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A New David Hernandez: BEAUTIFUL 2.0

Edited by Mikkel Hyldebrandt

Ten years after its original release, David Hernandez’s “Beautiful” still lands like a deep breath for anyone who’s ever needed a reminder of their worth. First released in 2016, the song quickly grew beyond a single into a quiet but powerful LGBTQ+ anthem – one rooted in vulnerability, honesty, and the radical act of selfacceptance. Now, on Valentine’s Day 2026, Hernandez revisits that legacy with “BEAUTIFUL 2.0,” a reimagined version that reflects a decade of personal growth, expanded visibility, and hard-earned confidence.

Arriving February 14, 2026, alongside an official music video, “BEAUTIFUL 2.0” isn’t a remix so much as a reckoning. It’s the sound of an artist returning to a message that shaped his career – this time with deeper grounding, sharper clarity, and an expanded sense of community. Featuring acclaimed transgender artist Mila Jam, the new version opens the song to lived experiences that weren’t centered when it first appeared, while preserving the emotional core that made it resonate so deeply in the first place.

“When I first released Beautiful, it came from a very grounded and honest place,” Hernandez explains. “I knew who I was then, and I believed in the message I was putting out. What’s changed now is the depth of that knowing. The message lands from an even steadier place – less about discovering your worth and more about fully standing in it. The world has shifted. Visibility has expanded, but so has resistance, which makes this message feel even more necessary today.”

That tension – between progress and pushback – runs quietly through “BEAUTIFUL 2.0.” While the original song arrived at a moment when simply being seen felt revolutionary, this new chapter acknowledges that visibility alone doesn’t equal safety or acceptance. Instead, it centers something more internal: the strength it takes to stand in your truth even

when the world feels unsteady.

Originally embraced as an empowerment anthem, “Beautiful” found a natural home within the LGBTQ+ community thanks to its emotional openness and refusal to define beauty by anyone else’s standards.

Hernandez is careful not to discard that legacy. Instead, “BEAUTIFUL 2.0” builds on it – making room for more voices, more nuance, and more power.

“Beautiful has always been about community and honoring our differences,” Hernandez continues. “That message is the same now as it was in 2016. The original video showed people from all walks of life defining beauty for themselves instead of letting the world do it for them. What’s evolved is the depth of self-knowing. Now the song also speaks to standing fully in your power, which feels even more important as visibility grows alongside resistance.”

Mila Jam’s presence is central to that evolution. A celebrated artist in her own right, Jam brings a depth of lived truth that feels essential to this new version. Her collaboration with Hernandez is also deeply personal – the two were roommates in New York City in 2015, long before either could have predicted this moment.

“Mila doesn’t just sing the message, she embodies it,” Hernandez shares. “Her voice carries resilience, softness, and strength all at once. That kind of representation and mutual understanding is something I’m deeply grateful we can share now.”

Musically, “BEAUTIFUL 2.0” is re-produced by Niko The Kid, whose approach modernizes the track without overwhelming it. The production is intentional in its restraint, allowing the emotion to breathe rather than chasing volume or spectacle.

“The song didn’t need to be bigger, it needed to be clearer,” Hernandez says. “The production gives the emotions room to land. It feels current, but timeless.”

That same philosophy extends to the official music video, which reunites Hernandez with director Johny De, following their earlier collaboration on “feel it all.” Where the original “Beautiful” video leaned into quiet vulnerability and protection, this new visual chapter is unapologetically radiant. Sequins, disco balls, laser lights, and bold styling take center stage—not as distraction, but as declaration.

“In 2016, I needed protection on camera,” Hernandez reflects. “Now, I wanted to be seen fully - confident, open, and grounded in who I am. This is me, still human, still growing, but standing in my power.”

Shaped by intimate conversations between Hernandez and Jam about visibility, safety, joy, and choosing softness in an oftenunforgiving world, the video celebrates confidence without denying complexity. It’s not about pretending everything is easy—it’s about honoring how far self-love can stretch once survival is no longer the only goal.

