My Michael Medrano Song Countdown

Over the last 4 years Michael Medrano has asserted himself as one of the most exciting queer pop artists around. His music not only speaks to a lot of queer music fans but it's also breaking barriers as to what a queer artist can sing about. Over these last 4 years Michael's pop star persona has morphed from sad California Gay boy to the studly Disco Daddy who is always on the prowl for his next hookup and sexual escapade. Many pop music critics in the past usually accuse straight artists of selling out when they double down on the sex in their songs but with Michael I would argue that it's the opposite. By changing the focus of his music and image to being much more sexually explicit, as well as sex positive, Michael is normalizing queer sex & queer desires in pop music in a way that feels raw and unfiltered. As a result Michael has created a space and public forum for his queer fans to express their own sexual desires and fantasies in a way that is still pretty rare these days. 

Still no matter what image he's projecting, one thing has always stayed the same with Michael and that's great pop songs.  From the production, lyrics, vocal performance and hooks, Michael knows what he is doing and never fails to deliver a bop as a result. This countdown features all of his songs that are still currently available to stream and I love all of them! In fact some of the songs he has taken down I love too, but I'm not including those songs since you can't really listen to them anymore. Just about every song on this list gets a solid A for me if not an A+. I listen to all these songs constantly and none of them have fallen out of regular rotation for me since they were released. So even if one of your personal favorites is low on the list just know that I love that song and it's only low because something has to be near the bottom when you're doing a song ranking. Michael's catalogue is pretty bulletproof and any fan of modern pop music, especially from a queer perspective, needs to check out his music ASAP. So without further ado let's talk about these bops. 

13. Drunk (2018)

This is one of Michael's earliest songs and in fact he removed it from streaming, but later on I discovered he did a remix of the song with the rapper Drebae who still has this song on his streaming page. So therefore this song is back in play and I made sure to add it back to all the playlists it was originally on. Now to be fair this isn't Michael's best song, hence why it's at 13 but it's still damn good. Like Ignite, another early song that he also pulled off streaming, Drunk has a dark night time vibe with a throbbing beat that's pretty darn sexy. In the song Michael wishes his boyfriend would love him like he's drunk. It's clear this relationship isn't the most healthy, but for the moment Michael doesn't care and says he can regret this all in the morning. Already we're seeing Michael discuss relationships & sex in a messy but real way that draws you in as a listener. Even at this early stage Michael knows how to tell a story in his songs. While he would get better later Michael was still operating at a higher level than many of his peers at this point. 

12. Be There (2016)

Another early song from Michael but it’s one that he hasn't pulled off streaming yet. In fact this is the earliest song he has right now on Spotify and it's easy to hear why. The production on this is sparse but extremely memorable. Every time the song starts it feels like it's floating out of my speakers and surrounding me with it's laid back charms. The whistle sound in the song gets stuck in my head all the time, even when I'm not listening to the song. It shows how early Michael could still create songs that stick with you long after you've listened to them. This one has an ethereal vibe I never grow tired of no matter how many times I listen to it and I've listened to it a lot over the past 4 years. 

11. No More Tequila (2019)

No More Tequila marked an important turning point in Michael's music & image. All of a sudden the sad California gay boy that had sang Easier, Love Somebody Else and Drunk was replaced by a much sexier & reckless pop star who's music recalled peak era Kesha and Britney. In this song Michael recounts the various messy mistakes he's made recently and he blames it all on tequila. Michael sets the scene immediately when he sings:

"I said some shit I don't remember to my boyfriend

I stole your card and took a Lyft to Hollywood and

I didn't mean to run away, I swear I'm usually okay

No, I don't need another shot of that poison"

Still it's obvious that Michael isn't about to take his own advice and stay away from the tequila as he continues to live recklessly:

"I call my ex at 2 a.m., like "Hey what's up, man?"

No, I don't really want my ex, just kinda lonely

I should've stayed with my friends, I have no clue where they've been

Why did I do this again? (Yeah) We're gonna do it again (Yeah)

(We're gonna do it again)"

I mentioned Kesha earlier but there's also a lot of Katy Perry in here too, especially T.G.I.F. Plus we're hearing him sing directly about men here and not shying away from it anymore.  With this song Michael finally had the courage to be the pop star he wanted to be. In retrospect this now feels a bit like a rough draft of what was to come since most of the songs afterwards were even stronger. Still without this song we probably never would have gotten Fluids, Sugar or any of the other great songs that were around the corner and for that respect must be paid. Plus it's still a banger. 

10. Wanna Love You Boy (2021)

This song is duet with Tom Aspaul, another queer artist who caught my attention back in 2019. In fact Tom and Michael both seemed to be on the same wave length by then since they were both exploring disco but giving it a fresh update and making it gayer. Therefore it made total sense for these 2 to collaborate eventually. I'm fact it almost felt necessary. Michael and Tom compliment each other beautifully here where they sing about wanting to have sex with one another in a way that feels giddy and electric. At some point I'll need to cover Tom on this blog because his Black Country Disco album was one of the best pop records of the past few years. Let's just say that if you love this song then you definitely need to check out the rest Black Country Disco. 

