My Pride Anthems: Alma

The coronavirus pandemic has changed everything, and that includes how we’re all celebrating Pride in 2020.

With huge public gatherings out of the question, we’re asking a range of LGBTQ celebrities and allies for their personal Pride anthems, to help us all get into the Pride spirit from lockdown.

Having already written tracks for Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande and even Lindsay Lohan, Alma unveiled her much-awaited debut album last month, and is now sharing some of her biggest musical influences and inspirations with us.

She also discusses why Lady Gaga and Beth Ditto are among her most important musical role models, and shares her thoughts on Katy Perry’s breakthrough hit, I Kissed A Girl...

Lady Gaga – Born This Way

“I think this is the most iconic Pride anthem. I was very young when this came out, but I think I kind of rediscovered it when I first started to go to clubs, when I was about 16. And now, I obviously know all the lyrics because I’ve been screaming that song so much.

“It just feels so good to sing this song, because everyone can relate to those lyrics, you don’t even have to be gay. I feel like everybody feels that in some way they’re different.

“And when I was younger, my English wasn’t that good, but with that song, I knew the message straight away. It was just so clear, ‘baby I was born this way’, I can be whatever I want. Nobody can judge me because of who I am.”

Robyn – Call Your Girlfriend

“I don’t think Robyn’s songs necessarily have anything to do with being gay, but every time I go to my local gay clubs, Robyn will be playing. All the gay clubs I go to, it doesn’t matter where I am, they play Robyn, and all of her songs are huge for me.

“She always sings about love in a very free way, and her songs, you can cry on the dance floor to them, and I don’t know, I think gays, we’ve all been crying on the dance floor at one point.” 

Katy Perry – I Kissed A Girl

“There weren’t many Pride anthems when I was growing up, which was kind of a bummer, but obviously one song that was huge was I Kissed A Girl. At that time, I didn’t really understand the lyrics, I think I was just like ‘wow, they’re talking about kissing girls’, and that was cool.

“I think I want to make that song again, I want to make a cover or something. If I were to do that song again, nowadays, I would do away with the boyfriend, and change the story a bit.”

Gossip – Standing In The Way Of Control

“All of Gossip’s stuff was huge for me and my friends. When I first saw Beth Ditto performing on YouTube, I was just like ‘holy shit, women can perform like that’. I grew up with pop stars looking perfect and dancing on the stage, and when I saw her, sweating her ass off and screaming and being very fucking free on the stage, I fell in love, and it was a huge thing for me.

“I was just like ‘thank god, I can actually be an artist and be like her, I can go and have fun on stage, I don’t have to dance and look a certain way, I can really focus on the moment’.”

Lady Gaga and Beyoncé – Telephone

“I have to pick another Lady Gaga song, because I’ve loved her forever. I love pop music, but Lady Gaga has always been making pop music that’s a little bit weird and something that I’ve never heard before. It’s like a mixture of so many things, and I fell in love with that.

“And I just love how strong she is, there’ve been so many times when people have tried to take her down, but she’s still here, being herself and being powerful. She’s a huge role model for so many people out there. I just appreciate her in so many different ways.

“Me and my friends used to watch the Telephone music video over and over again. I’ve always loved that Lady Gaga from the start, there’ve always been a lot of gay people and a lot of different-looking people in her music videos. And I’ve always loved that.”

Alma’s debut album Have U Seen Her? is out now. Watch the music video for LA Money below: