The Girls! singer opened up about the need for representation in music
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE BY TAMI AFTAB
Cat Burns has revealed the motivation behind her new song, Girls!, which came out in February. The song is a celebration of Cat’s sexuality and part of a new era for the singer, in which she wants to be the representation she never had growing up.
“I feel like I never had a song like that for me,” she told BBC Newsbeat. “Especially for all the queer girls.” She added that having music that moves away from the heterosexual norms of the industry is “super important”, particularly when you’re still trying to figure out who you are. “It’s nice to know that people like you exist and exist freely.”
Music like this can also build bridges. “I think the ‘fun-ness’ of the song can show people who aren’t lesbian or queer or bi or whatever that we are just normal human beings who just so happen to like the same sex.”
Cat’s song arrived hot off a great year for sapphic visibility. In the past year, Chappell Roan has taken the world by storm, winning Grammy Awards, BBC Sound Of The Year and more. Reneé Rapp, Doechii and Billie Eilish also had an incredible year. This has continued into 2025, as both Girls! and Lucy Dacus’ Best Guess music video (the infamous “hot masc” one) were released.
“I think it’s always good when we make room and allow space for lesbian and queer artists to speak about it whilst we’re further into our journey where it’s less curiosity and trying… and it’s more like: ‘No, I’m into it now and really delving to my experience as a queer woman’.” Cat said.
She added that the more representation and more space for different types of queer artists we have, the more vivid a picture of what the community is actually like and who exists within that community we will get.
“Having people like Reneé Rapp and Chappell Roan and, hopefully, someone like myself, we’re starting to show people that we’re not a monolith and we vary across the spectrum.”
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