It seems like all our dreams are coming true.
Yesterday, Olly Alexander of Years and Years joined Clean Bandit on stage to perform Stronger, a song which he has co-written, at the 2015 Jersey Live Festival. It was everything we could ever hope it would be — and, of course, it resulted in Olly sharing a little smooch with boyfriend Neil, the violinist from Clean Bandit with the killer smile.
In case you’ve been living under a rock or aren’t familiar with either band, Olly and Neil have been dating since about October 2014. They’ve spoken about it numerous times and are known for making gross-cute comments on each other’s social media pages – not that we’re complaining. In an interview for Attitude, Olly admitted that the Years and Years’ song “Shine” is about Neil:
Shine was written in the optimistic beginning phase of his relationship with his current boyfriend of nearly six months. “It’s a really euphoric song but I actually find it really emotional,” he says. “I found it quite difficult to be honest in a hopeful way. It’s about hoping something works out. For me it’s hard to be that vulnerable without feeling a bit desperate.”
Here’s an adorable Instagram video of the moment they kissed, in case you feel like getting cavities:
They’re well cute, aren’t they?
We’re trying not to get emotional here, but it’s so important to see a couple like them being so open about their relationship and who they are. Olly himself has said it better than we ever could talking to Digital Spy:
“I’d like to hear a gay artist express their sexuality in a really open way. That’s something I’ve sort of tried to do a little bit on this album, but to be able to talk about sex is possibly new for gay artists. (…) I also believe if you want the world to change, or you want to see social change, you have to be an embodiment of it.”
And last night, he was performing with and kissing his boyfriend on stage, in front of a massive festival audience.
This is so big, not only for other gay artists who are still closeted, but also because chances are there was at least one kid in that audience struggling with their sexuality, and they just got to watch their idols sharing a little bit of their relationship with the world, and that made them feel just a tad bit more secure in who they are.
Good on Olly and Neil, and good on everyone they’re empowering along the way.