I came across the term non-binary while reading an article about the British pop star of the amazing vocal range, Sam Smith. It said that Smith chooses to consider himself non-binary. The singer is not male or female, homosexual or heterosexual or both or anything else but non-binary.
What on earth is non-binary? I have some idea of what binary means. You often come across the word in relation to the workings of your computer. Binary is something made up of two things or it relates to a number system which has the No. 2 as its base.
And then there is a third meaning I found in Google which opens the door to an explanation about the Sam Smith question. Binary also means involving a choice between or a condition of only two alternatives such as on or off or yes or no. Maybe also male or female?
So as for non-binary, Google says it is denoting, having or relating to a gender identity that does not conform to traditional binary beliefs. I guess as in the male or female gender classification. It indicates that all individuals are not exclusively either male or female and can be both. And that is why, Smith sees himself as both. Or more?
This binary or non-binary thing requires more serious thinking which I am unable to dwell on here. Besides, I do not really care much about gender classification. What this is about is how Smith really pushed the envelope with the current hit Unholy and not gender.
Along with being non-binary, Smith is now also to be referred to in plural pronouns. Hard to do, since the right use of numbers in grammar is practically second nature to us. But let us give them, what they want. So here goes.
Unholy is a collaboration between Smith and German R&B and electronica dance diva Kim Petras. A cut from their latest album Gloria, which was released last January, Unholy made No. 1 in the US, the UK and some other countries. The song is nothing like the soulful Grammy-winning Stay with Me or the ominous Academy Award-winning Writing’s on the Wall from James Bond film Spectre, but there is no way it will not be a big-seller.
Unholy is synthpop that is a loud, metallic, pulsating dance trip. Smith was quoted in an interview as having said that Unholy is about liberating oneself from the clutches of others’ secrets. The song is very liberating indeed, as it invites singing along to that contagious refrain performed by a choir, “Mummy don’t know daddy’s getting hot/ at the body shop/ doing something unholy.” Or you can go liberate yourself through the whole gamut of decadent debauchery like Smith does in the Moulin Rouge-inspired video.
As for Petras, she is a lovely presence with a voice to match and she brings her own distinctive, news-making kind of sexuality to the mix. When she was only 16, Petras became the youngest transgender in the world. She knew from childhood she should have been born a girl. Her mother agreed. Not long after, Petras became totally female and soon after, a big music star in Germany. Unholy is her first entry and first No. 1 in the Hot 100 hit list.
Petras also recently brought home her first Grammy trophy. Unholy was named Best Pop Duo or Group Performance at the recent 65th Grammy Awards. Not surprising for Smith and Petras do make for a unique, exciting combination.
Flowers by Miley Cyrus holds on to the No. 1 slot in Billboard’s Hot 100 tabulation. Next in line are: Kill Bill by SZA; Last Night by Morgan Wallen; Unholy by Sam Smith and Kim Petras; Creepin’ Metro Boomin’ by The Weeknd and 21 Savage; Cuff It by Beyonce; Anti-hero by Taylor Swift; Die For You by The Weeknd; I’m Good (Blue) by David Guetta and Bebe Rexa; As It Was by Harry Styles.
Rich Flex by Drake and 21 Savage; Just Wanna Rock by Lil Uzi Vert; Thought You Should Know by Morgan Wallen; Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2 by Pink Pantheress and Ice Spice; Made You Look by Meghan Trainor; Under the Influence by Chris Brown; Golden Hour by JVKE; You Proof by Morgan Wallen; Rock and a Hard Place by Bailey Zimmerman; and Something in the Orange by Zach Bryan.