After a decade of personal and artistic evolution, Hernandez says the intention was clear: self-love doesn’t stop once you’ve made it through the hardest parts.

“We wanted to show that you can always go a step further in honoring yourself, in caring for yourself, and in letting yourself shine.”

Releasing “BEAUTIFUL 2.0” on Valentine’s Day reframes the holiday in a way that feels especially resonant for queer audiences. Rather than centering romance alone, the release honors self-love, chosen family, and authenticity – the values that have sustained Hernandez throughout his career.

“Self-love didn’t come overnight,” he says. “It was built slowly, imperfectly. Valentine’s Day felt like the right moment to honor love in all its forms.”

As conversations around queer and trans visibility continue to evolve – often in complicated and emotionally charged ways – “BEAUTIFUL 2.0” offers something quieter but no less powerful: permission.

“This isn’t about telling people who to be,” Hernandez says. “It’s about reminding them they’re allowed to exist fully, even on days when confidence feels out of reach.”

“BEAUTIFUL 2.0” and its official music video will be available on all major streaming platforms beginning February 14, 2026.

How to Find and Follow

David Hernandez

To keep up with David Hernandez’s music, videos, and upcoming projects, fans can visit his official website at www.OfficialDavidHernandez.com He’s also active across social media, where he shares updates, behind-thescenes moments, and reflections on his creative journey. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and X under the handle DHernandezMusic, and subscribe to his YouTube channel at DavidHernandezMusic to watch the official “BEAUTIFUL 2.0” video and explore more of his visual work.

Pillion: Between Power, Pleasure, and Permission

By Mikkel Hyldebrandt

Photos: Chris Harris Courtesy of A24

Pillion (A24) arrives wrapped in biker leather, power exchange, and a premise that might make some audiences brace themselves – but what unfolds is something far more universal, humane, and unexpectedly tender. Yes, the film centers on a dom–sub relationship steeped in kink, ritual, and negotiated control. But beneath the stringent hierarchies is a sharply observed story about intimacy, compromise, visibility, and the quiet

negotiations that shape all relationships, queer or otherwise.

At its core, Pillion understands something many films about sex and power miss: that kink is not a shortcut to transgression, but a language. It’s a way of communicating need, trust, fear, desire, and even love when conventional scripts fail. The film treats this dynamic not as spectacle, but as structure – one that mirrors the emotional push and pull found in any partnership. Who leads? Who yields? Who is seen, and who is protected? Strip away the gear and safe words, and what remains will feel uncomfortably familiar to anyone who has ever loved another person.

Alexander Skarsgård delivers a commanding, quietly mesmerizing performance as Ray, the dominant figure at the center of this relationship. Skarsgård has long excelled at playing men whose physical presence masks emotional complexity, and here he refines that skill to near perfection. His character is controlled, overly disciplined, and outwardly unyielding, yet Skarsgård lets small cracks form in the armor – a softer command, an escalation of intimacy, and the moment where authority gives way to genuine care and concern. It’s a performance built on restraint, which comes off as brooding at first, but builds to a powerful interpretation. His dominance is never cruel; instead, it becomes a form of responsibility, weighted with expectation and risk for something emotionally deeper.

Still, the beating heart of Pillion belongs to Harry Melling, whose performance as Colin cements him as a deeply compelling character actor. Melling brings extraordinary vulnerability, intelligence, and deep-rooted humor to his role, crafting a submissive character who is never reduced to a symbol or a trope. His physicality alone tells a story – how he holds himself, how he shrinks or expands in different spaces, how his body reacts when he feels safe versus when he feels watched, jealous, or longing. Melling allows us to see submission not as weakness, but as choice, as agency expressed through

trust, and with the underlying intention of deepening the connection between the two men. It’s a brave, layered performance that embodies infinite vulnerability on an unexpected journey of self-discovery.

