Best of 2020

2020… what a year. I don’t think as the clock struck midnight on the 31st December 2019 any of us could have imagined what the year would be like. I certainly didn't. I hoped 2020 would be the start of our big adventure at launching Spill the Tea. The sister magazine to Image 34 that was long overdue. As part of the LGBTQ+ community myself I have wanted to share and feature more queer artists but I knew to do this a sister magazine had to be born so these features could have their own special place and platform. This is what Spill the Tea was for.

I had such hopes of working and shooting with so many Queens and artists this year but after shooting just one Queen, Covid came and put a stop to that. We didn’t let that stop us though and we still managed to work with as many Queens and artists part of the LGBTQ+ community virtually as much as possible. Thank you to every single one of those!

As we bring the year to a close we are sharing that we won’t be sharing anymore interviews or features this year. We are going to focus our energy on 2021 and begin planning our next content. BUT… before we move on we are going to look back at our most read posts.

Starting with our Drag interviews, our most read Drag Queen interview was…

Madame MuMu! I discovered this Queen during the first round of lockdown in the UK when watching Sophia Stardusts Instagram live. I instantly fell in love with this Queens attitude and performance and knew I had to reach out to offer an interview. I was hoping to celebrate my birthday this year at one of this fantastic Queens shows, but alas! Lockdown 2.0 put a stop to that. Next year we will be there for sure and you should too!

2nd most read was…

Kardi Acarrest, I connected with this young Queen after she contacted us with some love about our first shot feature Krystal Versace. I then checked out this Queen’s instagram, loving what I saw I then couldn't believe how old she was! It was clear, I couldn't not offer this Queen a feature to showcase this brilliant upcoming talent! If you aren’t already this is one Queen to watch for sure.

and our third most read

Krystal Versace, our first and due to Covid only Queen we managed to shoot this year! This shoot was so special for many reasons. One because it marked the start of something special, two it was the first time I had offered to shoot a feature since a rather rubbish experience with a perilous idol for Image 34 (they do always say don’t work with them) and finally, but most importantly it was with Krystal Versace, this incredible Queen owns the stage she performs on and the second I saw her perform I knew I had to photograph her.

Drag Queens weren’t the only ones to feature with Spill the Tea this year, we also shared some great interviews with LGBTQ+ artists. From all of these one came out on top and that artist was…

Smashby! I discovered Smashby on Spotify and instantly got hooked on his catchy pop songs! I realised I needed to reach out and interview this singer! One thing for sure is if you haven’t heard one of his songs, the second you do it will be stuck on your head.

To read any of our interview, features or reviews from this year click the button below.

I just want to say a HUGE thank you to every single person who featured with me this year. As with Image 34 magazine I will only ever offer a feature to someone that I can get behind. I will only ever reach out if I appreciate an artists craft. I will never feature someone or something just to gain views.

Speaking of views, for anyone who has read any of our content this year, just know I appreciate it so much. More than you will ever know. I do this outside of my full time job, making this even more special when it all comes together.

Thank you all for the support, stay safe, obey the rules (as hard as it might be) and see you in 2021!

Much love!

Michael