Catch that #BigCakeEnergy in the summer air with these confident and sexy af songs to complete your Pride month playlist.
What could be better than a whole playlist of songs to celebrate the raw, confident, and undeniably sexual energy of June – which also happens to be the first official month of summer?!
Our team of queers and allies at #LubeLife has cooked up this list of hot weather tunes to boost your self-love, get you feeling sexy as hell, and tell your haters to shut TF up. Some of these songs are classics, but we included a few new ones that exuded too much #BigCakeEnergy to miss.
Add these to your playlist of choice while you pregame before going out (or staying in, because you're good enough to feel confident all by yourself).
“Birthday Cake” by Rihanna
Most of the internet would agree that Rihanna invented #BigEnergy (or #BigDickEnergy, aka #BDE, as 2018 would say). She gave zero f*cks about showing up notoriously late to big, celebrity events and would even leave clubs with wine glasses because obviously no one dared to try to tell her not to.
When Rihanna started rocking thicker thighs and a bigger booty, the whole world finally realized that “getting thick” is a good thing and that Rihanna – and other women in her wake, too! -- should be praised for putting on curves.
And then there's the meme that started the whole #BDE thing: that one photo where Rihanna, dressed to the nines in a red see-thru gown, is lounging in a chair, legs in a total man-spread and looking like she could not give any less of a f*ck, like ever. That photo became the embodiment of #BigDickEnergy and later #BigEnergy, because clearly you don't need a dick to be a boss-ass bitch.
In her 2011 hit, “Birthday Cake,” Rihanna sings our official ode to #BigCakeEnergy. This song is clearly about one thing and one thing only: hot af sex.
Rihanna's man “want that cake, cake, cake” even though “it's not even my birthday, but he want to lick the icing off.” Do we even need to explain further?
Throughout the whole song, Rihanna dominates with her enormously sexual energy, saying “Nothing else like this, I'mma make you my bitch.”
In typical Rihanna fashion, she exits with a big dose of #BigCakeEnergy, just straight-up getting to the point: “Ooh, I wanna f*ck you right now. Just get up on my body, I'll do anything.”
God damn, girl, you are the actual queen of #BCE!
“Big Energy” by Latto
Similar to Rihanna, Latto is a gorgeous woman who has been rapping, singing, and showing off her massive talent and ability to steal the spotlight since she was a teen.
Latto is the definition of a bad bitch, and in her single “Big Energy,” she makes it crystal clear to all the dudes who want a piece of her “pretty face, no waist, and a big ol' ass.” You can either match her boss bitch game, or gtfo.
At its core, though, “Big Energy” from Latto's latest album, 777, is actually a song about being an excelling, over-achiever in your career, relationship, and sex life, and then getting that vibe in return from your partner.
Latto raps about being too much for most guys, but when she catches that #BigEnergy from a man -- “Got that real big energy, got that big, big energy” – she's down to become his biggest fantasy in the bedroom.
We need more women like Latto in the world, singing and rapping boldly about sex and what they can bring to the bedroom. If you're gonna talk a big game, you've gotta walk the walk, and Latto sure af does as she raps, “A boss like you need a boss like me.”
“I Don't Feel Hate” by Jendrik
If you're reading this from the United States, you've probably never heard of breakout German pop star, Jendrik, who debuted the ultra-poppy, ukelele- and trumpet-driven “I Don't Feel Hate” to the world at the 2021 EuroVision song contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. But if you've ever been the target of jealous haters or folks who, frankly, just can't comprehend your #BCE, we've got your new theme song right here.
For starters, let's talk about the fact that Jendrik wore a gold nameplate necklace bearing the word “annoying” while performing for millions of fans on the EuroVision stage. That's basically #BigCakeEnergy personified.
When the sh*t talkers start doing their thing, as Jendrik sings, “I don't feel hate, I just feel sorry.” Jendrik is so hater-immune that he taunts, “you can wiggle that middle finger, it'll never wiggle back to you.”
Jendrik's advice is solid: don't even acknowledge your haters because that's exactly what they want. Ignore them completely (unless, of course, you have a chance to clap back in front of an international audience while kick-starting your music career).
As the song comes to an end, Jendrik delivers a blow that'll have your jaw on the floor and your haters feeling stupid af.
“I guess you need patronization as some kind of validation. You won't cope with the frustration that your random me-fixation, is another affirmation that you're just a hateful person, who's not really better than me.”
Now that's a mouthful of burn!
“Don't Want It” by Lil Nas X
Singer, musician, and rapper Montero Hill needs no introduction. Lil Nas X is the LGBTQIA+ superhero we always needed. He came out after the success of his first single and country music's first rap hit, “Old Town Road.”
Lil Nas's 2021 album, MONTERO, is one big string of #BigCakeEnergy tunes. The album starts off with the eponymous title track, aka “Call me By Your Name,” a Spanish guitar-tinted, sensual ode to a mystery boy that involves a music video wherein Lil Nas seduces the devil while sliding down a strip club pole.
Just two tracks later, our man is rapping his way through “Industry Baby,” a whole-ass diss to everyone who doubted he could repeat the success of his debut album. The music video features a prison theme, but in Lil Nas's world, the prisoners wear pink jumpsuits and later dance to choreographed steps while buck naked in the jailhouse showers.
If it wasn't obvious, Lil Nas X likes to give a proverbial middle finger to anyone who thinks he isn't worthy of #BigCakeEnergy.
As the album comes to a close, “Don't Want It” solidifies Lil Nas's message to his fans, which, simply put, is: “I know everything's gonna be alright.” As he sings in the song's bridge, “I'm f*ckin' living proof that if you want it, you can have anything right before your eyes.”
Play this song anytime you're feeling like giving up. In the middle of “Don't Want It,” an aural montage re-plays Lil Nas' most proud award announcements, like his Billboard Hot 100 mention. We're pretty sure Montero won't mind if you insert your own future goals and imaginary, newscaster-announced accolades into this section of the song.
“Midnight Sky” by Miley Cyrus
Miley is the queen of mainstream queer. She supports the gays, believes that Black Lives Matter, and promotes queer love using her child-star power as her weapon. When the mainstream media eats up Ms. Miley, she uses her microphone to uplift marginalized and LGBTQIA+ voices.
In “Midnight Sky,” Miley's first single from her 2020 album Plastic Hearts, she sings about recovering from a break-up with her long-time boyfriend by getting out there and remembering who she was, long before he ever showed up.
Miley gives us the whole break-down of her night out, which offers eye-opening inspiration for anyone who's trying to bounce back from a confidence killer, like breaking away from a former partner.
She goes out dancing alone: “...the mirror's telling me to go home, but it's been a long time since I've felt this good on my own.”
She kisses girls and causes a scene: “See my lips on her mouth, everybody's talkin' now, baby. Ooh, you know it's true.”
She feels another man's hands on her body on the dance floor: “See his hands 'round my waist, thought you'd never be replaced, baby.”
By the end of the night, Miley solidifies what she always knew: “I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone. I don't need to be loved by you.”
We've never heard a break-up song this catchy and dance-able before, and the remix, “Edge of Midnight,” featuring a mash-up with Stevie Nicks and the classic Fleetwood Mac song, “Edge of Seventeen,” is a must-hear if you're addicted to Miley.
Close out your playlist with this confidence-boosting hit and you'll be ready to grace Pride month with all that #BigCakeEnergy that Miley brings to the stage.
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