20 essential songs for your Pride Month playlist

“I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston was such a powerhouse vocalist, who gave us everything from goosebump-inducing power ballads to bubbly pop tracks. To say her music belongs on a Pride playlist would be an understatement. She is the type of resilient, talented, confident diva who the LGBTQ community worship, and even with all her struggles, she will always have a special place in the hearts of queer people around the world.

Whitney has a handful of songs that would fit right in on this list, like “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay” and “How Will I Know” but if there’s one pop single that will forever be remembered by Whitney, it has to be “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”. This song is a definitive ’80s dance track, heavy on the synths and drum machines. As soon as it comes on, you can’t help but feel giddy.

Pride is about coming together as a community, putting aside your differences, and celebrating your freedom to be who you want to be. If that doesn’t make you want to dance with somebody, what will?

Everybody gets lonely, but why let yourself feel blue about it? When Whitney Houston sang about feeling lonely at night, she didn’t turn it into a ballad, she just danced away the loneliness until she found somebody she loved to dance with, and you can too!

Whitney has the type of songs that will transcend generations, passed down from one queer era to the next. In fact, in the recent gay teen rom-com Love, Simon, the song was featured in a dream sequence where Simon imagines just how gay college will be compared to high school. His fantasy includes a very colorful dance routine to “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and honestly, it’s pretty accurate.