Rep. Robert Garcia releases Pride playlist: ‘”Padam Padam” is a gay bop, so that was easy for me’

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) is jamming to “Padam Padam” this June, releasing his inaugural Pride playlist.

“I wanted to mark Pride with a playlist for the summer with songs that I love,” Garcia told ITK about his collection songs that he unveiled on Spotify and Apple Music on Tuesday.

Among some of the 20 musical selections: Doja Cat and SZA’s “Kiss me More,” “Check on It” by Beyonce, “Glamazon” by RuPaul, Dua Lipa’s “Levitating,” “Baila Esta Cumbia” by Selena and Latto’s “Big Energy.”

“Padam Padam,” which has been dubbed a “gay anthem,” also made the cut. Garcia indicated that choosing to include the new Kylie Minogue song was a no-brainer: “’Padam Padam’ is a gay bop, so that was easy for me.”

But did the lawmaker have any qualms about the public knowing he’s blasting some saccharine-sweet hits such as Miley Cyrus’s 2009 “Party in the U.S.A.” or Paris Hilton’s pop ditty “Stars Are Blind,” this month?

Hilton’s 2006 song is a “massively underrated summer hit that I love,” Garcia, who is the first openly gay immigrant in Congress, said, defending the song selection, while “Party in the U.S.A.” has “always been my official anthem for all my campaigns.”

Former President Obama’s been known to release an annual summer playlist, and Garcia said he plans to make his own rundown of songs a yearly Pride tradition.

“Music is a great way to celebrate,” the 45-year-old congressman said, “and many of these jams were an important part of my coming out process.”