Nightcore, Hyperpop and LGBTQ+

Abstract

This paper explores Nightcore, Hyperpop and LGBTQ+ culture, why they are connected and what this can tell us about both genres along with the current strides LGBTQ+ people are making towards greater participation in wider music culture. Both genres have not received a lot of academic attention. LGBTQ+ people, historically underrepresented in wider musical culture, are far more represented in these two genres, which is why I feel this topic is deserving of some analysis. I use Judith Butler‘s Gender Trouble and their theory of gender performativity, Donna Haraway‘s A Cyborg Manifesto, and Stan Hawkin‘s Queerness in pop music as a theoretical lens through which to analyse this phenomenon. Because of a dearth of academic research on the subject, the sources I draw on are largely interviews with LGBTQ+ people participating in these genres along with online articles written on the topic. A common thread in these articles and interviews is the vocal modulations of both genres. In nightcore, the pitched-up style of the vocals present the genre as ‘feminine’, subverting the societal expectation of a default, unmarked masculinity. In interviews regarding hyperpop, trans people express their relief in being able to vocally express themselves without the dysphoria associated with their unmodulated voice. Both genres are largely online-oriented and heavily feature ‘bedroom producers’, which lends an appeal to LGBTQ+ people in that they are often alienated by cis-heteronormative musical settings and seek solace in socializing through online mediums.