2014 was a big year for LGBT advancements in music; artists both new and established came out, racked up legions of fans and critical acclaim, and made their voices heard on social issues. Check out some of the notable out artists (below in alphabetical order) who made their mark this year and listen to some of their biggest hits.
Pop duo A Great Big World's Chad Vaccarino came out this year while also opening up about his multiple sclerosis diagnosis. The duo's debut album Is There Anybody Out There? dropped in January and their single "Say Something" with Christina Aguilera was just nominated for a GRAMMY in Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
Rapper Angel Haze's debut album Dirty Gold hit shelves on December 30 of last year and went on to peak at 15 on the Billboard Heatseakers Albums chart. Her single "Battle Cry," featuring out artist Sia, was nominated in Best Video with a Social Message at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards which she attended with girlfriend Ireland Baldwin.
Country singer Brandy Clark was nominated for two GRAMMY awards this month in Best Country Album and Best New Artist. She made her TV debut on The Late Show with David Letterman earlier this year to perfume her single "Stripes" and she picked up the award for Song of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards for the Kacey Musgraves LGBT-affirming song "Follow Your Arrow" which she co-wrote.
Eli Lieb's song "Safe in My Hands" was released in conjunction with Allstate Insurance's #OutHoldingHands campaign celebrating equality with the tag "being visible should never leave you feeling vulnerable." The song was also featured in the summer season finale of ABC Family's The Fosters. Lieb performed at GLAAD Gala San Francisco: Game Changers in September and more recently at GLAAD Tidings in Los Angeles.
Laura Jane Grace is the lead vocalist of the punk band Against Me! who released their first album in four years, Transgender Dysphoria Blues, in January to critical acclaim. She also got her own docu-series with AOL Originals, True Trans with Laura Jane Grace, which premiered in October with an anti-bullying PSA running ahead of each episode.
Mary Lambert kicked off the year performing "Same Love" at the Grammys with Macklemore and Madonna while Queen Latifah officiated the live weddings of 33 couples, both gay and straight. Her debut solo album Heart on My Sleeve was released in October and her single "Secrets" reached number 1 on the US dance chart. In December, she spoke at the United Nations for International Human Rights Day on family and supporting LGBT children.
Melissa Etheridge was one of the founders of the Uprising of Love coalition in support of the safety and dignity of LGBT Russians as the Winter Olympics in Sochi approached. She premiered the song "Uprising of Love" live on the New Year's Eve broadcast. Her first ever independently released album This is M.E. came out in September. She also married her partner Linda Wallem this summer.
Perfume Genius released his third album this year, Too Bright hit shelves in September and peaked in the Top 100 in the US and garnered several rave reviews. He first gained audience's notice when his track "Sister Song" was featured in several episodes of the Netflix original series Hemlock Grove last year.
Sam Smith broke onto the scene in a big way this year, garnering six GRAMMY nominations including the big four: Record of the Year, Album of the Year for his debut In the Lonely Hour, Song of the Year and Best New Artist. In May he came out publicly in an interview with The Fader. In December, he released the video for his newest single "Like I Can."
Tyler Glenn, lead singer of Utah new wave band Neon Trees, came out this year ahead of the April release of the album Pop Psychology. He spoke candidly about his struggle to reconcile his sexuality with his Mormon faith. "For me it's about finding the purist of peace. The absolute settling of my soul. The clearest vision of the road I want to take," Glenn said. "I am a happy and healthy Mormon gay pop star. I don't know what it all means, but I'm ok with it."
Let us know your favorite moment in music this year in the comments!