Following on from our chats with Aussie artist MAY-A and Drag Race UK superstar Tayce, we thought it’s time for the GAY TIMES audience to get to know Scandinavian star Tove Stryke.
Jumping back into the spotlight, Tove announced her new catchy single Mood Swings which sees the star adopt various dynamic characters as she teases the new era of her music. With the new pop banger out for everyone to hear, we got chatting with the singer-songwriter to find out more about her love for Frank Ocean to her frank upfront thoughts on queer culture. We’ve got everything you need to know about the 28-year-old’s queer faves below.
Your fave queer film/TV is…
True Blood, Six Feet Under and Call Me By Your Name. I know they’re not all QUEER queer but they all portray queerness in a relatable, effortless and real way. I’m currently rewatching true blood realising how well it’s actually written. The editing is also GREAT and the styling is PERFECT. Nobody wears a thong like Lafayette Reynolds, and nobody wears a sundress like Sookie Stackhouse.
Your favourite queer experience is…
In 2018, I performed at Heaven in London. The room was BOILING and everyone including myself was going absolutely crazy. I was sweating away on stage in a sea of neon roses in front of the most beautiful crowd. Nuts.
Your fave queer moment is…
Realising I was in love with one of my best friends. We’re together now. It’s the best thing that ever happened to me. If that isn’t a moment I don’t know what is.
Your fave queer actor is…
Elliot Page! His journey, omg. I’ve been a fan since high school when Juno came out, and realising now how much pain he’s had to go through to do those movies that so many people love it just breaks my heart.
I think he is one of my generations most iconic actors, truly. And he really seems to be such an amazing person, speaking up on behalf of lgbtq+ and especially trans youth and showing so much compassion and humanity in everything he does. He has a beautiful energy that not a lot of people on screen and TV have.
The incredible documentary CHANGING THE GAME is available NOW on @hulu !!! @ChangingGameDoc is deeply powerful and important, an absolute must see. #transkidsbelong https://t.co/7FUm2FCRE8
— Elliot Page (@TheElliotPage) June 5, 2021
Your fave queer singer is…
Frank Ocean. He’s got the voice of an angel. I die. Do you know that clip of him singing Thinkin Bout You on SNL from like a hundred years ago? I still rewatch that. I still get goosebumps.
Your fave queer album is…
Lady Gaga’s whole discography. And Britney blackout. And that wonderful Janelle Monae movie album (emotion picture) Dirty Computer.
Your fave queer anthem is…
1950 by King Princess. I somehow feel like that song must have come TO her, you know what I mean? Like it was out there floating somewhere in our collective consciousness just waiting for someone to think about it and she did. I love it so much.
Girls by Beatrice Eli is also one of my all-time favourite songs. Absolute timeless banger. There’s a sad version of it with just vocoder bleeding into a big crescendo, it’s on her live album Showgirl. I always get tears. Someone should use it for a movie or something.
Your fave queer memory is…
I feel like my whole life is queer and the whole world is queer! Some of my fondest memories from being a touring artist is having couples come up to me after the shows and telling me that they met through my music. Or that one of them sent the other my song to tell them how they feel. Like, PINCH ME?! How cute is that??? It’s usually the queer couples. And it’s usually sway, mistakes or on the low.
Your fave queer book is…
I don’t read a lot! But last year, I think it was, I read Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado. You can’t trust it!! It’s thrilling and beautiful and really weird and I loved it.
Your fave queer activist is…
I already mentioned Elliot Page so I think I have to go with… gender bender cis-tem offender, Bimini Bon Boulash! They should have won Drag Race. They’re so iconic and such an inspiration both as a performer and as a human being. And, oh my god, I’m such a fan.
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