Danish electropop trio Kadie Elder's "First Time He Kissed a Boy" seemed like a timely song to review, given the recent Orlando shootings and the wave of discussions about the state of American homophobia. The fact that the progressive song - a delectable, emphatic radio-friendly electropop song that explores the discovery and difficulties of adolescent sexuality - was made by a Danish group is perhaps unsuprising, given that Denmark was the first country in the world to grant same-sex unions almost the exact same rights as marriages, via its Registered Partnerships Act of 1989.
The synthpop beats soar with triumphant ecstacy during the chorus (First time he kissed a boy/ He had never, never known/ Cover up is what they told/ Feel so cold), but the verses juxtapose this momentuous occasion with a personal history characterized by loneliness, isolation, self-doubt and anxiety:
'Troubled faceHeadphones onForgetting time and placeAll he wanted
Feeling stuckSet him freeRunning out of luckOn his knees'
Lyrics: Musixmatch.com
The heat of sexual intimacy contrast with the coldness of the closet, but the song doesn't amount to an escapist, wish-fulfillment narrative. The outro, which features the repetition of the refrain 'get lost' suggests that this kind of love can only exist in isolation from mainstream society, and will have to defend itself against its violence, intolerance and homophobia. There's some similarities to Bronski Beat's 1984 synthpop gay anthem "Smalltown Boy" - but Kadie Elder stays away from maintaining a decidedly tragic note (a point that the cinematic, retro-inspired music video also makes).
While Kadie Elder appear to be operating as straight allies rather than a queer band, it seems pertinent to note that while the contemporary music scene is conducive for the careers of more Elton Johns and fewer George Michaels, America is 'importing' gay pop stars from the UK and Australia instead of embracing and cultivating their own gay icons (Mitchell Sunderland notes that Adam Lambert's career suffered after he kissed a male musician during an American Music Award performance). And while many mainstream young artists (Halsey, Shura, Sam Smith, Troye Sivan, etc.) are choosing to be open about their homosexuality or bisexuality, they often limit their queerness to their music videos, while opting for non-gender specific pronouns in their lyrics. The reason, as indie gay singer songwriter Mike Hadreas (Perfume Genius) notes, is for 'accessibility': “I had a lot of people telling me if I toned it down or dealt with more universal themes — which is code for being less gay — I would be more successful and have a wider fan base.”
At the very least, "First Time He Kissed a Boy" demonstrates that you can explicitly address gay issues and themes in a mainstream pop packaging, and help to make the struggles faced by LGBT youth more relatable and accessible to mainstream society.
