Celebrate #Pride with your favorite George Michael songs reimagined by @palewaves, @yearsandyears, @MNEK, @theebillyporter, and more.

Listen now to all the covers in #SpatialAudio with @Dolby Atmos. https://t.co/15lheVMHIu pic.twitter.com/DnFoPe45Zp

— Apple Music (@AppleMusic) June 28, 2022

Opening the playlist is “Faith” covered by English indie outfit Pale Waves, the 1987 smash hit is widely regarded as the start of Michael’s long and storied solo career. Next up is “Outside” covered by Olly Alexander’s solo project Years & Years. Originally released in 2006 the track was accompanied by an infamous music video which cemented Michael as a cultural hero. Alexander has spoken on the importance of Michael and the power of his enduring legacy, “One of the things I love most about George Michael was his ability to own his narrative. He was a huge, huge star. I’m sure he struggled with some of the attention and issues that come with worldwide fame, and he still remained so iconic, so true to who he was.”

The singer continued to discuss the impact of the music video for “Outside”, “He still had fun with it. He was always trying new things and taking risks and unashamedly himself. And I take so much inspiration from that … He got arrested in 1998—I think the terminology is ‘soliciting a police officer in a public toilet’—then goes and writes a song about it. And it’s such a banger. Wow! I just think it’s so incredible for him to just own that narrative and really go, ‘Yeah, I like to have sex outside.’ And it’s such a bop.”

 

 

 

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The next hit to receive a makeover is the 1996 track “Fastlove”, included within the playlist is a cover by Grammy-nominated singer and producer MNEK. The fourth song within George Michael Covered is” Praying For Time” covered by English singer-songwriter Self Esteem, the track was originally released in 1990 and was taken from the seminal album Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1.  Apple Music’s playlist also features celebrated figure Billy Porter, the multi-talented American artist can be heard within his cover of “Monkey”. Originally released in 1988, the track was featured on the iconic album Faith and was the sixth single to be released from the album.

Faith was Michael’s debut solo album and is now a landmark release within popular music, Apple’s playlist also contains the album’s final single “Kissing A Fool”. Originally released in 1987, Apple’s curated collection features a cover by Brooklyn-based artist serpentwithfeet. Michael’s anthem and cherished love song “Careless Whisper” is also included within the playlist and has been covered by 26-year-old singer Tiana Major9. Britain’s Got Talent contender Calum Scott provides a cover of “One More Try”, the third track from Faith to be included within the playlist. The specially created compilation concludes with “Amazing” covered by Jake Shears, best known as the lead singer of pop-rock group Scissor Sisters.

For Pride, Apple Music are honouring an icon. Hear my cover of George Michael’s #Amazing now on their #GeorgeMichaelCovered playlist here: https://t.co/otq0XZHBiH pic.twitter.com/krRkFVk1z7

— Jake Shears (@Jakeshears) June 28, 2022

In celebration of the playlist’s release, Apple Music teamed up with Gay Times to host a special party. The event took place on Wednesday 29th June 2022 and was held on the rooftop of London’s The Standard hotel. Those in attendance included guests such as Ella Vaday and Kitty Scott-Claus, stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race and English electro pop artist Girli. The event also included DJ sets from ABSOLUTE and Nimmo and performances by LGBTQIA+ dance troupe Sue Veneers Club.

Along with the specially curated playlist, fans have also been treated to the inclusion of Michael’s back catalogue in Spatial Audio. This is the first time that the singer’s music has been made available in the cutting edge 3d audio technology and is accessible to stream now via Apple Music.

Sir John has taken to social media to announce the news, the music icon has posted on his Instagram page to give fans information concerning the special event.

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The celebration, titled ‘YouTube Pride 2021’, will be formatted as a multi-hour event held over five hours where each entertainer will host their party on their own YouTube channel. Sir John and Furnish’s party will be in support of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the charity founded by Sir John in 1992 which supplies medical and emotional support for people living with HIV and AIDS.

Other charities in which the ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ singer’s event will support include the Trevor Project and Akt, a charity that helps combat homelessness for LGBTQ+ youth. Both charities are associated with ‘YouTube Pride 2021’ and will be the recipient of the donations and profits made from the event.

