For Rose Gray, Rihanna Is Forever The It Girl

Rose Gray has been partaking in Gay Guy Music Video Nights since before we really had a term for it, gathering with her friends in London to share videos and performances from their favorite icons. Now, the singer has built a queer fandom of her own thanks to her critically acclaimed debut album, Louder, Please, which drew comparisons to some of her dance-pop mothers, including Kylie Minogue. Gray is beyond flattered: “She seems like someone you could go out for lunch with and she’s going to be so cute,” she says. “There’s a warmth to her that I hope that I have.”

It’s only fitting that Gray kicks off her next era during Pride Month with “Club To Your Arms,” a wistful, trance-infused anthem that takes cues from her favorite songs to play during GGMVN, from Rihanna to Madonna. Below, Gray pays tribute to her formative divas and shares how the LGBTQ+ community has shaped her since her teen years.

I just did Gay Guy Music Video Night on my tour bus, but it was with a lot of straight men from my crew, actually. I was quite impressed by their choices. I put on “We Found Love” by Rihanna and Calvin Harris because I’m obsessed with this video.

I must have been 14 when it came out. Rihanna was basically living in London at the time. She was wearing Doc Martens, Levi’s shorts, and had red hair. She was basically British. She was at Glastonbury partying. When I watch that video, it transports me back to being a teenager, thinking that the love of my life is whoever I was with at the time. It made me feel like, This is the relationship I want one day. The cinematography is really good, but also the guy in it — they were the hottest couple I’ve ever seen in my life. I really hope they were dating in real life, because the chemistry was insane.

I remember just being quite obsessed with Rihanna as a child. When I was young, “Pon de Replay” was everywhere. I couldn’t escape it, and I loved it. She has this relatability, but then she was the It Girl as well. When Rihanna went red, everyone was going red. I went red again a couple of years ago, and I’ve never looked back.

Another video that I put on often is “Ray of Light” by Madonna. My mum’s a big, big Madonna fan. I used to make up little dances to her songs when I performed in school. I don’t know why I didn’t sing — I’m a much better singer than dancer! I also love “Habits (Stay High)” by Tove Lo. That came out around when I was going through my indie-emo phase. I wanted to go out and drink, but I was too young. I wasn’t actually a messy girl, but I was pretending I was.

All of them have traits of what makes an iconic pop video. I am a sucker for a really long intro into the song, like when you feel you’re about to watch a film or a trailer rather than a music video. You need a very good narrative, and a little twist, like “Smack My Bitch Up” by The Prodigy. The twist in that just blows my mind. I used to be all about outfit changes and the looks, but I actually do love when people look quite normal in music videos. “We Found Love” was attainable in that way. I want to be able to relate to what’s happening, what they’re wearing, where they’re going.

Music video nights are my youth. That’s basically what my friends and I did for about 10 years of our lives, especially when no one had any money. Instead of going out to drink, we would have house parties, the telly would come on, and it would become YouTube. I think the last time it happened was a couple of years ago, because now my friendship group is like, “Let'‘ go for meals! Let’s go partying!” I want to bring music video nights back, actually. My best friend that I grew up with showed me “Video Games” by Lana Del Rey when it had been out for six hours. I think it had like 10,000 views at that time. I can remember watching that and being blown away. It gets very silly though. It can go a bit west, and then the next thing you know, you’re all watching very weird stuff.

The queer community is my friendship group — I think I might be the only person right now in a straight relationship. Everybody else is queer. We always go to gay clubs. I don’t actually go out straight clubbing now. That’s all I know really. We’ve all been best friends now for like 12 years, since the end of school. I did try at school to be in the popular girl group for way too long. But they did not want me. It’s my one regret: Stop trying to be in the popular girl group, go and hang out with the drama kids.

The biggest thing I’ve learned from them is just being. When I go out with my friends, I never feel inhibited by how I’m dressing. Sometimes when I step out of my house, it’s like, “Oh my God, I feel people’s eyes on me.” And then as soon as I meet my friends and we go to the club, I can be whoever I want to be, and it’s celebrated. They make me take risks — get in your bra and knickers on stage, even if you've got cellulite. I feel that in my shows. I do actually take all my clothes off on stage. And because of my fans, I know I’m in a safe zone.