This article contains major spoilers for Love, Simon.
With so many straight actors portraying queer characters in Hollywood, Love, Simon breakout star Keiynan Lonsdale is a breath of fresh air. While the actor doesn’t ascribe to a specific label in terms of his sexuality, he is openly attracted to both genders — and in Love, Simon, he plays the enigmatic Blue, the online love interest of Nick Robinson’s titular character.
But Lonsdale is a double-threat: In addition to his acting roles (which include the CW’s Flash and the Divergent series), the 26-year-old Aussie is a musician.
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On Wednesday (March 28), the star has dropped an unapologetically queer single titled “Kiss the Boy,” partly inspired by his role in Love, Simon.
“The teaser for Love, Simon had dropped on YouTube and then for some reason, I don’t know why, the song ‘Kiss the Girl’ from The Little Mermaid popped up on my feed,” Lonsdale explained. “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s so funny. I wonder if I can do a cover of that song, but change it to about a boy?’ It didn’t work, but I was thinking about the Love, Simon trailer and I was really happy. Eventually, I got the hook, ‘If you wanna kiss the boy/ Then you better kiss the boy right now.'”
Lonsdale said “Kiss the Boy” was one of the easiest songs he’s ever written: “I had so much to draw off, with the movie, my own personal life and every relationship I’d been in and other people’s stories that they’d told me.”
“Kiss the Boy” will appear on Lonsdale’s upcoming album, as well as tracks that he wrote several years ago. “I’m still listening to them now and I still love them, then that’s a really good sign.” He added that the album will also have more songs that represent queer love: “At first, I was like, ‘I don’t wanna force this kind of thing.’ But that’s my reality.”
Check out Lonsdale’s adorable, super-inclusive lyric video for “Kiss the Boy,” premiering exclusively on Billboard below.