Michael Medrano: Our Disco Daddy
As I've discussed before on this blog 2018 was the year of I discovered this new wave of openly queer artists. It started with Troye Sivan and quickly led to Kim Petras, Years & Years & Bright Light Bright Light. I started following queer centric playlists on Spotify & I was soon discovering other artists such as Sam Bluer, REYNA, Tim Chadwick, MNEK & more. At the time I was only on one social media platform which was Facebook. I had been on Facebook since my freshmen year of college and the reason I initially joined Facebook was because a cute gay boy I had a crush on encouraged me to join. Beyond that though I had not really dipped my toes in Twitter, Instagram or any other social media platform. On Facebook I was joining all the groups I could for Troye Sivan, Years & Years & Kim Petras and I was blown away by just how nice and accepting everyone was in these groups, especially compared to other Facebook groups I had joined in the past.
It didn't take long before I started peaking into Twitter just to see what Troye, Olly and Kim were saying. Now I've been a music fanatic since 1997 and I've read countless reviews, articles and books about music and yet I've never been as interested in musician's personal lives outside a select few like Madonna or some of the Grungers. A lot of that came down to the fact that most musicians didn't reflect my life as a queer person growing up. Now all of a sudden I had queer artists whose music not only spoke to me directly but I was just as interested in them as public figures because of their queerness. I was seeing queer people in ways I had never seen growing up and between the artists and their fans I felt like I finally found my people. I realized then that if I wanted to get closer to this community I needed to finally join Twitter.
So I joined Twitter in November of 2018 and at that point there was literally only 5 people on there that I knew personally. My first posts were a countdown of my favorite songs from 2018 and it got very little attention as to be expected as a first time Twitter user. Still I kept at it as I followed as many queer artists as I could while also discovering new queer artists along the way. I started connecting with fans eventually and started getting some followers. By the end of the year I had gained just enough traction that two queer artists followed me who I didn't even know at the time. Those 2 queer artists were Smashby and Michael Medrano.
At the time that he started following me on Twitter, Michael Medrano was promoting his latest single Love Somebody Else, which also came with a music video. So I checked out the music video on YouTube and I was pretty impressed. Sure it was definitely a low budget indie video and the song had sparse production, but right from the start I could already sense Michael's talent. He was able to convey the emotion and stakes of this song through his singing and dancing which is one the most vital things a pop singer can do in my opinion. I've said this many times before that having a great voice is nice but for me I prefer the singer to serve the song and for that singer to convey emotion & personality in their singing and it was clear Michael could do that.
At the time Michael had a few older songs on Spotify dating back to 2015 so I listened to all of them. The song Drunk was another emotionally charged song that once again demonstrated Michael's ability to tell a compelling story within the confines of a pop song. Another song titled Be There was a more straight ahead love song lyrically and had sparse production and yet I found it to be an immediate delight. The song felt like it was floating out of my speakers and the production, while sparse, left an impression that made me want to return to it again and again.
Then there was his 2015 single Ignite, which Michael described as sounding like the Weekend. I understood what Michael was talking about because like the Weekend Ignite was a very sensual song with a subtle throb to it that was sexy as hell. Ignite proved to me that Michael could not only do a sexy pop song, but that maybe that is what he was best at. Up until that point though Michael's songs mostly dealt with heartbreak & sadness and his next single would be the greatest example of that.
Still before I get to that song let's talk about how I had managed to slide into Michael's DMs on Twitter. I remember he posted something about the 1950 animated Disney version of Cinderella and I do love Walt Disney Animation quite a bit so I commented about it by messaging him. From there I would message him every now and then, mostly telling him how much of a fan I had already become of him and his music. Before you know it we were talking every day and it usually always occurred around the same time. I live in Maryland and Michael lives in California which is 3 hours behind the east coast. Whenever I would get up for work around 6:30 a.m. Michael would still be up in California because he goes to sleep way later than I do. So a lot of our conversations would happen around that time as I would get ready for work.
In those days we talked a lot about his music and also his image. Early on we discussed what kind of pop star he wanted to be and he said the brand he was trying to craft would be sad California gay boy that also pulled inspiration from Lana Del Ray. This image and aesthetic would reach its peak on his next single Easier, which he released in the spring of 2019. This was the first time I was eagerly anticipating a new single from Michael and I remember staying up till midnight to hear it.
My reaction to Easier turned out to be a lot more emotional than I was initially expecting. The lyrics discuss a relationship where the singer is suffering so much he feels like he is bringing his partner down and that no matter what his partner does the singer can never fully feel happy or stable. He's prone to fits of depression and outbursts and he doesn't think he's worth all the trouble because he's the one ruining this relationship. He wishes things were easier but it feels like they never will be. I connected deeply with the lyrics of this song instantly.
