Music

Maggie Szabo Releases Pride Anthem for Trans Youth, “Don’t Give Up”

Prolific songwriter and pop powerhouse, Maggie Szabo, has released her popular Pride anthem, “Don’t Give Up” on DSPs for the first time. This beautifully authentic and heartfelt song is dedicated to transgender youth around the world who live in fear and suffer from rejection and exclusion. The uplifting pop anthem’s music video was originally released in 2017, catching the attention of many, including Billboard and the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles. Szabo was then invited to film a live performance of the song with the Chorus for LA Pride. It went on to be featured by The Advocate, praised by the Huffington Post, PopDust, and is still performed live on stage at Pride events. Video proceeds are donated to the Ali Forney Center, supporting homeless, LGBTQIA+ youth. May 20, 2022, is the first time the audio has been available on all platforms.

“We should all be treated equally and with love, no matter our gender identity, who we love, where we come from, and what we look like,” said Szabo. “Unfortunately, I’ve witnessed many situations where that’s just not the case, and that’s where the inspiration for ‘Don’t Give Up’ came from. Since writing the song, I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to perform it with the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles at countless fundraisers, Prides, and various events around southern California. Too many stories have been shared with me where transgender youth are being discarded by their family and forced to live on the street. It’s really opened my eyes – even more – about the importance of awareness for the Trans community.”

Szabo has dedicated her career to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community, using her music and online platform to conquer social injustice and fight for equity. Her single “Rebuild,” released in June 2021, was featured by Yahoo! and named a 2021 Pride Jam by Queerty. The music video was directed by a trans woman (Alexa Best), stars a trans woman (Dr. Kathryn Davis), and follows Kathryn’s struggles, from losing her job and being forced to detransition, to her nearly fatal emergency surgery, which was her wakeup call.

Originally from Canada, Szabo’s hit single ‘My Oh My’ was named Stingray Radio’s “Trending Track” in Oct. 2021 and hit the Canada Hot AC Chart at #27 (alongside Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, and Adele), taking over radio throughout Canada.

In addition to releasing her own music, Szabo is a choice songwriter in the industry, writing with and for the best. Her latest hit,“SloMo”, written by Szabo, Leroy Sanchez, Keith Harris, Ibere Fortes, and Arjen Thonen, came in third at the internationally known Eurovision Song Contest, May 10-14, 2022. Maggie is also a co-writer on the “Welcome to Eden” soundtrack (#2 Netflix show in the U.S.).

If you think this is your first time hearing of Szabo, you’ve likely heard her music in notable films and on TV networks such as E!, Disney, ABC, NBC, and Netflix.

Keep Up with Maggie Szabo: Website - Tik Tok - Instagram - Youtube - Spotify – Facebook - Twitter – Soundcloud

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Natalie Patrick

Natalie is a journalism major with a focus on Entertainment and Music who aspires to become a Content Creator For Honk Magazine. Eventually, she wants to be the Publisher or Editor-in-Chief of a major Publishing House. She loves helping people find their voice and passion for writing and journalism, and she can always be found with coffee in hand, editing another article.

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