| "Radio-Friendly Pop Song" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Matt Fishel | ||||
| from the album Not Thinking Straight | ||||
| Released | 18 March 2013 | |||
| Recorded | 2013 | |||
| Length | 3:49 | |||
| Label | Young Lust | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Matt Fishel | |||
| Producer(s) | Matt Fishel, Mark Crew | |||
| Matt Fishelsingles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Radio-Friendly Pop Song" is a song written and performed by British recording artist Matt Fishel. It was released as a single on 18 March 2013 [1] and appears as the opening track on Fishel's 2013 debut album Not Thinking Straight . [2]
Lyrically, "Radio-Friendly Pop Song" is a comment on homophobia in certain parts of the music and entertainment industries. [3] Fishel has described the song as both a "fun, tongue-in-cheek response to certain A&R guys in major labels" [4] and as "an anthem of pride in celebration of the LGBTQ community." [5] The song is inspired by Fishel's experiences of the entertainment industry as an out, gay artist and of being repeatedly advised to remove any openly gay content from his work. [6] The lyrics to the first verse of the song talk about the music industry and the second verse refers to Hollywood and the movie business. [7] In an interview with Northern Ireland's GayNI Magazine, Fishel said "Radio-Friendly Pop Song" is "based on my (and many others') experiences of being a gay artist in the entertainment industry, and the latent homophobia that still lies underneath the surface of certain corporate companies. I've had meetings in the past with A&R guys from the majors who have said to me: 'your songs are great, you just need to get rid of all the gay content, you should sing about girls so as not to alienate your audience'." He went on to say "I've always felt uncomfortable with the idea of deliberately 'dumbing down' my lyrics for any kind of commercial gain...So I wanted to write a fun, tongue-in-cheek response to those people, which basically says 'I'm gay, I'm out and I'm proud, I'm not prepared to hide from that and I'm gonna be true to who I am.'" [8]
"Radio-Friendly Pop Song" was released on 18 March 2013 [1] as Fishel's fifth single, taken from his debut album Not Thinking Straight . The single was released worldwide on Fishel's own record label Young Lust Records as a one-track digital download. [1] The artwork for the single is an illustration by San Diego comic book artist and illustrator Joe Phillips and is taken from the Not Thinking Straight album booklet. [9] [10] The image incorporates themes from the song's lyrics. It portrays two male characters, one of whom is playing guitar. They are kissing in front of three businessmen, each of whom is covering either their eyes, ears or mouth. There are gold discs on the wall and the Hollywood sign is in the background.
The response to "Radio-Friendly Pop Song" was positive. British actor and celebrity tweeter Stephen Fry wrote about the song the day after its release, calling it "fabulous". [11] LGBT entertainment blog The G-List Society called "Radio-Friendly Pop Song" "our favourite track of 2013" and "the most buzz-worthy song of [Fishel's] discography." They wrote of the song: "This catchy tune serves as a confrontational truth to mainstream music industry's hesitation to allow same-sex love songs to be promoted to the masses. The lyrics blasting status-quo are genius and the choruses are spot on. We have lived to hear many hit singles pushing the buttons of controversy; yet, we have never heard a delectable tune challenging the seemingly homophobic practices of the music industry." [12] Jeremy Feist of Canadian magazine Xtra! said "Radio-Friendly Pop Song" was "really good" and "super catchy". [13] Rebecca Eisenberg of viral content website Upworthy called the song "pitch perfect", saying "when [Fishel] fires back at 2:44, I was grinning like a fool. So good!" [14] Cate Matthews from The Huffington Post called "Radio-Friendly Pop Song" "ridiculously catchy", and said "we're supremely happy that Fishel is standing up and singing his heart out - with one caveat. We don't know how we're ever going to get his songs out of our heads." [15]
An official music video for "Radio-Friendly Pop Song" was released on Fishel's YouTube channel on 10 March 2013, produced by Tyjens Media and animated by Kenneth Wilcox. [7] The video is a lyric video which incorporates all the song's lyrics, animated at a fast pace in time to the song.
"Radio-Friendly Pop Song" won the 2013 "Song Of The Year" award at the 2013 RightOutTV Music & Video Awards. It was also nominated for "Best Pop Song". [5] The song also won the Song Of The Year award at the 2013 Co-operative Respect 'Loved By You' Awards, voted for by the public. [16] [17]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "Radio-Friendly Pop Song" | Song of the Year | Won |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "Radio-Friendly Pop Song" | Song of the Year | Won |
| Best Pop Song | Nominated |
In June 2013, the music video for "Radio-Friendly Pop Song" was screened at the 27th Festival Mix Milano LGBT Festival [18] in Milan, Italy as part of the 'Can't Stop The Music' programme. [19]
According to the album sleeve notes, [2] "Radio-Friendly Pop Song" was written and arranged by Fishel, produced and engineered by Fishel and Mark Crew at both Superfishel Studios and Unit 24, London, UK and mixed by Crew. Fishel performs all lead and background vocals, guitars, synths and programming on the song, with additional guitars and bass by Jonas Jalhay and additional programming by Crew.
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably, with digital dancehall becoming increasingly characterized by faster rhythms. Key elements of dancehall music include its extensive use of Jamaican Patois rather than Jamaican standard English and a focus on the track instrumentals.
American singer and actress Madonna is an ally recognized as a gay icon. She was introduced, while still a teenager, by her dance instructor, Christopher Flynn, an openly gay man who mentored her. Since then, Madonna has always acknowledged the importance of the community for her life and career, declaring that she "wouldn't have a career if it weren't for the gay community".
Joe Phillips is an American artist, known for his gay-themed illustration, erotic animation, and his earlier work on superhero comic books.
Janet Jackson is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter and actress. Jackson garnered a substantial gay following during the 1990s as she gained prominence in popular music. Recognized as a long-term ally of the LGBT community, Jackson received the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Music Album for her Grammy Award-winning sixth studio album The Velvet Rope (1997), which spoke out against homophobia and embraced same-sex love. In 2005, Jackson received the Humanitarian Award from the Human Rights Campaign and AIDS Project Los Angeles in recognition of her involvement in raising funds for AIDS Charities and received the Vanguard Award at the 19th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in 2008. In June 2012, Jackson announced she is currently executive producing a documentary on the lives of transgender people around the world titled Truth, saying she agreed to sign on to help stop discrimination against the transgender community.
"Ur So Gay" is a song released by American singer Katy Perry from her EP of the same name. She co-wrote the song with its producer Greg Wells while Drew Pearson served as the track's engineer. It was later included on her second studio album One of the Boys.
LGBT representations in hip hop music have existed since the birth of the genre even while enduring blatant discrimination. Due to its adjacency to Disco, the earliest days of hip hop had a close relation to LGBT subcultures, and multiple LGBT DJs have played a role in popularizing hip hop. Despite this early involvement, hip hop has long been portrayed as one of the least LGBT-friendly genres of music, with a significant body of the genre containing homophobic views and anti-gay lyrics, with mainstream artists such as Eminem and Tyler, the Creator having used homophobia in their lyrics. Attitudes towards homosexuality in hip hop culture have historically been negative, with slang that uses homosexuality as a punchline such as "sus", "no homo", and "pause" being heard in hip hop lyrics from some of the industry's biggest artists. Since the early 2000s there has been a flourishing community of LGBTQ+ hip hop artists, activists, and performers breaking barriers in the mainstream music industry.
"Animal" is a song performed by Swedish indie pop band Miike Snow. It was released as the first single from the band's 2009 self-titled debut album on 17 February 2009 through Columbia and Downtown Records. Written by the band alongside Henrik Jonback, "Animal" is a pop song with instrumentation provided by horns and staccato synthesizers. Lead singer Andrew Wyatt has explained that it has an ambiguous meaning; its lyrics can be interpreted as dealing with matters such as addiction, basic instincts or dissatisfaction when one's needs are not met by society.
"Just the Way You Are" is the debut solo single by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars. It is the lead single from his debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010). The song was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Khalil Walton and Needlz and produced by the former three, under their alias, the Smeezingtons along with Needlz. It was released in the United States to contemporary hit radio on August 10, 2010. The track was released in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2010, as "Just the Way You Are (Amazing)". The song's lyrics compliment a woman's beauty.
"Fuck You", known as "Forget You" or "FU" for the clean versions, is a song by American recording artist CeeLo Green. It was written as a collaboration among Green, Bruno Mars, his production team the Smeezingtons, and Brody Brown. It was released on August 19, 2010, as the first single from Green's third solo studio album, The Lady Killer (2010). "Fuck You" received acclaim from music critics, and was an international commercial success, making the top-10 in thirteen countries, including topping charts in the United Kingdom, and number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer+(LGBTQ+)music is music that focuses on the experiences of gender and sexual minorities as a product of the broad gay liberation movement.
"Ooh La La" is a song recorded by American singer Britney Spears for the soundtrack of the 2013 family film The Smurfs 2. It was written and produced by Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Joshua "Ammo" Coleman, Henry "Cirkut" Walter, with additional writing from Bonnie McKee, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Lola Blanc, and Fransisca Hall.
Matt Fishel is a British singer, songwriter, music producer and record label owner. He plays guitar, piano, bass and keyboards. He grew up in Nottingham in the East Midlands in the late 1990s, going on to study Music and Performing Arts at Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) in the early 2000s, before moving to London, UK, where he currently lives.
"Whatever She's Got" is a song recorded by American country music artist David Nail. It was released in May 2013 as the first single from Nail's third studio album, I'm a Fire. The album was released on March 4, 2014. The song was written by Jimmy Robbins and Jon Nite.
"Football Song" is a song written, produced and performed by British recording artist Matt Fishel. The song was released as a single on 7 June 2010 and appears on Fishel's 2013 debut album Not Thinking Straight.
"The First Time" is a song written and performed by British recording artist Matt Fishel. The song was released as a single on 7 November 2011 and appears on Fishel's 2013 debut album Not Thinking Straight.
"Behind Closed Doors" is a song written and performed by British recording artist Matt Fishel. The song was released as a single on 9 April 2012 and appears on Fishel's 2013 debut album Not Thinking Straight.
"Testament" is a song written and performed by British recording artist Matt Fishel. The song was released as a single on 28 May 2012, and appears on Fishel's 2013 debut album Not Thinking Straight.
"When Boy Meets Boy" is a song written and performed by British recording artist Matt Fishel. It was released as a single on 3 June 2013 and appears as the closing track on Fishel's 2013 debut album Not Thinking Straight.
Not Thinking Straight is the debut studio album by British singer, songwriter and recording artist Matt Fishel. It was released internationally on 8 April 2013 through Fishel's own record label Young Lust Records.
Cover Boy is an extended play (EP) by British singer, songwriter and recording artist Matt Fishel. It was released internationally on 14 July 2014 through Fishel's own record label Young Lust Records. The EP comprises seven cover versions. Cover Boy is Fishel's ninth release and his first collection of cover songs.