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Losin' It finds out artist Brandyn Killz cranking up the electro-soulpop groove to full throttle. The new track was written for a friend who was struggling with addiction.
Get up and dance like no one is looking and let your troubles fade away for a little while!
Be sure to visit the San Diego-based singer at his official site here.
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Drinking Away My Problems is out singer Smashby's first release in over a year. It really captures what many feel since the pandemic began but also about life in general.
Smashby shares, "it was scary to come back and be somewhat vulnerable, sharing my story of how i’ve handled things the past year. but i built this lil career on authenticity and preaching to be yourself, so i had to be honest about why i’ve been gone with my first single back. i’ve missed you all so much i cannot wait to share more music with you all and to perform it for you soon. i hope you love it."
Get the song here.
WATCH: "Drinking Away My Problems" - Smashby 👍 🙂 👍
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Did Freddie Mercury have a secret and long forgotten gay past in New York City? Thor Arnold and Lee Nolan's new book, "Freddie Mercury in New York: Don’t Stop Us Now!" gives us a glimpse into Mercury's life during the time period 1980 - 1984 which was skipped over in the 2018 biopic, "Bohemian Rhapsody".
The authors share:
At that time, many of New York City’s residents and day-trippers from Long Island and New Jersey knew Queen’s music but could not identify the band members. Freddie felt free and absolutely cherished this newly found and so-unavailable-in-Europe nonrecognition. He had recently grown a mustache, cut his hair short, wore jeans and tee shirts, and blended in perfectly with the gay culture in New York—we mostly all looked alike! Freddie loved being just “one of the boys.”
Lee Nolan documented this time in Mercury's life with many never before published photos. Freddie is said to have told Lee on their last visit in June 1991, “make these photos work for you, darling!”
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Oh, this is so cool! I'm a huge fan of both Chaka Khan and Idina Menzel and they are "celebrating International Women's Day in style".
On Monday, they released an exhilarating new version of Chaka's classic debut 1978 solo single "I'm Every Woman." The two divas have teamed up in support of the humanitarian organization Care's #IMEVERYWOMAN International Women's Day campaign, which "celebrates the strength, resilience and leadership of women around the world throughout the month of March."
In a statement, Chaka Khan says: "I am honored to lend my voice to celebrate and inspire women on this International Women's Day... I hope our rendition of 'I'm Every Woman' sheds light on the incredible strength of empowered women — women who are changing the world by leading their communities. We especially pay tribute to the female heroes who have been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 this past year."
Enjoy the music video below. Watch for cameos from activists, trailblazers, frontline heroes, artists, and incredible women from across the globe who have benefited from CARE's programs, including actresses Bellamy Young, Alexandra Daddario, and Laverne Cox, among many others.
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I've been enjoying Gary Barlow's The Crooner Sessions quite a lot and thought I'd share a few of the duets he's done. I loved Gary's duets with out singers Boy George and Darren Hayes (Savage Garden). Enjoy the videos and more below!
Barlow was the lead singer of the immensely popular boy band Take That and he's recruited a who's who to join him. Some of the artists featured in the sessions are: Ronan Keating, JC Chasez, Darren Hayes, Alfie Boe, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Jack Savoretti, Mica Paris, Beverly Knight, Rick Astley, Tim Rice-Oxley, Olly Murs, Boy George, Matt Goss, Gabrielle, Max Beesley, Richard Marx & more!
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Out singer Fancy Hagood has a lovely new song, Good Man.
About the track, Fancy shares, "This song is special and very different from the rest of the album. It’s both a manifestation and my answer to what I hope we can all find. I hope this song finds you surrounded by love or the peace of mind that love is on its way!"
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Yesterday's music video left me a little weepy (in a good way) and today's song "No Regrets" has me smiling from ear to ear while tapping my toes. It has a great message and is very uplifting!
"No Regrets" is the debut single from Devin Collins (DEV!N) and what an auspicious introduction to this rising talent.
DEV!N shares:
Enjoy this very special lyric video for my debut single "No Regrets", which is a feel good song that encourages listeners to let go of all their worries, and celebrate the life we are all living; without concern of being judged. During a time where the whole world is filled with uncertainties, I wrote this song to remind us all that we must continue to live (and not just live...thrive) & grow into the best and versions of ourselves we can be. This is an anthem for those who know tomorrow is not promised, so we have to make the best out of today! Please Download & Stream it wherever you get your music!
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I was deeply moved the first time I heard the song "He Didn't Want Me" by Kisos. I confess I was a bit surprised at my emotional reaction by the time he sings:
I forced something that wasn’t there
Ignored the signs you didn’t care
Cuz when you kissed me I believed it
Until you met me at the park
Looked in my eyes blew out the spark
Admitted that you’d never feel it
When the song ended I was in a puddle of tears. "Cuz when you kissed me I believed it" gets me every time. The power of music can make us happy, sad or both all at once.