As someone who has struggled with multiple concussions and chronic pain this song seemed to describe my own personal struggles, especially in terms of my relationship with my husband. I feel like whenever my pain is at its worst I start to spiral badly and I can't be consoled. I know it hasn't always been easy for my husband when I'm at my worst and I feel a lot of guilt about that sometimes. This song tapped into those feelings so much I had to tell Michael about it immediately and why I loved it instantly. He was so incredibly touched by my response to this song and said that my reaction is the best any artist can hope for because you just want your music to connect with people. When I posted about all this on Facebook my mom ended up messaging me saying that I needed to start a blog and there my friends is the origin story to The Dougystyle Club. So basically Michael Medrano and his song Easier were the main catalyst that helped launch this blog.
Now at this point I was spreading the gospel of Michael Medrano to anyone who would hear it on social media and he definitely started gaining some traction, especially after the release of Easier, but Michael was still feeling a bit restless. While Easier was a song he loved, Michael told me that deep down he wished he could be a pop star in the vein of Britney Spears and Kesha. He said those artists always made him feel really good and he wanted to be just like that but he was worried that he wouldn't be allowed to do that because he was gay. Here we have yet again the idea that queer people always second guess themselves and feel as if they don't deserve the same things as straight people. This kind of thinking takes a toll on your own self esteem and it can hold you back from doing the things you really want to do. As I’ve said before queer people are born into a culture not built for them and as a result sometimes they are willing settle for less in order to not cause any backlash or criticism.
Not long after the release of Easier Michael started working on a new song that he began teasing all over social media. From the clips alone I could tell this was a much more danceable song and it felt a lot sexier than anything he had released since Ignite. Michael told me he was gonna try something different and see if it worked and if it didn't work then he wouldn't pursue this specific avenue in the future. That song ended up being No More Tequila and it was the first song Michael let me listen to before he released it. I immediately knew on my first listen that this was gonna be a huge turning point for Michael. The song was sexy, messy, fun and most importantly a BOP! The song details a drunken night where Michael makes some reckless decisions and immediately regrets them but that doesn't stop him from doing it all over again anyway and it's all because of too much tequila. If that sounds like a classic Kesha song then you've been paying attention.
With No More Tequila Michael finally had the courage to be the pop star he always wanted to be and people were starting to jump onto the Michael Medrano bandwagon as a result. Around this time Michael started putting together one of his first live shows. I couldn't go because it was across the country but that didn't stop me from buying a ticket to show my support. I also bought a t-shirt from him and when it arrived he sent me a really sweet note on the back of a Polaroid picture which showed the alternate cover art for the Easier single. I remember seeing photos and video from the show, which looked like a lot of fun. It was at this show too that Michael unveiled his next single which would change everything for him.
Like No More Tequila Michael gave me another sneak peak of his upcoming single which was called Fluids. He seemed even more excited than usual about this song and it definitely raised my expectations for Fluids. Well let me tell you those expectations were far surpassed because Fluids was an absolute banger with perfect production, hooks for days and Michael's sexiest vocal performance to date. As soon as I finished listening to the song I told him I was blown away by it and that it was his best song to date. He giddily responded saying "I DID THAT!" Michael was so proud of Fluids that he was positively beaming. He had every right to feel that way because once Fluids dropped it exploded across the queer music community. All of a sudden those who had ignored him or didn't even know who Michael was were now sitting up and paying attention. Michael's followers started growing by the day as the song started amassing more and more streams. I remember when I first saw Zach Benson live that fall he played Fluids before his set and Zach told me he was obsessed with it.
Michael had always been shafted when it came to playlist placement and Fluids unfortunately was no different but the song was so good that it just kept racking up more and more streams to the point that Michael was making real money off his own music for the first time ever. He ended up getting playlisted once for Fluids, but that would prove to be enough because someone who worked for a record label heard Fluids on that playlist and brought it to the attention of their bosses at the label. When the label bosses heard it they thought it was fine but once they couldn't get the song out of their heads over the next several days they finally asked who this Michael Medrano was and how do we contact him. This eventually led to a meeting with the label and Michael securing his first deal with a record label.