9. Personal Heaven (2021)

Michael's latest single is a slice of pop bliss that brings to mind Teenage Dream by Katy Perry and Heaven is a Place on Earth by Belinda Carlisle. It's an effortless pop song with one hell of a key change and it continues to get better every time I listen to it. There's really not much more to say so take a listen. 

8. Hands On U (2020)

Released at the height of the pandemic lockdown, Hands On U is an ode to self pleasure that reflected the era it was released in. Due to COVID, many people were isolated to the point of not seeing others for months, which means a lot of people couldn't have sex with others either. Hands On U discusses the pleasures of masturbating to fantasies that can't come true for the moment but can seem real if you know what you're doing. It was another boldly explicit sex bop that showed just how much Michael truly had his finger on the pulse of both the times and his fans on social media who eagerly lapped this song up. Hands On U also has some great sax which always makes a song better in my book. 

7. I Don't Wanna Talk About Love (2021)

At the start of this song Michael addresses those that judge him for his lifestyle choices when it comes to partying & sex:

"Somebody asked me, "Why are you the way you are?"

"Stumbling out of bars on Sunset Boulevard."

Well I'm not trying to be rude, I speak my mind

Might come across unkind, but I'm doing me tonight"

Michael is letting his critics know that he is who he is and he's gonna make no apologies for it and that's something we love to see in pop stars, but especially queer ones. I Don't Wanna Talk About Love is about the thrill of the hookup and trying to escape before real feelings get involved. Michael even deploys a classic Britney trope where he gives a breathy talk set during the bridge letting the boy know that things are not gonna progress any further between the two of them:

"I didn't mean to leave you like that last night

Things got kinda crazy

I don't know how to say this... I don't wanna hurt you

But if you're looking for something serious

I'm just not there right now"

Another strong selling point of I Don't Wanna Talk About Love is the way Michael delivers the lyrics in the main chorus making every syllable feel like a hook. This is something the best pop stars know how to do and the chorus runs laps in my brain as soon as I even think about this song. 

6. Love Somebody Else (2018)

For new Medranhoes this might seem like a pretty high ranking for this song. Love Somebody Else came before the the transformation of No More Tequila and sees Michael in full sad boy mode. Maybe it's the nostalgia Love Somebody Else has over me because it's the one that introduced me to Michael but I love this song. When I first watched the video I was instantly drawn in despite it's low budget because even then I could tell that this kid was going places. Michael sells the hell out of Love Somebody Else where his singing perfectly conveys the emotions and stakes of this song, which is something truly great pop stars do. You don't need the best voice in pop music, you need one that has personality and can tell the listeners exactly what they should be feeling as they listen to you sing and Michael does exactly that here. In this song Michael's boyfriend has ended their relationship, but dammit Michael doesn't want it to end. In fact the idea of moving on and finding another love not only feels impossible to Michael but soul crushing as well. Michael doesn't want to live without this boy and he's doing everything he can to convince his ex to come back to him. 

This song presents a very different Michael than the one from the last couple of years, but it still works because Michael already knew how to sell a song with his whole being. Like Be There the production is sparse but memorable. Honestly I loved the atmosphere and vibe of this song right from the start and I haven't stopped loving it since then either. At the time 2018 for me was the year of Troye Sivan, Kim Petras and Olly Alexander but little did I know that it would also be my introduction to an indie pop singer who in many ways would go on to surpass them for me and it all started right here with this song. 

5. Bump This (2020)

I remember hearing this for the first time and being downright shocked! Sure, Fluids and No More Tequila had seen Michael become a more overtly sexual pop singer but nothing prepared me for this. Bump This is a collaboration between 2 other queer artists Michete and Jake Germain and all three artists wrote & sang their own verses and it almost feels like each artist is trying to top the other with their recounts of sexual escapades and recreational drug use. If I'm being honest Jack Germain's verse might have beat them both when he sings:

"Heard him at the club & he said, "I want you up inside me"

Took him to my place and fucked on my Versace driveway

I just wanna party, party, party till the suns out

Feelin' on his body while he's tryna pull my pants down

I just wanna hit it from the back and make him moan loud

Doin all these bumps and fuckin' rough until we pass out WOOF"

Now I've heard some pretty explicit lyrics in my time, but they always came from straight artists. This might have been the most explicitly risque lyrics I had ever heard about gay sex in a pop song at that point and I found it to be hot as fuck! Troye was singing about blooming and Olly was singing about dating app hookups, but neither of them went into detail like this nor did they deliver a lyric as hot and horny as Jake yelling WOOF at the end. Still while Jake and Michete almost steal the song, Michael is still very much front & center throughout Bump This and it still feels like a Michael Medrano song through and through. No More Tequila may have cracked the door open and Fluids may have opened the floodgates but Bump This felt like a torrential downpour. This was the truly the point of no return where Michael was now not only the queer Disco Daddy, but he was now announcing that he was going to be pushing way past the limits of what an openly queer artist can and can't do and make no apologies for it and god bless him for that!