Kisos reveals, "He Didn't Want Me is the acceptance stage of grief, and because it's so depressing sonically, I wanted the music video to balance that with an ethereal metamorphosis and ritual of communal love. I hope you feel transformed along with me".
Enjoy the two music videos below. One is the acoustic version and the other is the official music video. Be sure to visit Kisos website here.
WATCH: Kisos - He Didn't Want Me (Live Acoustic)
WATCH: Kisos - He Didn't Want Me (Official Music Video)
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Tiana Major9: Meet Motown’s New Queer Superstar The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter is seriously repping it for the Brits. Although Tiana started writing songs when she was young, it wasn’t until she attended City and Islington College to do a BTEC in Music that she truly began to discover her talent. This education allowed her to delve into all aspects of music, she tells me, through songwriting, production, sequencing, and performing. “I think that’s when songwriting really stuck, because I had to write a lot of songs,” she adds. “I really liked it. I felt like I found my confidence in college when I was writing songs.”
Untangling Queer Country’s Many Connections to Country Music Taken as a whole, queer country doesn’t feel monolithic. It has musical range, but its politics can sometimes be elusive. As well, queer country isn’t immune to the kind of retro-leaning genrification that can limit the reach of many Americana artists.
Claud’s Debut Album Is A Reminder That You’re Worthy of Love 21-year old LA-based Claud Mintz is on the way to becoming the most talked-about musician of 2021. After releasing music for the past two years, it’s all culminating in the release of their debut album Super Monster. Made up of 13 gorgeous tracks exploring young love, desire and friendships, the album covers the whole rollercoaster of relationship-y things that we experience as we’re growing up.
Amy Ray (Indigo Girls) New Interview! "Where I live, it’s a big deal to come out. Kids are still committing suicide because their parents throw them out of the house because they’re gay. We’ve progressed in circles of entitlement, but we’re still fighting so many battles, you know?" When you look at the current slate of queer country artists, you might like what you see. Out artists like Amythyst Kiah, Orville Peck, Justin Hiltner, Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, and Mercy Bell have garnered praise from the media and attracted large audiences, with or without institutional support. There is still much work to be done, but for those of us who grew up during Chely Wright’s closeted “Single White Female” era, queer country’s current roster is a beautiful sight. Of course, none of the aforementioned artists’ success would be possible without the hard work done by those who came before them. One particularly hard working group is the Indigo Girls.
Joy Oladokun's Star Is On The Rise As a first-generation, Black, queer folk artist, the Arizona native pulls from life experiences and emotions to create music that is powerfully honest and relatable. Over the last few years, Joy has gained fans through features on SoFar Sounds, NPR, NBC‘s This Is Us and The L Word. Most recently, Joy appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The singer-songwriter and all-around musician from Arizona now resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
WATCH "Wish You Were Here" by Joy Oladokun (featuring Jensen McRae)
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I think it's safe to say that we need more books written and more documentary films made about LGBTQ community luminaries. The question is who will be motivated and compensated to contribute to the historical record.
In recent years there have been some fine documentaries, such as David France's 2017, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson. A pioneer in the early LGBTQ rights movement, Johnson's death in 1992 was a shock. Was her death an accident, murder or suicide? With queer media in its infancy at the time, her death barely registered a blip with national mainstream news outlets.
I would love to see a book and/or documentary about jazz performer, Gladys Bentley, who I have previously posted about. Bentley was a rarity in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920's - she was openly lesbian and an early drag king. She tried to get to Broadway but her raunchy performances caused a ruffle with the law and some were shut down. Sadly, later in her life, it seems Bentley was subjected to a form of conversion therapy as a means to 'get straight'.
Thankfully, in the 21st century, our somewhat more robust LGBTQ media presence has provided a platform to discover and champion these nearly forgotten figures from our gay past.
Who would you like to see have their life and career documented?
WATCH
Gladys Bentley perform on "You Bet Your Life" in May of 1958 with host, Groucho Marx.
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Hello! Hello! Hello!
Here's your Music News Round-Up for today...
Pale Waves is a band from Manchester, England that I've gotten into recently. Lead singer Baron-Gracie is openly queer. The band has a new album, "Who Am I" and from what I've listened to so far, it is pretty good! Their latest music video is below. Take a look and tell me what you think.
Jazz great Alberta Hunter was a singer-songwriter with a very unique life history so I was glad to see her being featured during Black History Month. Did you know that Hunter was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011? Well deserved! Hunter kept her true sexuality secret but did have a long-time lady love named, Lottie Tyler.
