Aug 21, 20226 min read

All Hail Scene Queen: How 'Bimbocore' is Empowering the Metal Scene

Written by: Abby Johnson

Content Warnings: explicit language, sexism, harassment, homophobia, marijuana, discussion of sexual and physical assault, discussion of death threats.

If you’ve followed along with the up-and-coming artists in the metalcore scene, you may have heard of Scene Queen. If you aren’t familiar with who she is, Scene Queen is a metalcore artist from Ohio, now residing in Los Angeles. Pulling inspiration from scene music during the genre’s heyday in the 2000s alongside varying artists such as My Chemical Romance, Sleeping with Sirens, and Britney Spears. Her hyper-feminine tracks are derived from her mental health journey and her experiences as a bisexual woman in the music industry. In spite of the backlash she continually receives, her talent and influence on the metal scene continue to flourish.

Scene Queen got her start on Tik Tok back in 2020 when she released her first, self-produced single, ‘Are You Tired?.’ Just a year later [2021], the artist announced the upcoming release of her first studio single, ‘Pink Rover', and that she had signed to Hopeless Records. [A record label with a repertoire of notable artists such as Neck Deep, Taking Back Sunday, Sum 41, and Stand Atlantic]. This single is an angry anthem about the trauma of catcalling and other acts of harassment that Scene Queen (and countless other women) have endured for as long as they can remember.

Since then, Scene Queen has released her debut studio EP ‘Bimbocore,’ five music videos: ‘Pretty in Pink,’ ‘Pink Bubblegum,’ ‘Pink Rover,’ ‘Pink Panther,’ and ‘Pink G-String,’ her most recent single released only a month ago. In recent news, she has announced she will be supporting WARGASM on their UK tour this fall, tickets for her US headline tour, ‘Bimbocore Bimbo Tour,’ are on sale now for this September. Finally, this past week on August 18th, Scene Queen announced the release date of her upcoming single with Set it Off, ‘Barbie + Ken,’ in a Tik Tok with Cody Carson (lead vocals of Set it Off).

Metal is undeniably a male-dominated genre. That being said, women in the metal community have experienced discrimination for as long as we can remember. Sexism is unfortunately prevalent in the metal genre. Examples include but are not limited to women being physically assaulted (ie: non-consensual touching or groping) in the crowd and while crowd surfing at metal concerts, women in metal bands being catcalled or verbally harassed by male audience members/industry professionals/male musicians, and female musicians and industry professionals being seen as inferior to their male peers thus being alienated by the male members of the metal community. This not only endangers women as fans and as musicians at live shows, but it significantly limits the opportunities that women in metal music have; in turn, resulting in them having to work significantly harder to not only gain traction as an artist but respect as well.

The toxic masculinity embedded in the metal scene is undoubtedly the explanation for why Scene Queen has received quite a bit of backlash primarily from those in the metal community, but also from a social media community that came across her and didn’t like her content. Scene Queen’s music is a blend of multiple genres she takes inspiration from. The most noticeable are metal, hyper pop, and rap music. This blend of auditory components paired with her hyper-feminine lyrics and the overall aesthetic is unconventional, sure, but the backlash it receives is often more cruel than opinionated. Some examples include “This isn’t metal,” a direct hit to the artist’s genre-bent sound, to more extreme comments including sexist slurs or phrases, homophobic slurs directed toward the singer’s bisexuality, or otherwise targeting her appearance. While these comments have previously taken a toll on Scene Queen’s mental health, she has taken her experiences with discrimination and turned them into music that is encouraging metal fans to embrace their femininity and sexuality and is empowering the scene to be unapologetically loud in the face of discrimination.

Despite the criticism she has received, she continues to receive praise and adoration from fans and fellow musicians as well. Scene Queen continues to make waves in the metal community as she loudly and unapologetically embraces herself and powerfully promotes feminism, self-expression, sex positivity, inclusivity, and a safe scene for fans and artists alike. In addition to being outspoken about sexism, harassment, as well as her sexuality in interviews and on social media, her music is a reflection of these values.

