Openly LGBTQ Artists Again Reaches #1 in Christian Music Charts
We wrote about her a few months ago after she shouted “Gay rights!” at a Switchfoot concert,
For the second time this year, openly LGBTQ artist Semler has taken the top spot on iTunes Christian and Gospel charts.
If that name and all the queerish heebie-jeebies go with it sound familiar to you, it should. We wrote about her a few months ago after she shouted “Gay rights!” at a Switchfoot concert, a practice she advocates doing in order to publicly force ‘Christian’ artists to confront their homophobia and outdated and amoral views on homosexuality. (In response to that call out, Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman responded to the coaxing of a queer “Christian” artist questioning his pro-LGBTQ+ creds, telling her that LGBTQ+ people are always welcome at his concerts and that he supports gay rights and freedoms.)
Semler is a newcomer to the scene and is the performing name of Grace Semler Baldridge, a butch lesbian who’s married to a woman while purposeful altering her appearance to look like a man – giving the impression she’s about one upper chest surgery from becoming transgendered.
Semler previously unseated Lauren Daigle to briefly capture the top spot in the rankings around nine months ago with her ‘Preacher’s kid’ album and she’s done it again, passing CeCe Winans, We the Kingdom, and others with her ‘Late Bloomer’ Ep.
Not only is the album featured on iTunes, but the song “Hallelujah (In Your Arms)”, described by the artist as an “anthem of queer joy” is currently featured on Spotify’s Top Christian Artists playlist.
In a move that further shows the cowardice of many Christian musicians and artists, RNS reported that “they reached out to 10 Christian chart-toppers” seeking to ask them about their views of LGBTQ inclusion in the Christian music industry, and “none responded to invitations to clarify their stance.”