Literally every syllable has to be her truth or it's not making it into the song."īut of course, Tranter couldn't help but to create from his own experience. "Every single song we wrote," he explained, "we were writing Gwen's life. "I could never have another hit again and I don't give a fuck!" Tranter gushed about working with Stefani. A week prior to our conversation, Stefani released her new single, the Tranter co-scribed nu-disco romp "Make Me Like You," and announced her third studio album, This Is What the Truth Feels Like, which features a Tranter co-write on nearly every single song. If one ever needed proof that unfettered passion can manifest wondrous things, then Tranter's teenage devotion to Stefani is that affirmation. Stefani! That was when it was like, 'Okay. When Tranter first mentioned Stefani's name, he paused and repeated it, just to make sure we were clear: "Gwen. Petty perfume theft aside, the moment where things really gelled for Tranter musically was when he unearthed the pantheon of mid-'90s female alternative singer-songwriters: Courtney Love, Ani DiFranco, Paula Cole and, perhaps most presciently, Gwen Stefani. But at seven you're like, 'Oh my god, I can't want a girl's perfume! By Debbie Gibson! Called Electric Youth! I have to just steal it.' So I stole it." "Which is funny because my mom is literally the coolest person ever and would have totally bought it for me. "I actually stole Debbie's Perfume, which was called Electric Youth, from a Walgreens because I was too embarrassed to tell my mom I wanted it," Tranter revealed with his trademark candor. His worship of Gibson, as well as his shame surrounding what this worship revealed about his sexuality, almost took his path into a very different territory than the chart topping wonderland where it is now: a life of crime. When he was a kid, he danced around his room to the Annie soundtrack before discovering the pop singer Debbie Gibson. The rise to pop royalty: Justin Tranter grew up in Chicago. Straight people don't have to say it because their perspective is assumed.' - Justin Tranter It's my perspective and my perspective is a queer perspective. That's fucking crazy." People will be like 'Oh, it's just music,' and I'm like, 'Well, no. Everyone's always like, 'Oh, there are plenty!' But we always end up counting them on one hand. "I like to play this game," Tranter offered, "where I ask people to count gay pop writers and producers they know. Consider Cher, Madonna's "Vogue," Bowie's cosmically queer Ziggy Stardust, Mick's hips, Prince's heels, Nick Jonas' come-hither eyes in Out or queer bounce pioneer Big Freedia's ad libbing on Beyonce's "Formation." Pop has queerness built into its very core - and yet gay and queer men infrequently partake in its highly lucrative spoils. Given how queer pop music is, with gay men as some of its most visible pop consumers and gay culture as one of the genre's most notable influences, the lack of queer guys in Tranter's position is shocking.