Sophie B. Hawkins dominated the airwaves with her 1992 debut single, “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover,” a song with homoerotic overtones that were rare in mainstream pop at the time. If they went unnoticed by many listeners, she fought nearly every step of the way to express her progressive views and maintain her independence at her label, and struggled to find her place in the LGBTQ community.

Meanwhile, k.d. lang’s 1992 hit “Constant Craving” and her album Ingenue ushered her out of Nashville and into the Top 40 spotlight. After she came out, picketers protested her Grammy nominations, but her star quickly rose, with Vanity Fair tapping her for one of its most memorable, provocative covers and cementing her status as a sex symbol and a queer icon.

In this episode, we explore how the two artists navigated the music industry and their sexual orientations as they were thrust into the public eye. With special guest Sophie B. Hawkins.

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