of their series, and this is amazing. I’m so honored to be part of the soundtrack and this song — girl, this song is amazing! I’m just addicted to that song since the day we recorded the demo. And so I still listen to their every day, and I’m sure you’re going to love it. People from Disney and in their office, they always send us emails saying that they cannot stop playing that. And I’m so, so happy because of it.
Gloria Groove, “LSD”
I’m going to put up some Gloria Groove. That is one of my Brazilian sisters. Because she is making [a] revolution in my country. She inspires me so much, and I’m sure nothing would be without her existence. I would love to have one of her songs over there. She just launched an album, and it’s going like fire. It represents me and makes me dream and makes me want to achieve [them].
What song would you recommend for anyone who has never heard of her? Something that you would say, “Listen to this,” to make Gloria their new favorite artist?
I would choose the song “LSD” from her new album.
You’ll be at LA Pride, Chicago Pride, and New York Pride – with plenty of shows in between.
Yes, and my birthday.
When’s your birthday?
It’s on the 29th.
What do you want people to give you for your birthday?
So I’m going to have a day off for my birthday in New York City. So if you want to bring me whatever you want to bring me, I’m taking it because, bitch, I’m from Brazil. Everything’s so expensive over there.
Check out Grag Queen Performing Live in these fine cities
6/3 – Roscoe’s – Chicago, IL
6/5 – West Hollywood, CA – Queernaval
6/10 – Hotel Utah – San Francisco, CA
6/11 – LA Pride in the Park w/Anitta & Christina Aguilera – Los Angeles, CA
6/18 – Kemba Live – Columbus, OH
6/19 – Chicago Pride Fest w/Alaska Thunderfuck – Chicago, IL
6/20 – City Winery – Boston, MA
6/21 – Milkboy – Philadelphia, PA
6/22 – The Loft @ City Winery – Washington, DC
6/24 – The Meadows – Brooklyn, NY
6/25- NYC Pride’s Youth Pride @ Rumsey Playfield – New York
6/26 – RENDEZVIEWS Toronto, Canada
7/1 – The Queer Bar – Seattle, WA