For LGBTQ+ audiences especially, Pillion resonates on a deeper level. The film doesn’t shy away from showing how queer relationships –particularly those that don’t conform to “palatable” norms – are still met with confusion, judgment, or outright rejection by the mainstream straight world. There’s a persistent tension between private authenticity and public performance: what is allowed behind closed doors versus what must be edited, softened, or erased to move through society safely. Pillion captures the exhaustion of that balancing act with painful accuracy, reminding us that acceptance is often conditional, even now.

What makes the film so effective is its refusal to position queerness – or kink – as the problem to be solved. The real conflict lies in miscommunication, fear of vulnerability, and the pressure to fit into narratives and structures that were never designed to hold queer complexity. In that way, Pillion feels quietly radical. It insists that love doesn’t need to be explained to be valid, and that intimacy doesn’t owe anyone else legibility.

For all its emotional weight, Pillion is also genuinely funny. The humor is dry, situational, and often rooted in the absurdity of navigating in

a world determined to misunderstand it. Awkward encounters, deadpan reactions, and moments of self-aware irony cut through the intensity, offering relief without undercutting the film’s sincerity. These laughs feel earned, human, and deeply queer, born from recognition rather than mockery.

By the time Pillion reaches its final moments, it’s clear that this is not a film about kink alone, but about the courage it takes to be known. It’s about the contracts we write – spoken and unspoken – with the people we love, and the inherent risk in honoring them. Anchored by an excellent Alexander Skarsgård and a truly remarkable Harry Melling, Pillion stands as a bold, compassionate, and surprisingly accessible exploration of human connection. It challenges, disarms, and ultimately affirms, proving that even the most unconventional love stories often reveal the most universal truths.

Music Videos and Requests

Rethinking V-Day

Edited by Mikkel Hyldebrandt

3. Honor Non-Traditional Partnerships

Polyamorous relationships, open dynamics, queerplatonic partnerships, long-distance loves, situationships—we exist far outside Valentine’s narrow deﬁnition of “couple.” Instead of trying to force these relationships into a single-night celebration, consider marking the day in a way that ﬁts your dynamic. Write letters. Share a playlist that captures your connection. Spend intentional time together without the pressure of performative romance. The validity of your relationship isn’t measured by heart-shaped chocolates.

Valentine’s Day, as it’s traditionally sold to us, comes wrapped in rigid expectations: one partner, one kind of love, one very specific script involving roses, prix-fixe menus, and a heavy dose of compulsory romance. It’s a made-up holiday that largely centers straight, monogamous, and highly conventional relationship models—and for many LGBTQ+ folks, that can feel alienating at best and exhausting at worst. But queerness has always thrived in reimagining the rules. So this Valentine’s Day, let’s opt out of the Hallmark version and celebrate love in ways that actually reflect our lives.

So, Queerly Beloved, here are alternative, queer-centered ways to honor love—romantic or otherwise—without squeezing ourselves into a box that never ﬁt to begin with.

1. Celebrate Chosen Family (Because They’re the Real Ones)

4. Make It About Community Care

Turn Valentine’s Day outward. Volunteer with an LGBTQ+ organization, donate to a trans mutual aid fund, or organize a small fundraiser among friends. Love, in queer communities, has always been intertwined with survival and care. Especially in a political climate that continues to threaten LGBTQ+ rights, acts of collective love matter. They remind us that our bonds extend beyond the personal and into something deeply communal.

5. Flip the Script with Anti-Valentine’s Fun

If Valentine’s Day brings up grief, anger, or loneliness, you’re not broken—you’re human. Lean into it. Host an Anti-Valentine’s gathering with campy break-up movies, messy karaoke, or a dramatic reading of bad dating app messages. Laughing at the absurdity of it all can be incredibly healing. Queer joy often comes from refusing to take oppressive norms seriously.

For many of us, chosen family has carried us through rejection, transition, heartbreak, and joy. Valentine’s Day is a perfect excuse to honor those relationships. Host a cozy dinner party, a game night, or even a chaotic potluck where everyone brings one comfort food that kept them alive during a rough year. Toast to the friends who showed up when no one else did. Love doesn’t have to be romantic to be profound—and queer people know that better than anyone.

