June 1 is a special day, not just because summer is around the corner, but because it signifies the start of LGBTQ+ Pride Month around the globe. This year also marks 50 years since the Stonewall Riots in New York City, which is widely recognized as the start of a larger LGBTQ+ movement across the U.S. and led to the organizing of the first ever Pride Parade on June 28, 1970 in N.Y.C.

Los Angeles also held their first-ever Pride parade that same day in West Hollywood, the historically gay neighborhood/safe haven in city. Next weekend, on June 9, the LA Pride Parade returns to WeHo to celebrate the struggles and triumph of its powerful LGBTQ+ community, past and present.

The Recording Academy is proud to announce that they are partnering with LA Pride for a takeover of Jewel's Catch One Lounge, sponsored by Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic, on the Pride Festival grounds June 8-9. Join us for lively music and empowering conversation on both Saturday and Sunday.

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The lounge is named after Jewel's Catch One, a dance club in Downtown LA that served as a safe space for both LGBTQ+ and underrepresented communities in the city for 42 years (the venue still operates as club and was recently renamed to Catch One in honor of its roots). Jewel Thais-Williams, a queer black woman, opened Catch One in 1972, standing up against hate and becoming a role model for fighting discrimination and breaking down racial, social and cultural barriers. For decades, the space represented a refuge for those during the AIDS crisis, celebrating fashion, celebrity, activism and music.

The Catch One Lounge at LA Pride will feature a GRAMMY Soundbite Playlist powered by Delta, along with DJ sets to keep the vibes upbeat. It will offer LA Pride participants Soundbites to get them closer to their music dreams and GRAMMY aspirations. Special guests, including music industry luminaries and queer advocates, will have intimate one-on-one conversations surrounding their impact on shaking up the music world. In between conversations, Soundbite Socials will allow for mingling and dream-sharing.

We hope to see you in the Catch One Lounge at LA Pride! Click here for more info on the festival, including a map, and stay tuned to GRAMMY.com for more Pride-related content.

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On their new single "Wet," bedroom pop newcomer Claud places themselves in the heat of a toxic relationship. Even amid empty apologies and tearful early morning phone calls, Claud can't get enough.

"That's not an apology/ But I'll take what I can get/ Dip your feet but not too wet," Claud sings in the chorus. "I swear this isn't like me/ But you're standing on the edge/ Say you'll never jump, but I know you want it."

In this episode of Press Play, Claud delivers an intimate performance of "Wet" live from their bedroom floor. The intimate, simple setting only intensifies the diaristic nature of the track.

"Wet" is the lead single from Claud's upcoming album, Supermodels, out July 14 via Saddest Factory Records. "'Wet' was written in one fast sitting. The writing process as kinetic as the outcome. Writing these songs felt like dropping a boulder into a pond, really shaking up the way I look at myself as an artist," they explained in a press statement. 

On July 21, Claud will begin their headlining international tour in Bristol, United Kingdom, wrapping on Oct. 12 in San Francisco, California.

Watch the video above to see Claud's acoustic performance of "Wet," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Press Play.

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Lil Nas X became a global sensation practically overnight, but it wasn't an accident.

The American singer and rapper — born Montero Lamar Hill — became fluent in music and pop culture at an early age, becoming a meme aficionado. His love for internet culture cultivated the perfect recipe for his debut single, "Old Town Road," to become one of the most viral hits in music history; the song also prompted a necessary conversation about the bounds of genre. 

"Old Town Road" rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and still holds the record for most time spent at No. 1 at 19 weeks. The single later helped Lil Nas X snag two GRAMMY Awards for Best Pop/Duo Group Performance and Best Music Video. (To date, he's won 2 GRAMMYs and has received 11 nominations overall.)

Aside from his immense musical talent, Lil Nas X — who came out as gay on social media during his Hot 100 reign — has been a fierce champion for LGBTQIA+ and Black communities.

"It's just acceptance of gay people. And they see that as a bad thing, like, They're trying to normalize it. You know what? Yeah. That's actually what I'm trying to do," he told GQ in 2021.

At just 24 years old, Lil Nas X has plenty more history-making and game-changing moves in store. As he revealed during his March 2023 campaign with Coach, "My next big chapter is coming."

Press play on the video above to learn more about Lil Nas X's industry-altering career, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Black Sounds Beautiful.

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With "Keep Me Safe," Cub Sport narrates the bliss of being with who they truly love in secret, while confessing the shame of putting on a different persona in public. Being in a heterosexual relationship might have kept the peace between their loved ones, but it created a painful sense of unhappiness and emptiness inside. 

"Went and got a girlfriend/ Just to throw them off track/ Double lines, yeah/ It's driving me mad/ Losing everybody/ But I don't really feel that sad," Cub Sport reveals in the track's first verse. "I just want to die in our heaven/ If it'll keep me safe." 

In this episode of Global Spin, the Australian pop group delivers an ethereal performance of "Keep Me Safe." Soft lights illuminate the band, while neon blue strobes accompany the song's climax.

"Keep Me Safe" is the lead single from Cub Sport's newest album, Jesus at the Gay Bar, inspired by the relationship between bandmates Tim Nelson and Sam Netterfield.

"I wrote 'Keep Me Safe' about a euphoric but complicated time," Nelson detailed in a press statement. "Shedding some light on it now feels like I'm validating my younger self and celebrating the magic in something I was ashamed of at the time."

Press play on the video above to watch Cub Sport's vulnerable performance of "Keep Me Safe," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Global Spin.

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Just over a month ago, rock singer Liza Anne released their first single, "Cheerleader," since coming out as gay and non-binary. As they told Paper magazine, the song was about creating "a space of healing in a physical place where before, I wasn't fully free." So, Anne returned to the unruly place it all began — high school — and reclaimed it with unapologetic queer joy.

"So cute, and you don't even know it/ You're walking that talk, and I love it, I love it!/ Show me how you do it, oh, I want it, I want it!/ I'll be your cheerleader," Anne beams on the chorus.

In this episode of Press Play, Anne delivers a euphoric performance of their new queer anthem. The performance is driven by a wavy electric guitar with interludes of Anne's infectious dance moves, and the rock singer intensifies the high school aesthetic, performing in a football jersey.

Liza Anne is hosting an ABBA-themed disco night in Los Angeles, California; New York, New York; Chicago, Illinois; and King's County, New York, to advocate for better abortion care. On June 24, they will perform at the Being Gay Is a Miracle: Poetry Reading in New York, New York.

Watch the video above to see Liza Anne's carefree performance of "Cheerleader," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Press Play.

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