I am a big fan of creating music playlists and have done a few for GCN already. When I create new lists for GCN, I always try to come up with a new angle, and this time, it’s iconic LGBTQ+ music collabs. From Elton John and Years & Years to Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus, here are ten collaborations featuring queer artists that I mostly haven’t featured before (eagle-eyed readers will notice I have repeated one song but I think you’ll forgive me when you see who the artist is).

‘Under Pressure’ – Queen and David Bowie (1981)

For the first of our LGBTQ+ collabs, we go all the way back to 1981 and to two iconic artists, Freddie Mercury and David Bowie. The song appeared on the 1982 Queen album, Hot Space, and was performed at every Queen concert after 1981 including their iconic appearance at Live Aid. Bowie only performed it live after Mercury had passed away, including in a duet with Annie Lennox at a tribute show for Mercury.

The music video does not feature any of the artists because of their touring commitments. It caused some controversy, with the BBC editing it as it featured scenes from The Troubles in Northern Ireland. The song reached Number 2 in Ireland and was voted the second-best collaboration of all time in a Rolling Stone poll in 2021.

‘Endless Love’ – Luther Vandross and Maria Carey (1994)

‘Endless Love’ was also a song from 1981 – a duet with the song’s writer Lionel Richie and singer/actress Diana Ross.

I am going to jump ahead to 1994 and Mariah Carey’s first high-profile duet. It was with Luther Vandross for his album Songs (1994), an album of cover songs. While Vandross never came out while he was alive, in December 2017, 12 years after his death, Vandross’ friend Patti LaBelle confirmed that he was gay.

Vandross was aware that coming out may have been detrimental to his career, given that the majority of his fans were women. LaBelle said, “He had a lot of lady fans. He told me that he just didn’t want to upset the world. It was hard for him.”

The duet with Carey reached Number 4 in Ireland (beating the original’s Number 9 position).

‘As’ – George Michael and Mary J. Blige (1998)

The icons keep on coming. This song was written by Stevie Wonder and originally appeared on his album Songs In The Key Of Life (1976). George Michael covered the song with Mary J. Blige in 1998 and it appeared on Michael’s 1999 greatest hits album, Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael.

Michael was no stranger to duets having sung with icons like Elton John (more on him later) and Whitney Houston. Full disclosure: the Houston song was originally in this spot but while researching their duet, I rediscovered this track. The duet with Blige fared better critically and on the charts, reaching Number 12 in Ireland and being a Top 10 elsewhere.

‘Just Dance’ – Lady Gaga and Colby O’Donis (2008)

As I said in my 2000s queer anthems list (yes this is my repeat song), I am new to the fandom of Lady Gaga and this early hit is probably my favourite of hers. The lyrics speak about being drunk in a club and we’ve all been there. Well, I have. So it speaks to me.

It comes from her 2008 debut album, The Fame, which produced a rake of hits across the country and the globe. The song features the vocals of Colby O’Donis, so I’m able to put it on this list. The song was her first (of many) Irish Number 1s.

‘Strangers’ – Halsey and Lauren Jauregui (2017)

These two artists are new to me, which is one of the joys of compiling a list like this. The song was released in 2017 as the second single from Halsey’s second studio album, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom. It features bisexual singer Lauren Jauregui from the girl group Fifth Harmony.

Halsey, who is also bisexual, said of the duet: “I was thinking to myself, if I want this song to be believable, it needs to be real, so I’m not going to put a girl on the song to sing who’s straight. I’m just not going to do it. So I reached out to Lauren and she came in and she cut the vocal and it sounds awesome.”

Billboard ranked ‘Strangers’ at Number 97 on its critics’ list of the 100 Best Songs of 2017.

Chalk Tablet Towers – Gorillaz and St. Vincent (2020)

I became a fan of St. Vincent during the process of compiling a previous playlist and I am discovering a lot of her back catalogue as she is a regular in my music rotation. (Side note: listen to her talk about her song, ‘Slow Disco’, with Jake Shears on his podcast Queer The Music. Also, check out that video).

Gorillaz are known for their collabs, and their seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, includes a bunch including with St. Vincent and Elton John (his song could’ve made the list too). Anyway, this is my favourite track from the album and probably in my top Gorillaz and St. Vincent songs. The album reached Number 2 in Ireland.

You – Regard, Troye Sivan and Tate McRae (2021)

There wasn’t a question in my mind (and maybe some of yours) that Troye Sivan was going to feature on this list. There are certainly lots to choose from as Sivan has been doing duets from as far back as his first album. He has collabs featuring the likes of Alessia Cara, LGBTQ+ favourite Charli XCX, Ariana Grande (twice!) and Kacey Musgraves (ft. Mark Ronson).

This song features Canadian singer Tate McRae and Kosovo-Albanian DJ Regard. I think the song is very catchy – probably the reason why it came out on top.

Little titbit: Troye sings “When the Hennessy’s strong, all I see is you” but Tate sings “When the jealousy’s strong, all I see is you”. Tate has said that it was because she was 17 when they recorded the song.

‘It’s a Sin’ – Elton John and Years & Years (2021)

We finally get to Elton John, who has collaborated with everyone from Cher, Bette Midler, George Michael, Gorillaz… the list goes on. His 2021 Lockdown Sessions album includes collabs with a bunch of LGBTQ+ artists like Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus and Olly Alexander of Years & Years.

‘It’s a Sin’ originally appeared on Pet Shop Boys’ second studio album, Actually (1987), and was a Number 1 in Ireland. Years & Years covered the song in January 2021 to coincide with the TV series of the same name, which featured Alexander in a leading role.

Elton John and Years & Years performed the song together the following May at the Brit Awards. The duet starts slowly with Elton on piano and vocals by Alexander before transitioning into synth-pop with backup dancers and drag queens. They recorded a version, produced by Stuart Price and the Pet Shop Boys, with proceeds of the sales going to Elton John’s AIDs foundation.

‘Wrecking Ball’ – Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus (2024)

Dolly Parton was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2022. She initially declined the honour as she believed she was known as a county star, not a rock star – a complaint many fans have made about previous inductees known for different genres.

Parton decided to do a rock album to justify her eventual induction, the result being Rockstar (2024). The album is a collaboration with rock stars with a number of cover versions included. One of these was with her godchild, Miley Cyrus and it was a cover of Cyrus’ 2013 hit (a Number 2 in Ireland), ‘Wrecking Ball’.

The pair had performed the song, in a medley with Parton’s ‘I Will Always Love You’, during the 2022–23 Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party, broadcast on NBC. Parton has said that the performance inspired her to record this beautiful version and one of the better songs on the Rockstar album.

‘Midnight Ride’ – Orville Peck, Kylie Minogue and Diplo (2024)

The final addition to my list of LGBTQ+ collabs is a case of the algorithm working, as Orville Peck appeared on my Instagram feed at some point. I have kind of an eclectic mixed taste in music and country is a part of that.

For his third studio album, Stampede (2024), the South African singer performed vocal duets with a number of artists of different musical genres. It includes duets with the likes of Willie Nelson on a cover of ‘Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other’, Elton John on a cover of ‘Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)’ and Kylie Minogue on a new song called ‘Midnight Ride’. Minogue, a definite gay icon in my opinion, previously dabbled in country for her album Golden (2018). Both artists were involved in the writing of this song, which Peck dubbed as a “disco-country song”, which blends the two artists’ styles.

This totally works for me. It is very catchy and it could become stuck in your brain.

That’s my list of my top 10 LGBTQ+ collabs. Let me know if I have any glaring omissions!