2. Reclaim the Day for Self-Love— Without the Clichés

Self-love doesn’t have to mean bubble baths and affirmations in the mirror (unless that’s your thing—no judgment). For queer folks, self-love can be radical. It can look like resting without guilt, saying no without explanation, or finally blocking that person who drains your energy. Book the therapy session. Take yourself to the movie you actually want to see. Buy the underwear that makes you feel hot, regardless of who sees it. Loving yourself in a world that hasn’t always loved you back is an act of defiance.

6.

Celebrate

Queer Desire—On Your Terms

For those who want to make the day sexy, let it be unapologetically queer. Ditch the heteronormative expectations of what romance or intimacy is “supposed” to look like. Whether that means exploring kink safely, having an honest conversation about desire, or simply embracing pleasure without shame, your body and your wants are worthy of celebration.

Queerly Beloved, Valentine’s Day doesn’t get to deﬁne what counts as meaningful connection. We do. So this year, celebrate in ways that feel afﬁrming, liberating, and real. Love has always been bigger, messier, and more beautiful in queer hands—and that’s something worth honoring, on February 14 and every day after.

e Lavender Lens

Valentine’s Day: Love, Reimagined in the LGBTQ Community

By Tristan Lane

Valentine’s Day arrives every February wrapped in predictable hues red roses, prix-ﬁxe menus, couples leaning across candlelit tables. For much of the world, love is presented as something narrow and transactional: romantic, paired, performative. But in the gay community, love has always had to be broader, braver, and far more resilient.

Gay love did not grow up with guarantees. It was forged in the margins between chosen members, in bars that doubled as sanctuaries, in community centers that became lifelines, and in moments of solidarity when society offered little else. Valentine’s Day, for us, has never been just about romance. It has been about survival, afﬁrmation, and care.

Before marriage equality, before workplace protections, before even the language to name ourselves safely, love showed up differently. It looked like friends attending hospital beds when biological families would not. It looked like elders teaching younger generations how to navigate a world that refused to see them. It looked like activism, mutual aid, and community organizing—not because it was fashionable, but because it was necessary.

That legacy matters now more than ever.

Today, gay youth still experience disproportionate rates of homelessness, family rejection, and mental health challenges. Many of them are navigating Valentine’s Day not with a date, but with uncertainty about where they will sleep, who will protect them, and whether they belong. For them, love is not abstract. It is shelter. It is advocacy. It is someone showing up.

This is why community-based charity work is not peripheral to gay life it is love in action. Organizations like Lost-n-Found Youth embody that truth every day. They provide housing, counseling, and stability to LGBTQ+ youth who have been pushed out simply for being who they are. Their work is not sentimental; it is transformative. It takes the idea of love off greeting cards and puts it into beds, meals, mental health support, and futures reclaimed.

For many gay men, especially those who came of age during eras of profound loss AIDS, discrimination, invisibility romantic love has often been accompanied by grief. Community love, however, has been constant. It is the friend who checks in. The fundraiser organized quietly but efﬁciently. The volunteer shift no one posts about. The donation made in honor of someone who didn’t make it.

This Valentine’s Day, perhaps the most radical thing we can do is honor that lineage. Celebrate your partner, yes. Celebrate your crush, your date, your joy. But also celebrate the volunteer who shows up every week. The nonproﬁt staffer working late. The donor who gives anonymously. The community organizer who refuses to let gay youth fall through the cracks.

Love in our community has always been expansive. It has always reached beyond the self. And when we embrace that truth, Valentine’s Day becomes something richer—less about being chosen, and more about choosing each other.

That is the kind of love worth celebrating.

Valentine’s Day, then, becomes an invitation not just to celebrate who we love, but how we love. It asks us to consider whether our affection extends beyond our immediate circles and into the community that has carried us. It challenges us to widen our deﬁnition of intimacy to include service, mentorship, and advocacy.

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