LGBTQ news and entertainment
Not only did RuPaul see his new Netflix series AJ and the Queen premiere this past Friday, but the same day he also dropped his latest studio album titled, You’re A Winner, Baby. But wait – there’s more! At the end of January, Ru’s uber-popular TV series, RuPaul’s Drag Race will become a live stage show on the Las Vegas Strip at the Flamingo Las Vegas. It’s good to be ‘queen,’ henny.
Burt Ward as Robin and Adam West as Batman (promo photo via ABC)
Tony Award winner Gavin Creel turns ‘Something Wonderful’ into pulsing pop goodness
Creel made his Broadway debut in 2002 as “Jimmy Smith” in the hit musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. That was followed by acclaimed performances in Hair, The Book of Mormon, She Loves Me, Waitress and finally his Tony-winning turn as “Cornelius Hackl” in the Bette Midler revival of Hello, Dolly! Later this month he heads to London to reprise his role as the hunky Dr. Pomatter in Waitress with pop star Sara Bareilles. This track is the latest from the R&H Goes Pop! series which puts contemporary twists on timeless classics from the Rodgers & Hammerstein catalogue. The series began with a rocking “Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin” by Jeremy Jordan (Supergirl, SMASH), and has since featured a same-sex take on “We Kiss In A Shadow” by Jelani Alladin (Frozen) and Matt Doyle (The Book of Mormon).
Australia’s Human Nature (image via Instagram/Denise Truscello)
The men of Chippendales rock Belgium
• OUT: Facebook and Instagram have issued new guidelines about sexual expression on the social media platforms. Users will no longer be able to add eggplant or peach emojis to messages that have a sexual nature anymore. Plus, no more using emojis to cover nude body parts. AND – no more linking to sites with sexual content. So, no more promoting OnlyFans or JustForMyFans pages from Facebook or Instagram. • Twitter: At a rally last night, Donald Trump told the crowd his administration is “building a beautiful wall” in Colorado. I keep wondering if anyone told him it’s New Mexico, not Mexico, that borders Colorado…? #4thGradeGeography
TRUMP: “We’re building a wall in Colorado. We’re building a beautiful wall. A big one that really works.” 😳 pic.twitter.com/tVgO95VIdW
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 23, 2019
Popstar MIKA releases a new video, “Dear Jealousy” today. The video follows the release of his critically acclaimed fifth studio album, My Name Is Michael Holbrook. “This album has been a rich and intense journey,” writes MIKA about the new collection. “Inspired by life in all its glory and all its dark challenges. It’s also inspired by love.” “My intention was to write about life as it happened. A sort of album made in ‘real-time,’” added the artist. “It’s an explosion of joy, color and emotion even though it was born in one of the most challenging periods for my family and I.” “Writing and recording this album was a form of medicine for me and my family. It is so deeply personal but also universal. I have come to realize that the only things that matters in life are the people we love and the stories we tell.” MIKA dedicates the new album to “those people I love and to the notion that although we all hopefully grow with age, we should do so without losing our colors, our warmth or whimsy. I hope my ‘Tiny Love’ stories somehow touch you or transport you, even just for an instant.” Hit the play button below.
Michael Longoria (image via Skollar PR)
TRR: I understand you grew up on Mariachi music. How did that, as a musical foundation, form how you listen to or approach music? ML: Because I didn’t speak Spanish, I had to learn Mariachi songs by hearing and emotion. My parents would teach me how to pronounce the words and then explain the general idea. The music and melody would reveal what the true meaning was without me knowing the words. I somehow would know what to feel when belting out a classic Mariachi tune. TRR: Is there a favorite song on the new album? ML: Besides “Kiss Me,” which is my favorite because it’s about my own life, I love singing “It Must Have Been Love” from the movie Pretty Woman. It’s a heartbreaking song about being alone on Christmas after a breakup. 
Michael Longoria releases his new album ‘Like They Do In The Movies’ (image via Skollar PR)
TRR: With years of experience on stage in long-running shows and concert work, do you approach studio recording projects differently? If so, how? ML: Yes! When I’m recording a song it’s just me and an engineer after we record the band. I’m in a small sound box singing my feelings all alone with an amazing engineer recording my every breath. It’s a very intimate and emotional journey when you record like that. When you listen to Like They Do In The Movies, you are hearing into my deepest emotions. It’s not a performance I’d give under pressure for a 2,000 seat theater. It’s more of a one on one singing just you and me vibe. TRR: This is your third studio album. With that experience now, is there any advice ‘2019 Michael Longoria’ would tell ‘2016 Michael Longoria’ about recording an album? ML: Keep writing! Tell your story. Someone will need to hear what you are going through and it will let them know they are not alone. Like They Do In The Movies, produced by Grammy nominee and 12-time Emmy Award winner Michael Croiter, is available now in stores and online. Longoria celebrates the new release with concerts in New York (last night at The Green Room 42), and in San Francisco on October 16 at Feinstein’s At The Nikko. Follow Michael Longoria on Instagram here.
