Sapphic pop is a term used to describe a particular subgenre of indie music and bedroom pop typically characterized by the prominence of lyrical themes about queer love between queer (mostly lesbian) women and/or non-binary people historically situated within the sapphic sphere driven and performed by female (often femme) singers-songwriters.[1][2][3][4][5]
The name of the subgenre derives from sapphism.[6]
Tegan and Sara are the first well-known musical act that stood out with a musical approach by and for queer women centered on their lived experiences and relationships with one another, back in the 2000s. In mid-2010s, however, its concept began to take the shape upon which it would stablish in the following decade with the phonographic debuts of FLETCHER, Girl In Red and MUNA (as well as some recordings from the first half of St. Vincent's career to date) and the positioning of this topic as central to their approaches and narratives, a movement that would be followed a few years later by names like Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Clairo, Reneé Rapp, all the members of Boygenius since their solo careers and King Princess at her first musical releases.[7][8][9][10] Additionally, some songs have been described as "sapphic anthems", for example, MUNA's "Silk Chiffon" (featuring Phoebe Bridgers from Boygenius), G Flip's "Queen" (featuring mxmtoon) and Chappell Roan's "Good Luck, Babe!" - which quickly became both Roan's most successful single and the pinnacle of the subgenre.[11]
Despite that, some musicians like Gemma Laurence and other who do not fully identify with the term have also called their music "sapphic folk".[11]
References
- ↑"The Sapphic Pop Boom Has Been a Long Time Coming". Them. March 9, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ↑"The 21 Best Sapphic Bops of 2021". out.com. December 22, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ↑Harding, Charlie (August 23, 2022). "Blackpink's 'New Venom' Winks at Rihanna, Biggie, and More". vulture.com. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ↑Harding, Charlie (August 10, 2022). "What Kelis's 'Milkshake' Was Bringing to Beyoncé's 'Energy'". vulture.com. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ↑"Page 3 Profile: t.A.T.u. - Pseudo-Sapphic pop duo | The Independent". The Independent. February 7, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ↑"The Sound of Sapphism". Switched On Pop. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- ↑"The 2019 Dazed100 is here". Dazed. April 29, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ↑"Sapphic alt-pop music is better than it has ever been". culturess.com. July 6, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ↑Madden, Emma (November 18, 2021). "The limitations of the 'sapphic anthem'". NPR. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- ↑Jocelyn, Hannah (April 18, 2024). "Not Just 'Luck': Why Queer Pop Star Chappell Roan Broke Through to the Hot 100, And Why It Matters". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
- 12Madden, Emma (November 18, 2021). "The limitations of the 'sapphic anthem' : NPR". npr.org. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- Indie music
- Indie pop
- Bedroom pop
- Lesbian-related music
- Pop music genres
- Sapphism