Girl, I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend is your new on-repeat bop
BY SAMANTHA GRIERSON, IMAGES BY TESSA KAYE
Tessa Kaye, the queer Los Angeles based pop artist, chats with me about her latest single, Girl, I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend, which marked her coming out publicly. This bubbly, fun song is full of the summer vibe and captures falling in love with a girl for the first time. The memorable melody and chorus line came to Tessa whilst she was washing up and she knew she had to record the song. One small snag: she didn’t have a girlfriend and hadn’t dated a girl yet. The singer had been exploring the idea for many years, whilst she navigated the conservative religious environment that she had been brought up in. She took the plunge and told her parents and siblings that she was queer and was met with total love and support.
“All the bad scenarios that I had played out in my head didn’t come true. But that’s what happens when you are scared. It was such a relief”. Buoyed by this positive experience Tessa joined a dating app and took the plunge into the queer dating world. “Unbelievably I met an awesome woman, we had a date and 12 months later we live together and are totally in love. It’s like the universe was waiting to give her to me, once I was living authentically”.
“My fans have been great following me coming out. Some of my friends unfollowed me and stopped liking my messages. But the way I look at it, the trash took itself out. This is my platform where I make music and feel safe and if you don’t like who I am, then I’m not going to make you feel comfortable here”. Since Tessa came out, her listeners have increased, especially amongst 16-20 year-old LGBTQI women and non-binary people. “I get messages all of the time saying thank you for what you do. There are so few artists in the Black sapphic pop space”.
Tessa was born to sing, performing to her family in the living room from a very early age, inspired by Jessie J’s “insane vocals” and Beyoncé “for her voice and what she has done for the Black community”. She hopes that her music can touch people and says “there’s so much music out there, I thank everyone from the bottom of my soul when they listen to my tracks”. I ask Tessa to describe the song to anyone who hasn’t yet heard it, she beams and says “To women who love women, this is an anthem for us”. Sunglasses at the ready, embrace the summer and check out this breezy, feel-good pop single.
To keep up with Tessa, follow her across Twitter and Instagram.
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