So, what was it like for Lil Nas X to work on not just this song and video, but an entire upcoming album that shows him being this vulnerable?
“With this album I’ve really stepped into my vulnerability, or like these things that I was insecure about people knowing about, or finding out about me,” Lil Nas X shares. “But with this, I felt very much comfortable, and I feel it’s time to do this in my career, it’s time to take that vision, where I’m able to show people another side to myself and what I deliver, you know?”
Lil Nas X’s decision to show his fans and the world stage another side to himself is incredibly validating. The choice means a lot as Lil Nas X is one of the most visible queer celebrities in the United States. He’s also a member of Gen Z, the queerest generation according to a Gallup poll that said that just under 16% of their Gen Z respondents identified as LGBT in some way. It’s that visibility and those fans that helped inspire Lil Nas X to link up with UGG and Pacific Pride Foundation for “PROUD Prom.”
It’s clear that for Lil Nas X, fashion has become an important part of his self expression, especially when it comes to signaling his queerness. Thanks in part to his stylist Hodo Musa’s excellent work — on display in the acapella version of “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” — he’s become known as someone who uses his style in compelling and queer ways. But things weren’t always that way. Initially, Lil Nas X confessed, he actually aimed for more “straight-passing” fits. But 2020 and the past year changed a lot for him. It inspired him to be more “out there” with his fashion and join up with other friends of the UGG® brand like actress Hari Nef and brand ambassador Jordun Love for the “PROUD Prom” campaign.
“Over the last year, like during COVID and whatnot, and making my album, like I felt… I felt the gist of like, okay, I’m in this place. And my purpose is more than just my music, you know. It’s so many other things. I feel like this is one,” Lil Nas X says. “Like, I have that opportunity to be that voice, or one of those voices that the upcoming generation needs to hear from so that they know that they’re valid. Like ‘you’re good, there’s nothing wrong with you’. And go on, go into the mainstream and do these amazing things. Like this campaign, you know?”
Speaking of amazing things, one of the other highlights of speaking with Lil Nas X was asking about the thought process behind the lighthearted teasing he does with his fandom, where he promises them random things. For “Old Town Road,” he promised fans copies of Phineas & Ferb season 3 on blu-ray if the single went Diamond. For “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” he promised followers a 12-pack of Hanes socks. So what did Lil Nas X say he’ll get fans when “Sun Goes Down” tops the charts?
“I’ll get everybody a piece of the sun.”
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Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: Lil Nas X Is Using Stan Twitter Tactics to Defend “Montero.” He Shouldn’t Have To