How happy did it make me to see a new interview with pop singer Melissa Manchester? Very happy I tell ya! Her songs bring back so memories for me. I know the lyrics to her Top 10 smash hit "Midnight Blue" like I know the back of my hand:
Whatever it is, it'll keep till the morning
Haven't we both got better things to do?
Midnight blue
Even the simple things become rough
Haven't we had enough?
And I think we can make it
One more time
If we try
One more time for all the old times
I'm playing the song (singing along, natch) while I write this and it's a good thing you can't hear me, kids. Your Blog Daddy might be singing just a little off key, Just a little (clears throat).
Check out the interview, articles, videos and more below!
Happy reading!
Shane, Editor
Album Review: "Who Am I?" by Pale Waves
Almost three years have passed since the release of My Mind Makes Noises - the debut album from Pale Waves. The guitar-driven band have captured fans worldwide with their searing honesty and nostalgia for early 2000s pop-punk. Not to mention the intoxicating frontwoman Heather Baron-Gracie, who combines her trademark goth aesthetic with a flair for writing irresistibly romantic pop tracks. There’s the presence of a newfound self-assuredness in Baron-Gracie since coming out, with the 26-year-old’s bravery also resulting in emotional tracks addressing mental health and sobriety struggles. Baron-Gracie’s use of she/her pronouns on ‘She’s My Religion’ emphasize her recently discovered sense of queer pride with her fans (“She's cold, she's dark, she's cynical/ She's forever angry at the world/ She's no angel, but she is my religion”) while the multi-instrumentalist defends the LGBTQ+ community more forcefully on the track ‘Tomorrow’ More.
Watch Pale Waves latest music video "Fall To Pieces" from the new album, "Who Am I?"
The Little-Known Story Of Alberta Hunter
Alberta Hunter would find great success and went on to tour Europe before returning to Chicago. Despite her fast-growing popularity, she decided to flee the city after growing weary of the violence that plagued the nightclub scene. Her breaking point was when her piano player was murdered during a performance. She made New York City her new home and shortly after, she married a man named Willard Townsend. The marriage was short-lived and rumors emerged that Hunter was a lesbian; however, she did not publicly disclose her sexual identity in order to preserve her growing career. Historians say she remained closeted while singing about tormented romances. More.
WATCH: "Darktown Strutters' Ball" by Alberta Hunter
Gay Country Singers You Need To Be Listening To
They say the genre isn’t always welcoming to gay country singers. Despite major changes in LGBTQ rights around the world, country music remains to be one of the most challenging genres for an out artist to work in. Some even say that fans of country music – which has by tradition been home to songs about partying hard, loving hard, working hard, and praying hard – aren’t as accepting of those in the community as fans of other genres. Fortunately, a handful of gay musicians have found the courage to live proudly as their authentic selves regardless of the age-old machismo – and you can see the struggle and victory keeps shining through their music. More.
Dusty Springfield's Manager/Biographer Describes Singer's Dance With 'Demons'
The late British singer Dusty Springfield had a number of hits in the '60s, many of which are included in a new Atlantic Records anthology. Listen to this podcast interview with Springfield's friend Vicki Wickham. More.
Interview With The Legendary Melissa Manchester
It is said of great artists that they provide the soundtrack to our lives. Melissa Manchester has long been held in such esteem by many in the LGBTQ community. She has an impressive set of classics, “Midnight Blue,” “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” and “Through the Eyes of Love” among them, and performs them with clear passion, yet there is more to Manchester than casual listeners know. "Remember, I was raised around gay people. (Chuckles) I never understood what the big deal is, but I feel very blessed for the upbringing I had. I had two uncles, Jimmy and Peter, who were dear friends of my mother’s, who would listen to me recite my poetry—I think I was 14 or 15. They were so supportive, appreciative, and encouraging. That’s what my experience was, and so when I started to perform and saw and read in fan letters that my music was not only resonating with a marginalized gay audience but also with young women at the beginning of the women’s movement, I was tremendously touched," shares Manchester. More.
On January 1, 1982, Melissa Manchester appeared on the Dutch TV show "TopPop" to sing her latest hit song, "You Should Hear How She Talks About You". What a blast from the past!
"Midnight Blue" by Melissa Manchester
An In-depth Look At Sylvester's 1978's album "Step II"
Sylvester is an icon of soul & disco music and "Step II" is a formative record in the queer canon. a one-of-a-kind talent in no uncertain terms—Sylvester—destined for stardom long before the world was prepared for it. He melded gospel, funk, and disco to create a spangled, unforgettable impression on the ’70s and ’80s, and through it all, Sylvester remained resolutely himself. The qualities about him that were so often marginalized—Black, gay, and feminine—were the same ones that made him an undeniable star. More.
