Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan has entered her “making music almost exclusively for gay men era” — and she’s using it for good.
Earlier this month, the actress appeared on the British radio station Hits Radio, where she was asked what her dream job would be.
“You know when the Real Housewives release pop songs, just, exclusively for gay men?” Coughlan replied. “That’s my dream job.”
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As she pointed out, part of the appeal of these singles is that actual singing prowess isn’t required.
They don’t even really sing,” Coughlan added. “They just list things. They’re like, ‘Shoes and private yachts. Caviar and more shoes.’”
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The Derry Girls actress’ response soon made the rounds on TikTok, inspiring fans to make her dream a reality. Songwriter and music producer Ellis Miah, who’s worked with artists like Miley Cyrus and RuPaul, went viral for editing Coughlan’s interview into a club-ready house music remix. At the time of writing, Miah’s remix video has received over 835,300 likes on TikTok — and if that’s not a song of the summer in the making, I don’t know what is.
Soon enough, Coughlan decided to release the remix for real and raise some money for a good cause in the process. In an Instagram post announcing her inaugural single, she shared that she was using the full track — “SHOES… MORE SHOES” — to raise money for two LGBTQ+ charities: Not A Phase, a British grassroots organization that campaigns for the rights of trans people in the U.K.; and the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization that provides crisis support and resources for queer and trans youth. Although an exact release date hasn’t been announced, you can pre-save the song here.
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Naturally, plenty of fellow celebrities — many of them queer — took to Coughlan’s Instagram comments and voiced their excitement for Coughlan’s Bravo-esque new music career.
“I c o n,” Heartstopper actor Joe Locke commented.
“I’m dead, can the bi girls get a piece of this please??” Cynthia Erivo wrote.
Even Bravo got in on the fun, commenting, “The Lady Whistledown to popstar pipeline is iconic ✨.”
Given that Bridgerton has a penchant for incorporating string quartet covers of modern pop songs, I’d better get my orchestral version of Coughlan’s soon-to-be club hit on the show as soon as humanly possible. It’s not just a Brat summer, it’s a “shoes and caviar” summer!
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