4. Sugar (2021)

I gotta be honest, the older I get the less interested I am in New Years and staying up till midnight. I'd rather be in bed before the ball drops. Yet, I stayed up for midnight on New Years last year because Michael was gonna drop his next song at midnight and that was something I felt was worth staying up for. As expected Michael didn't disappoint. Sugar was yet another catchy confection about hookups but this time it was a secret affair held at seedy motels with role playing as Michael tells his lover to touch him like a porn star during foreplay. The song was produced by the production team Dance Yourself Clean and it's clear that both parties brought out the best in each other here. As soon I heard it I already knew it was gonna be the best song of 2021 and I streamed it non stop throughout the entire year. It not only became my most streamed song of 2021 but possibly my most streamed song period. By this time Michael Medrano had become a queer pop institution and no matter what you thought of him few could deny just how good his songs were. Sugar was yet another perfect song from an artist who refused to give us anything less by that point. 

3. Easier (2019)

For me Easier represents both a beginning and an ending. When I first heard this song I connected with it deeply. I'm someone who has struggled with concussions and chronic pain for many years and it's been pretty rough at times. When the pain is at it's worst & I can't get it to go away I tend to spiral and go into a very dark place and I feel like my husband has to be the one to pick up the pieces. Sometimes that makes me feel worse because I feel so guilty about how I behave when my pain is at it's worst. While this song is not about chronic pain or concussions it is about struggling with your own personal demons and how that can take a toll on your partner and make you feel worse. The verse that always hits me the hardest is when Michael sings: 

"I don't mean to shut you out

I lose control and get so loud

You don't deserve my ups and downs, downs, hey

I can be so selfish

It’s my fault that I’m helpless

You shouldn't love a mess like me

For this hell, I’m so sorry"

As soon as I listened to this song I messaged Michael and told him how much this song had connected with me and he was so blown away by my comments saying that the thing he wanted the most as an artist was to create music that would connect with others. When I relayed this to my mom she told me that I needed to start a blog which means that Easier is this blog's origin story. 

This song though also represents the end of an era for Michael as this was really the last song he did during his sad boy era and also his last ballad as well. The music video drives home this last gasp where Michael recreates moments from the film Call Me By Your Name, especially it's heartbreaking ending in front of the fire place. After this came No More Tequila and Michael never looked back again on his sad boy era. Still if this is truly the end of Michael ever doing songs like this then what a way to go out. 

2. Fluids (2019)

This song changed everything for Michael. While he had recorded quite a few good songs beforehand, this was the moment he truly arrived. Fluids is a perfect pop song in every way from it's production to its melodies to Michael lyrics and vocal performance. It's a bop about being sexually fluid with both boys and girls at the club and it sounds like an absolute blast! It's also where Michael truly becomes the Disco Daddy who calls all the shots, has all the sex and makes no apologies for it. There's so many great moments from the line about him wanting to taste a girl after she has had sex with her boyfriend to Michael doing a fun talk set where he's asking the boyfriend if he wants to make out right now in this club. 

Fluids is the song that just keeps on giving as it continues to rack up streams 3 years later where it currently has almost 2.5 million streams & counting on Spotify. It's the song that got Michael a record deal and the one that has allowed him to dedicate more time to his career as a singer because it continues to pay out royalties to him at a steady clip. Everyone who hears this song loves it instantly and most of those people end up becoming Medranhoes. In all honesty this is objectively his best song but I have a personal favorite that just barely bests it for me. Still this is not just a high point in Michael's catalogue, it's a high point for queer pop music and modern pop music in general. 

1. Do Your Thing (2019)

This song I have an emotional attachment to because it came out on my last day of work before I went into lockdown mode for 15 months. I listened to it all day when it came out and even danced to it in my office before heading home. I continued to listen to it for the rest of 2020 until it became my most streamed song of the year. Besides all that though this is an absolute bop from top to bottom. Do Your Thing has a strong bubblegum pop feel that makes the song feel tamer than it is when compared to Bump This, which had come out a couple months before, but this song is just as horny and sexy as Michael's other songs, it just goes down much sweeter due to it's melodies and production. Honestly this song is firing on all cylinders and no matter how many times I listen to it I still get an endorphin rush whenever I hear it. This is also the moment that Michael truly emerged as my favorite queer artist along with Gregory Dillon and he's been my favorite ever since. I just love this song and I think you will too. Also shout out to the drum machine on this song because it's chef's kiss and makes the song even better than it already is. Michael has also recently released a remix of this song that his fans are loving as well so check that out too.