An orgy of emotions.
That’s how So.Gay would describe Eros’ newly released “Heathen” music video, capturing the very essence of the song itself.
According to Oxford, heathen refers to “a person who does not belong to a widely held religion (especially one who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim) as regarded by those who do.”
Though the artist admits they were never called a heathen before singing it out in their ballad—reminiscent of Sam Smith’s excellent “Pray”—they connected deeply with the feeling of not belonging, of being excluded from the pathway to liberation.
Hailing from Miami and raised by two conservative Latin parents, Eros grew up with the cards stacked against their manhood, especially when they came out at 14. Around this time, they were jamming out to bands like Evanescence and Florence and the Machine, which inspired their artistry.
“People think because if you’re from Miami, you were around all these liberal values,” says Eros. “It’s actually very conservative, quite Republican, and there’s a lot of machismo.”
Although Eros felt supported by both of their divorced parents, they couldn’t subscribe to their strict respective faith.
“I don’t think I believe in a God in the way that Christians and Catholics do, but I do believe that there’s the universe. And just be like a good person,” says Eros. “[My religious roots] informed a lot of, like, my relationship with sexuality, with sex, with people, and with myself. I don’t understand why religion has to, you know, literally shit on queer people.”
As Eros dances on a bare mattress with four “vices,” the singer, clad in their Calvins, shows off an impressive vocal range that they honed while studying opera in Miami and later in Oklahoma City.
There’s a poetic, paradoxical visual component to a mattress full of Gen Z seemingly dancing for their souls. Much of the LGBTQ+ community faces condemnation during the most formative and naive years of our lives. We’re accused of impurity before we even have a chance to stain our innocence with adulthood.
“I feel like that song lives in its own world,” says Eros. “When recording it at the studio, we were like, ‘How do we categorize this genre? We didn’t know.”
So.Gay suggests that “Heathen” might belong in the newly formed “Gay Pop” genre created by JoJo Siwa. Eros laughs and adds that they actually had their own song called “Karma.”
“I think people are sick of seeing inauthentic artists, or artists who are puppets, for lack of a better term, right?” says Eros. “I have a song coming out September 2nd called “Shaved Head,” and it’s all about that; I buzzed my hair off and was partying and doing drugs, and an unhinged me was battling to survive. I want to commemorate that because that is a part of my life.”
On the contrary, “Heathen” is an ode to the joy of making it to the other side. Eros explains, “In the bridge, I talk about how I was quick to let go. My heart said, ‘No, I didn’t know.’ Had to stop. My legs got tired. Outran my youth. I cut the wire. This whole song is really about harking back to a younger part of me who has overcome so much and survived.”
A tale that is unique to every queer person yet oddly familiar in its struggle.
“Call me a heathen… rings like a bell.”
Take a sneak peek of all the behind-the-scenes images from ‘Heathen’ below and watch the Heathen music video here.