The first single Scene Queen released while signed to Hopeless Records is once again, ‘Pink Rover.’ This track was written after the artist was catcalled while on her way to the studio. Scene Queen pushes the boundaries of metal as she combines hyper-feminine vocals and lyrics overflowing with rage with vicious, djenty breakdowns to get her point across that if you catcall, there are consequences. While this message is evident throughout the entire song, her anger is most palpable in the second verse when she sings, “Red light, yellow light, pink light / No / You’ll never ever ever ever take me home / Touch me again and I’ll fucking scream / Covered in blood / Just girly things.” As well as when she ends the track saying through clenched teeth, “Bless me father for I have sinned / It’s been a week since my last confession / And too long since these motherfuckers learned a lesson!” Leading by example, Scene Queen shares with women that their anger toward the harassment and/or trauma they’ve endured is valid. You are allowed to stand up for, defend, and advocate for yourself and your safety.

Following the theme of feminism and female empowerment, Scene Queen shares the truth about how as a woman in the music industry, she has to work ten times as hard as her male counterparts. This track is perfect proof of what I have previously stated about men not taking women in metal seriously regardless of their talent. ‘Pink Paper’ is the final song on Scene Queen’s EP, ‘Bimbocore.’ It's a blend of musical components from several genres, including metal, pop, and rap. Scene Queen hits the ground running with the opening line, “Opening for band / And my numbers say I better than ‘em.” Later, the lyrics that follow are, “I’m a boss, I’m a major / I roll my weed with pink paper / Yeah, that’s queen shit,” and they douse the song in the loud femininity that Scene Queen is so well known for. The key takeaway is that women can be feminine, intelligent, and talented and that being feminine shouldn’t be equated to inferiority.

‘Pink Panther,’ the 4th single released from ‘Bimbocore,’ is one of my personal favorites from Scene Queen. It is another track that pushes the boundaries of metal lyrically and instrumentally. Not only does she embrace femininity, but she also shatters the stigma around bi-sexuality as well as the concept the women and lgbtqia+ members are and should be sex-positive. These values empower women and lgbtqia+ fans, musicians, and industry professionals alike. While using a sample from the Pink Panther theme song, originally written by Henry Manici for piano, Scene Queen puts a metal spin on it while embracing her bi-sexuality.

Following the strong entrance of the first verse, the lyrics, “Lipstick lover, all pink covers / Mommy mommy kiss your mother,” are a reference to people on the internet calling her “Mommy” as a way to express their attraction to her in a light-hearted yet suggestive way. The chorus that follows addresses the harmful ideation society has that women and the lgbtqia+ community shouldn’t be open [and explicit] about their sexuality and sexual experiences when they’re totally fine with straight men doing this exact thing. Scene Queen curb-stomps this double standard in the chorus while singing, “Please don’t call, I need another hour / Three more girls are pilin’ in the shower / Don’t call, you know I can’t answer / Gettin’ pussy like Pink Panther.” It’s not necessarily uncommon for women in metal to be sex-positive in their lyrics. However, the fact that Scene Queen uses this theme in her music carves out a place where women and lgbtqia+ members of the metal community can safely express themselves and their sexuality.

Source: Cody Carson's Twitter Account (@CodySIO)

Though Scene Queen has gotten quite a bit of backlash from the metalcore community and on social media, her talent for writing metal, genre-bent music that’s fun, cathartic, and empowering is undeniable. Fans and fellow musicians have continually shown their support for her and her music. Recently, Cody Carson of Set it Off tweeted his support for her in response to her tweet showing two screenshots of death threats she received on Tik Tok with the caption, “I really like can’t do this anymore.”

On a lighter note, the two vocalists [Scene Queen and Cody Carson] have recently announced their collaboration on the upcoming Scene Queen single, ‘Barbie + Ken.’ With the continued love and support from fans, fellow artists, and the metal community, Scene Queen has shown us that metal truly is for anyone and will continue to empower the metal community and make waves in the music industry.