The various hosts’ parties will be a collective mix of performances, musical guests and fun challenges, whilst raising money for the charities connected to the event. Viewers will also have the chance to take part, all are encouraged to send videos, message, questions for the hosts and their own personal pride stories. The video or audio clips will be uploaded to a microsite, the system has been set up by the producers for the event at JA Films.

The full list of special musical guests includes Gigi Gorgeous, Denali Foxx, Elle of the Mills, KingOfReads, Kim Chi, Monet X Change, Jade Fox, Jackson Bird, PatrickStarr, Alannized, Peppermint, the Fitness Marshall, Tyler Oakley and model and activist Munroe Bergdorf. The other hosts joining Sir Elton John and David Furnish for the event include Demi Lovato whose steam will start at 4 pm, starting at 3 pm will be Trixie Mattel, Daniel Howell will host his event at 1 pm. Joining the star-studded roster of hosts will be Years & Years singer Olly Alexander with Mawaan Rizwan, the comedian and actor known for his stand-up career as well as his writing on Netflix series ‘Sex Education’.

Alexander recently stole the show at this year’s Brit awards with his duet with Sir Elton John, the pair performed a cover of the Pet Shop Boys hit ‘It’s a Sin’. Alexander and Rizwan will be hosting a virtual pride party for the event, the duo’s virtual celebration will mark the reopening of East London starting from 8 Pm. The duo’s event will be streamed from a Victorian pub that has transformed into the perfect party venue, viewers will get to view the different rooms and also participate from the comfort of their living rooms.

Viewers at home will be treated to an hour full of comedy, music and fun along with a fan Q&A and exclusive performances by Alexander and guests. The duo’s party hour will be in support of the charities Akt and The Trevor Project, a non-profit focused on the prevention of suicide within the LGBTQ+ community.

The event will not only celebrate all aspects of love and community but is also set to raise an incredible amount of money for the associated charities. During June, any money donated to The Trevor Project will also be matched by YouTube.

The most popular Pride parade was set to take place on the 27th June 2020 and would have no doubt seen some familiar faces in the crowds. Sam Smith is known for their mesmerising voice on stage, but more recently people recognise the singer as being a strong advocate for the LGBTQ community. In March 2019, Smith openly came out as identifying as non-binary, meaning the artist sees themselves as neither male nor female.

Over the weekend, the singer took to Instagram to share their thoughts on Pride which also coincided with the Black Lives Matter movement.

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Happy Pride month family and friends. Let’s not lose our focus this pride. This month and every pride in the future, we must include, celebrate and fight for queer people of colour. It was black trans women who fought for our rights and rioted for our freedom. Let’s protect our fellow humans, of which we are so unconditionally proud

A post shared by Sam Smith (@samsmith) on Jun 27, 2020 at 3:33am PDT

The singer wishes their family and friends a happy Pride month and urges people to celebrate and fight for the rights of queer people of colour.

Other British artists also took to social media to celebrate Pride. Anne-Marie shared a quote from Morgan Freeman, which states ‘I hate the word homophobia. It’s not a phobia. You’re not scared. You’re an asshole.’

HAPPY PRIDE #HappyPride BE PROUD AND NEVER APOLOGISE. pic.twitter.com/WLLwqflBKb — ANNE-MARIE (@AnneMarie) June 28, 2020

The 29-year-old from Essex has always been open about her sexuality and says that she has never felt the need to tell people that she is bisexual. In an interview with The Line of Best Fit, she says “I’ve never ever just been attracted to men. I’ve never just been attracted to women. I just feel like I’m attracted to who I like. I honestly feel like everyone is like that.” 

Pop princess, Rita Ora, also took to social media to spread love and awareness for the community. She created a section dedicated to BLM and LGBTQ rights to her Instagram highlights which allows fans to view at any point. Within this, Ora has shared a link to LGBTQ Freedom Fund which helps pay towards bail for people who have been wrongfully accused of a crime due to their sexuality. The site offers many ways for people to donate and support the cause.

It is safe to say that despite of the cancelled celebrations in London, artists have managed to use their social media platforms to spread positivity and also share awareness of any issues that the LGBTQ community are still facing today.