FIVE FOR PRIDE – RICH PASCHALL

By Rich Paschall on 06/27/2022 • ( 1 )

Just Friend?

The SERENDIPITY music committee has been deep in consultation over this year’s choices. After 8 cups of coffee and four donuts each, we have picked this year’s music videos to celebrate Pride week wherever you are. Either the artist is gay, the music video has a gay theme, or both. Regardless of the video theme, we strongly believe that you will find all of these songs to be quite likable. Some are relatively new, and others have been out a while.

This time there is no hard rock, nothing emo or heavy metal. These are songs for all tastes no matter what your orientation. Please enjoy our favorites:

5. Fool For You, Sam Tsui. Singer-songwriter Sam Tsui created his YouTube channel 11 years ago and currently has 3.17 million subscribers. He came out as gay on his channel, The Sam Tsui, a day before he married fellow YouTuber Casey Breves. For this original tune, Casey joins Sam, just as he has on a number of other songs.

4. Young Love, Eli Lieb. This original tune has received millions of views since it was first posted almost nine years ago. The singer-songwriter not only posts original songs on his YouTube channel but also covers many of his favorite tunes by other artists. Lieb is openly gay which is also a theme of some of his songs. In 2016 he co-wrote a song with Steve Grand, another artist on this list. You can find “Look Away” by Grand and Lieb HERE.

3. Stay, Steve Grand. A party on the beach in Chicago? What’s not to like? The local singer-songwriter and popular gay performer scored big with his debut album, All-American Boy. Not only did the title tune do well on his YouTube Chanel and other streaming services, but this summer party tune was also a hit. The local favorite is an LGBT activist and Proud performer at Pride events around the country.

2. Movin’, David Archuleta. The popular Season Seven runner-up on American Idol surprised just about everyone last June when he came out in a Nightline interview. Early this year David was forced to cancel his pandemic-delayed tour to have vocal chord surgery. After months of not talking and vocal rehab, David made his first post-surgery appearance at the LoveLoud 2022 music festival in support of LGBT charities. In an emotional speech, he told the crowded arena of his difficult journey to come out. That was followed by just one song as he is still recovering from his surgery. “Life is like a symphony,” David told the audience, “and if you just keep listening you will find the part that you play.” You will find that Glorious performance HERE.

Movin’ was released with two music versions, Movin and Movin – After Hours. The music mixes are very similar and the lyrics are the same. The video here is a mashup of the two. Released a little more than a month after coming out, we find it interesting that the first minute of the video contains three guys and three girls, while the “After Hours” part is just David and the two male dancers. David took another journey out of his comfort zone for the video and took dance lessons in advance.

1. Just Friend?, Nanon Korapat. The Thai singer is also a well-known actor and model. Here he performs the main theme from the hit series, Bad Buddy. The international popularity of the mini-series has aided in the success of this video. Released last October just before the start of the series, it has the most views by far of any on this list, approaching 13 million at this writing.

The story of the music video is unrelated to Bad Buddy but it does have its two leading actors, Nanon and his best friend, Ohm Pawat. Be sure to click on CC (closed captions) at the bottom of the video to get Subtitles for the lyrics and the dialogue, unless you speak Thai, of course.

I can’t make sense of what you’ve done
In my mind, there’s one question

Are we just friends

or are we more?

You make me

feel butterflies

in my core

If you don’t mean it, don’t act that way

This is not what a friend would do or say

Should I step back

or step closer to you?

Do I smile when I see you?

I want to say hi but can’t follow through

Not ready to be crushed

or lose you

Find the entire lyric translation at Lyrics Translate HERE.

Because they are so often asked for the song in their frequent personal appearances, Nanon has worked with Ohm to make this song a duet as well as “Our Song” from Bad Buddy:

For the entire Pride playlist, including every video mentioned above, click HERE.
Also, find top LGBT singers on last year’s playlist HERE.

See also: “LGBT and the Small Screen,” Gay Storyline and Television, part 1, SERENDIPITY, June 19, 2022.
“Top LGBT Series and Mini-Series,” Gay Storyline and Television, part 2, SERENDIPITY, June 26, 2022.