Dove Cameron Dedicates VMA Award To 'Queer Kids,' Thanks Fans for Support

Former Disney star, Dove Cameron is currently on a high after winning the best new artist at the recently concluded MTV Video Music Awards.

The event was held on Sunday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and featured the singer performing a mash-up of her songs "Boyfriend" and "Breakfast" before climbing the stage to receive her first honor at the music event.

In a moving speech to her fans, Cameron expressed her gratitude for their support over the years and praised her record label for sticking by her. The singer is also working on her debut album, which will be released at a later date.

Cameron took home the award for best new artist of 2022 at the recent MTV VMA Awards. This marked both her first nomination and win of the coveted award since breaking into the music industry after years of being an actress.

The singer gave a moving speech after being presented with her moon person statuette by Avril Lavigne, dedicating the honor to her LGBTQ+ supporters and thanking them for their support of her "overtly queer" music.

Cameron said, per People: "This year has been so wild, and I have no explanation for it except that I have you guys to thank. I know that. I want to dedicate this to all of the queer kids out there who don't feel that they can take up space and inhabit the fullness of who they are."

In her speech, she also thanked her management, Columbia's Disruptor Records label, for supporting her since she began pursuing a career in music after years of acting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOn3_0Oav0k

Cameron's award win was spurred by the success of her 2022 single "Boyfriend," which she released in February. It became her first non-soundtrack song to peak in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. She previously released tracks like "Out Of Touch," "Remember Me," "We Belong," and "Lazy Baby."

"Boyfriend's" lyrical themes that highlighted same-sex love garnered critical acclaim among the singer's queer supporters. Cameron herself is openly queer and has spoken about her sexuality via her music and in interviews.

The singer also supports the LGBTQ+ community by taking part in a number of fundraisers and charitable events. In June, she gave a performance at "Can't Cancel Pride 2022: Proud AND Together," a fundraiser for the queer community organized by P&G and iHeartMediay to honor awareness and acceptance for all.

Cameron previously revealed in a touching Instagram post back in March about her struggles with her inner self as well as dealing with depression and dysphoria regarding her public vs. personal identity.

She wrote at the time: "I've been struggling with the concept of self, my inner relationship to who I know myself to be and my outer perceivable self who I feel i have never known but other people seem to."

The singer admitted in the post that the weight of her internal struggles occasionally caused her to cry and that the constant attention from social media had only made matters worse over time. Some parts also alluded to the fact that because she had previously portrayed herself as the Cis gender, going public with her sexuality had proven to be more challenging than anticipated.

Cameron is now currently working on her debut album, which from the look of things, will highlight significant portions of her journey after coming forward with her sexuality.

"The album I'm working on now is all down to finding myself through writing and through expression, and I really owe that to all the people who have been supporting me this last year," she said per People. "I consider myself one of the luckiest people on the planet to be able to find myself in this time where it's more important than ever to have a voice.

The singer is yet to reveal the name of her upcoming album, but it is largely assumed that her hit song "Boyfriend" and the recently released single "Breakfast" will be part of the track list when the project debuts at a future date.