‘My Heart Can Beat Again’: Magnus Riise’s Anthem for Post-Pride Positivity
Even though Pride Month has wrapped up, here at Q+ we believe in celebrating pride all year long. So to keep that spirit alive, we’re thrilled to bring you Magnus Riise‘s new pride-themed song, My Heart Can Beat Again. A banger perfect for lifting those post-pride blues!
Written by Magnus, along with Tim Rosser and Charlie Sohne, My Heart Can Beat Again is a queer love anthem that carries a powerful message. The lyrics speak to finding a safe haven in someone special, especially when trust feels like a distant memory. This song talks about feeling protected and understood, even when you’ve been hurt before. It’s about finding someone who makes your heart feel safe and alive again.
The music video brings this message to life through a coming-of-age story about finding one’s place in the LGBTQ+ community. We’ve all been there—scared to be ourselves, searching for our people, our place. Sometimes, all it takes is one person to show us that we’re not alone in this journey.
The video follows Riley (Liam Zalben), a queer kid who sets out on his bike to celebrate Pride with a pride flag painted on his cheek. On his way, he finds a pride flag that has been destroyed and left on the ground. Heartbroken, he picks up the torn flag and decides to skip the parade, smudging the pride flag on his face in sorrow. That’s when Aiden (Leighla Rene) enters the scene.
Seeing Riley’s isolation, Aiden sends her parents’ old camcorder around the world to collect messages of support from the LGBTQ+ community. The video Riley receives reveals the vastness of his queer family and bolsters his resolve to embrace who he is. The touching montage features over 50 LGBTQ+ folks from all walks of life, including:
- Soman Chainani (Author, The School for Good and Evil)
- Jeff Hiller (Somebody, Somewhere)
- Noah J. Ricketts (Gatsby, Fellow Travelers)
- Barrett Foa (NCIS: LA)
- Russell Harvard (There Will Be Blood)
- Kitty Scott-Claus (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK)
- Sandra Mae Frank (New Amsterdam)
- Jordan Doww
- Flamy Grant
- Henrik Asheim (Member of the Norwegian Parliament)
- Telly Leung (Glee, Broadway’s Aladdin)
- Bobby Steggert (Tony Nominee, Ragtime)
- Darryl Stephens (Noah’s Arc)
For Magnus, who directed the video, this project intertwined with his personal story in an unexpected way when Darryl Stephens and Rodney Chester, stars of Noah’s Arc, sent in a video. Magnus reflected, “As a young gay kid growing up in small-town Norway, Noah’s Arc was the first indication I had of there being a broader family out there—one that I might one day be a part of. The show filled me with the same hope that Aiden’s video gives to Riley.”
Check out the inspiring video below and let it remind you that our community’s strength and support are always within reach:
My Heart Can Beat Again is now streaming on all music platforms. Don’t miss out on this anthem of resilience and love!
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Featured Image: Courtesy of Magnus Riise.