Now with some artists signing a deal means they start to slow down with releasing music but that was not the case with Michael. Fluids had officially established Michael Medrano as one of the most exciting indie pop stars around and he wasn't about to lose that momentum. Instead he unveiled his new single at the beginning of 2020 and it was called Bump This. Michael ended up collaborating with 2 other queer artists for Bump This and they were Michete and Jake Germain. With this trifecta in hand Michael took what he established with Fluids and No More Tequila and went even deeper and darker than before. The song detailed recreational drug use and rough sex in vivid detail and was honestly quite shocking when I first heard it. While the song didn't have the crossover appeal of Fluids, it reaffirmed that Michael was an artist who was going to keep pushing the envelope as a queer artist and honestly it was exhilarating to watch. Troye Sivan and Olly Alexander had been getting more and more sexual in their own work but not to the extent that Michael was doing. He had a truly become a cutting edge artist who was going to open up doors for other queer artists to be as sexual and provocative as they wanted to be.
Michael's next single Do Your Thing would be lighter than Bump This and have a more bubblegum pop feel that reminded me of the Teen Pop that dominated TRL at the turn of the millennium. I loved the song immediately and it helped me get through a tough day. For you see Do Your Thing came out my last day at work before we were all sent home because of COVID-19. I remember getting up that morning feeling sad and unsure of what was happening and I played that song non stop from the moment I got up till my last minutes in my office where I danced around to it before going home. It would be the last time I was at work for over 15 months but I continued to listen to Do Your Thing non stop for the rest of the year. By the end of 2020 Do Your Thing was my most streamed song of the year and on its way to being my most streamed song ever on Spotify.
Before the year was over though Michael dropped another single Hands On U. Once again Michael was pushing the envelope for queer sexuality as the song was an ode to self pleasure, which is something we've heard from lots of straights pop stars such as Madonna and Britney Spears but not so much from queer artists. Hands On U also featured some great sax in its production and anyone who knows me knows I love a good saxophone moment in pop music.
Around this time Michael was becoming so popular that he now had a new nickname for himself which was The Disco Daddy and his fans also now had a nickname which was Medranhoes. I've said this many times on social media but few artists are as good at interacting with their fans as Michael. Michael truly makes every single fan feel seen and appreciated. If you tag Michael in a post he will at the very least like or retweet it and in most cases he will respond with a tweet as well. In the age of social media, building up an active online fan base is crucial for all artists and Michael knows this better than most. The nickname Medranhoes also spoke to the fact that due to his overtly sexualized music Michael was giving a space for his queer fans to openly discuss and indulge their own sexual desires and feelings in a public forum which is rare for queer people. This is why Michael's fans have become so passionate and dedicated because he not only sees them but validates their queerness and sexual desires in a way that makes them feel normal and accepted.
Michael rang in the new year with another new single called Sugar and this time it was a collaboration with the production team Dance Yourself Clean. Sugar was another bop with hooks to spare that detailed a secret hook up that seemed to involve some role playing due to Michael singing "Touch me like a porn star" during the chorus. It was classic Michael Medrano and it became one of his biggest singles. Like Do Your Thing the year before, I listened to Sugar non-stop throughout all of 2021 guaranteeing it would be my most streamed song of the year and rival Do Your Thing as my most streamed song period.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Michael released 2 more songs before the year was over, the first of which was I Don't Wanna Talk About Love. This song's lyrics found Michael having a fun hookup but wanting nothing more despite the other person wanting a relationship. I Don't Wanna Talk About Love even has a breathy talk set in the middle where Michael leaves a message for this person stating he's not looking for anything serious, which reminded me of classic breathy talk sets from Britney Spears.
The other single Personal Heaven was released at the end of the year and it invoked another pop diva, Katy Perry. The song definitely felt inspired by Teenage Dream and Michael played that up in the promotion leading up to the song’s release, which helped him snag a few Katy Kats as a result. At this point it's easy to take Michael's songs for granted because they are all so good and yet Personal Heaven once again raised the bar for him. The best part of the song was the key change, which sent all his fans into a tizzy on social media. Michael is smart when it comes to songwriting & production, because he looks at these types of details and knows that when executed properly it can make a great song even greater.
That brings us up to 2022 and so far Michael has released a remix of Do Your Thing. As great as the original Do Your Thing was, it had the unfortunate timing of being released at the start of lockdown so it never quite took off like many of his other singles did. So I see this remix, which includes the original version on the single release as well, as Michael's way of trying to give this song the moment it deserves. So far it seems to be working as fans have been gobbling up this remix and posting about it constantly.
The future seems bright for Michael and his first mini album is just around the corner. While I have not heard this album yet I can gurantee it's gonna be filled with bops that will probably be among the best pop songs of 2022. Michael never lets us down and that's why we all Stan this Disco Daddy!