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I am so saddened to hear of the passing of singer, Ari Gold. He died after a long battle with cancer at age 47. Although I did not know him very well I can say that over the years in the brief interactions that we had he was very nice and supportive of my work here on Stonewall Gazette. I truly appreciated his zest for life. He will be very much missed by fans, friends and family.
The talented Ari Gold achieved many career accolades as a queer, trailblazing music artist reaching the Top 10 on Billboard. He was an Outmusic Award Winner and Independent Music Award Winner. He was even knighted for his art and activism by The Imperial Court Of New York.
Sir Ari Gold travelled the world headlining shows with such legendary superstars as Cyndi Lauper, Chaka Khan and Deborah Harry. What adventures he must have had! His songs were also featured on the hit TV shows "Scrubs" and "Cougar Town".
The native New Yorker was born and raised in the Bronx. Singing at his brother’s bar mitzvah was the catalyst for him falling in love with performing. He was just five! Gold made his television debut on the "Joe Franklin Show" at the tender age of six.
Here are a few music video highlights from Ari Gold's career.
Watch six-year-old Ari Gold on "The Joe Franklin Show".
"Where The Music Takes You" Ari Gold (ft. Sasha Allen)
In this #1 Video of the Year (LOGO) and Billboard Top 10 hit, Ari Gold is an animated superhero rock star who ends up saving a dark metropolis with one interracial gay kiss. Directed by Joe Phillips. "Where The Music Takes You" is also the Grand Prize Winner in all genres of the USA Songwriting Competition.
"Wave Of U" by Ari Gold
The first video by an openly gay artist to debut on LOGO, Ari Gold pays tribute to the late photographer and videographer Herb Ritts who died of AIDS in 2002. Directed by Guy Guido, the video features trans-artist DJ Lina and pays homage to such videos as Madonna's "Cherish", Janet Jackson's "Love Will Never Do Without You", Michael Jackson's "Keep It In The Closet" and Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" but reconfigures them in a queer light.
Sir Ari Gold Music Video Retrospective
Documentary Short
The Real Ari Gold: America's First Openly Gay Pop Star
A docu-mini shot in New York City between 2006-2007 during the making of Ari Gold's third studio album Transport Systems which includes the Billboard Top 10 hit and 2007 USA Songwriting Competition Grand Prize winning song "Where The Music Takes You."
Directed and produced by Michael Selditch, Brad Carpenter and Emmy winner Rob Tate. Featuring a guest spot by RuPaul and cameos by Michael Musto, Laverne Cox, and Cazwell.
People Magazine says that Ari's music "takes the listener to fresh places" and Clive Davis says, "he writes from the heart."
WATCH
The Real Ari Gold: America's First Openly Gay Pop Star
I remember buying so many compilation CD's back in the 1990's like this one from Rhino Records. Billboard Top Hits: 1990 featured 10 mega hits. All of the songs reached the top 5 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
December 8, 2017 was a celebratory day for gay Australians - the Marriage Amendment bill received royal assent and went into effect the following day. The fight for LGBT rights has always been an uphill battle so it was great to see so many allies publicly supporting marriage equality in Australia.
This past June, during Pride Month, openly gay country music singers Drake Jensen and Patrick Masse released their song "Go Your Own Way" and I was so excited by their collaboration I contacted Towleroad's Michael Goff, HuffPost's Noah Michelson, Axxidental's Mike Enders, Queerty, Bear World Magazine and many other folks in queer media. The importance of two openly gay singers doing a duet was unprecedented in country music and I wanted to help in any way that I could.
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One of my favorite singer-songwriters is Trevor Hall. He was raised on an island in South Carolina and realized at a young age that music was more than just a passion - it was, rather, his life’s art. At sixteen, he recorded his first album, soon after which he left South Carolina for Idyllwild Arts Academy in California where he studied classical guitar and was introduced to the practices of yoga and meditation, which would greatly influence his life and his music.
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A picture is worth a thousand words, more or less, as I don't know how many times artist John Stofka had to write the words 'Steve Grand' to create this clever and awesome drawing of gay pop-rock singer, Steve Grand. Stofka used a photo from Steve's recent shoot for OutClique Magazine as his inspiration (see below). There's More To See - CLICK HERE
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Ty Herndon and Billy Gilman made headlines in November 2014 by revealing they were gay within hours of each other ... but they weren't the first country artists to make such an announcement. From Chely Wright -- the first well-known country star to come out, in 2010 -- to songwriter Shane McAnally (pictured above), there have been a few others helping pave the way in the country music industry.
Click through the gallery to learn more about openly gay country music artists.
