In a recent interview with Hits Radio UK, Irish actress Nicola Coughlan opened up about her dream job, admitting that she’d love to make camp music “exclusively for gay men” and accidentally penned the gay bop of the summer in the process.
Coughlan, best known for her roles as Clare Devlin in the hit Channel 4 series Derry Girls, and as Penelope Featherington in the wildly successful Netflix drama Bridgerton, has long been a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. From her powerful coming-out scene in Derry Girls to her repeated calls for queer representation in Bridgerton, Coughlan has been a tried and true ally to the community for years.
When asked by Hits Radio UK what Coughlan would be doing if she weren’t acting, the Irish star admitted: “You know when the Real Housewives release pop sings just exclusively for gay men? That’s like my dream job.”
Coughlan continued: “‘Cause they don’t even really sing, they just list things. They’re like, ‘Shoes. And private yachts. Caviar. And more shoes.”
While the clip was a funny jab at classically camp gay anthems, Coughlan’s soundbite caught traction when it was remixed by DJ and producer Ellis Miah on TikTok.
Miah, who some members of the LGBTQ+ community might know as the producer behind RuPaul’s Drag Race tracks like ‘Read U, Wrote U’, which was featured on All Stars 2, and ‘Legends’ on All Stars 7, told INTO: “I’m a huge fan of [Coughlan]”.
“I had seen that clip go around TikTok for quite awhile,” reported Miah, referring to Coughlan’s original Hits Radio UK interview. “I’m a huge fan of hers. I love Derry Girls, I love Bridgerton. And I kept seeing it, and I was like, ‘I need to do something about this’.”
Discussing the track that he reportedly put together in a matter of hours, Miah said: “I knew I wanted it to kind of be, like, house-y. And so I started with the chords.” The DJ then selected the organ bass as the track’s featured instrument before pulling some influence from Kylie Minogue’s chart-topping hit ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’.
Miah posted the remix to TikTok this Saturday, May 25, and in a matter of hours, it had amassed nearly half a million views. Today, less than a week since it was posted, the video has celebrated more than 4.3 million views on the video-sharing platform.
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“The thing that has been so wonderful to see is how much people love her, and how much people want to be a part of this because of what she says in the soundbite,” said Miah following the overnight success of his remix. “She’s like, ‘This would be my dream job,’ so they’re all like, ‘Let’s give her a hit!’”
The now-viral track has certainly gained traction over the last week, with some members of the LGBTQ+ community calling Coughlan’s new track “the gay song of the summer”.
Coughlan herself caught wind of the remixed bop and has since reposted the ‘song of the summer’ to her own Instagram and TikTok accounts, where she has a combined follower count nearing six million.
“This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Coughlan commented on Miah’s original Instagram post.
Coughlan is currently promoting the third season of Bridgerton, which celebrated its premiere on May 16. Part Two of Bridgerton’s third season is set to drop on Netflix on Thursday, June 13.
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