In March, pop musician Jake Wesley Rogers performed a medley at the GLAAD Media Awards that was a mashup of “Loser” and Queen’s iconic “We Are the Champions”. “Loser” is from his forthcoming album titled In the Key of Love which also includes “God Bless” and his new pop anthem “Hot Gospel” — and the full album will be available May 9.
“I just thought it was kind of funny to do ‘Loser’ and then ‘We are the Champions’,” Rogers told GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos in a recent interview. “You can be a loser and a champion…. I mean, I feel like losers are champions.” He added that a “loser” is like an outcast and an outcast “is the real champion because they are brave enough to be who they are.”
Watch the new video for “Hot Gospel” below:
Rogers was discovered by hit songwriter Justin Tranter in 2020 released “Middle of Love” which caught the ears of the masses. In 2022, Rogers released his Love EP, which included “Lavender Forever,” “Hindsight,” and “Dark Bird“. He has become a prominent voice in queer representation and it shows with his music. He has had the opportunity to collaborate with many other queer artists including Chappell Roan, Brandie Carlile, and the one and only Elton John.
“Every once in a while I get a FaceTime from him and he’s always just so, especially with this album, he’s been so encouraging,” said Rogers of Elton John. “That’s so encouraging and… I mean, when I sent it to him the first time he called me and he just said you ‘found it… you did it’... which is… I mean… it really took me probably about five days to come back to my body.”
With In the Key of Love, Rogers calls the track “Kitchen Table” a “cornerstone of the album“.
“It’s about a very real experience that I had in my own family,” he said, adding that there was a lot of healing that came during a raw, honest, and vulnerable conversation at the kitchen table. In 2025, this is a message that Rogers is trying to convey to other queer people: you are not alone.
“If there’s one thing queer people are good at, [it’s] finding each other. And supporting each other and loving each other,” said Rogers. “It’s kind of a call for asking somebody to hold on to hope, which is a big ask because hope is… it’s a hard thing. I implore people to maintain it. Especially now because if they take away our hope and we don’t, we don’t quite have much.”
The Missouri-born singer is going from being praised by an icon like Elton John to touring with another: Cyndi Lauper, an ally of the community. Rogers will be joining Lauper on select dates for her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour.
“I’ve loved her from an early age and ‘True Colors’ was one of the first songs I learned on guitar, kind of because of Glee,” admitted Rogers.
Read the following dates Rogers will be joining the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell below:
- July 15 — Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater
- July 16 — Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
- July 19 — Wantagh, NY @ Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
- July 20 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Mann Center
- July 22 — Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
- July 24 — Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
- July 25 — Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
- July 27 — Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
- July 29 — Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
- July 30 — Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center
- Aug 1 — Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
- Aug 3 — Milwaukee, WI @ American Family Insurance Amphitheater
- Aug 5 — Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
- Aug 7 — Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
- Aug 9 — Kansas City, MO @ Azure Amphitheater
- Aug 12 — Denver, CO @ Fiddler’s Green
- Aug 14 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
- Aug 17 — Ridgefield, WA @ Cascades Amphitheater
- Aug 19 — Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
- Aug 21 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
- Aug 23 — Wheatland, CA @ Toyota Amphitheater
- Aug 24 — Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
- Aug 26 — Concord, CA @ Toyota Pavilion at Concord
- Aug 29 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
- Aug 30 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