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| Terron Beckham (via Instagram) |
Some news items you might have missed:
• InstaHunks: Terron Beckham (above), the ridiculously jacked cousin of the Cleveland Browns’ Odell Beckham Jr., shows off some gym humor along with his ‘big-is-best’ everything else. #thosecalves
• OUT: A new study shows some men may be reticent to recycle because it might be perceived as ‘feminine.’
• Variety: At her Madison Square Gardens concert over the weekend, Barbra Streisand offered up a tweaked version of “Send in the Clowns” that trolled the current clown in the Oval Office.
• Twitter: A police officer busts some moves to Steps’ 2017 hit “Scared Of The Dark” while attending Brighton Pride in the UK. The clip went viral after his police department shared the clip on social media.
Did you see our #DancingCop in the @PrideBrighton Parade yesterday. Officers volunteered their time to represent @HertsPolice along with Officer from across the UK. 🕺 @SXP_LGBT @LGBTpoliceuk #BrightonPride @HertsPRIDE @hertslgbtq_nh @LGBTHerts pic.twitter.com/eP5PfCVPAG— Herts Police LGBT+ 🚔 (@HertsPoliceLGBT) August 4, 2019
• Red Flag Bill: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is collaborating on a “red flag” bill with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) that would start a federal grant program to help encourage states to create “‘red flag’ protection order” laws, which are meant to make it easier for law enforcement to identify mentally ill people who should be banned from purchasing guns.
• NY Magazine: A new profile on Ivanka Trump quotes a friend who says the Trumpette, “Has no idea she’s privileged. She genuinely thinks she’s earned everything she has. She goes on and on all the time about how hard she works.”
• Out Music: Make-up artist Deney Adam (whose work has been seen in Vogue, NY Times, Interview) puts down his brushes to drop his wild and wooly new track and music video, “Heartdrop.”
The visual, directed by the fab Mike Ruiz, is a fast and furious, animalistic affair featuring a nearly naked Deney locked inside a glass case.
“I wanted to convey that feeling of being trapped in a situation; when just at the moment that you think you are finally free from it, you find yourself right back where you started,” says Deney.
Musically, the track continually switches gears resulting in a visceral, heart-pounding (or should that be ‘heart-dropping?’) ride. Hit play below.
Out singer/songwriter Kyle Motsinger just released his latest single, a groovy, bouncy bop titled “Love On Each Other,” in advance of his upcoming album to be released this winter.
Working with producer and collaborator Corey Tut, the track features big disco beats and slinky 70s strings making for an upbeat affair – which was Motsinger’s goal.
The artist says current headlines of “crowds chanting against immigrants” and “transgender people being murdered in the streets” inspired him to counter that with some positivity.
“It’s a sneak peek of the more upbeat sound I’m cultivating for my Sophomore album that will be released this winter,” says Motsinger. “I hope everyone takes away from the song that we have the power to change the world if we open our hearts and ‘Love on Each Other!’”
You can currently find the track on Amazon and Spotify.
Check it out below.
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| Billy Porter (photo: John Ganun) |
As we’re enjoying season 2 of the acclaimed FX series POSE, I see many on social media living for the musical performances on the show, especially by Tony Award winner Billy Porter as ‘Pray Tell.’
But some may not realize how extensive Porter’s recording career is.
After winning the television talent show Star Search back in 1992 (while performing on Broadway), Porter began making his mark in the recording studio.
One of his most well-known pop music tracks (even if folks didn’t know it was the future Golden Globe/Emmy Award nominee) was “Love Is On The Way,” the lead single from the soundtrack of the 1996 Bette Midler / Goldie Hawn / Diane Keaton film, The First Wives Club.
Porter also had a #1 hit on the Billboard AC chart collaborating with pianist Jim Brickman and Jordan Hill on the title track to Brickman’s 1999 album, Destiny.
Porter’s own albums offer his own distinct musical style which combines R&B, pop, and soul.
His latest single, “Love Yourself,” an upbeat paean to looking to ourselves first for approval.
The song “Time,” from his spectacular live one-man show, At the Corner of Broadway + Soul, was written by Porter and grabbed national attention when it was featured on the reality dance competition, So You Think You Can Dance.
He also recently teamed up with his longtime friend, two-time OutMusic Award winner Matt Zarley, on a cover of the 1994 Des’ree hit, “You Gotta Be.” Again, the theme of self-love and empowerment weaves its way through the Porter catalog. Note – all proceeds of the new recording go to the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
And Porter has also returned to his Broadway roots bringing his unique musical sensibilities to two studio albums – the 2014 Billy’s Back on Broadway, and his 2017 release, Billy Porter Presents: The Soul of Richard Rodgers.