Jakk Fynn, a transmasculine Latinx pop artist dedicated to redefining masculinity, dropped his latest single this week, “Fire.” Unrequited love is the subject at hand in the pop/dance track. “Oftentimes, queer individuals don’t feel wholly accepted, seen or loved for who they are,” says the artist. “When romantic feelings are so infrequently returned, this can exacerbate an already deeply internalized identity struggle.” “Attraction and love are fairly involuntary,” adds Fynn. “Our central nervous system is a massive orchestration of electrical impulses that ‘fire.’” Jakk, a descendant of Mexican immigrants, is committed to using pop music’s power to uplift audiences and challenge toxic social narratives, especially for audiences who don’t often see themselves fairly and accurately represented in mainstream culture. His previous single, “Share the Seconds,” was released in 2018.
Hey hey, Lil Nas X, there’s more than one cowboy dropping beats in boots. Out singer/songwriter Greyson Chance drops his latest single & music video, “Boots.” The 22-year-old says he wrote the track as his response to how pop culture is currently embracing Western imagery. Chance says while writing the song he found himself “imagining what Johnny Cash would be like if he were around and making music in 2019.” The Oklahoma native says that ‘Western’ isn’t so much about style, “it’s about an attitude, an obsessive loyalty, and an unwavering wildness.”
I’ve been western before all of these punks These punks in California who think that they can punch
Chance tweeted out a dedication for the song telling his 2.7 million followers the track is for “the stars in California who can’t throw a punch.” Musically, “Boots” delivers a polished synth-pop rock vibe that’s earthy with an edge, and Chance’s vocals are smooth and confident.
Chance first found the public spotlight when a video of him performing Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” went viral in 2010 (the video has over 66 million views on YouTube). Ellen DeGeneres invited him on her talk show, and he was soon off and running. He released his debut album in 2011 but stepped away from music at the age of 18 to focus on his college studies. His latest album, portraits, was released earlier this year to strong reviews. In 2017, he came out via an Instagram post encouraging others “navigating their sexuality to devote as much time as they need to the process of finding self-confidence, self-acceptance, and self-love.” He added that he felt it was “time to let a few more friends know that I am happy, I am here for you, and I am proud of who I am.”
George Michael (Photo: Andrew Macpherson/Universal) Some 35 years after the release of the smash-hit “Last Christmas” by Wham!, George Michael’s millions of fans get another festive treat. “This Is How (We Want You To Get High),” which was recorded during George’s final studio sessions, is his first original material to be released in seven years. George died on Christmas Day in 2016. A funky, upbeat soon-to-be-classic, “This is How (We Want You to Get High)” has a seductive George Michael hook and melody. The lyrics, written exclusively by George, see the star addressing society’s ills with his trademark blend of self-deprecation and wry humor. Work on the track began in early 2012, was subsequently recorded in sessions at Air Studios in London, and ultimately received finishing touches in late 2015 during George’s final recording sessions. With its uplifting vibe and socially-conscious message, “This is How (We Want You to Get High)” will be featured during the credits of the upcoming Last Christmas, Universal Pictures’ new romantic comedy. The film was inspired by the eponymous Wham! hit, and has a soundtrack featuring three Wham! tracks and twelve songs from George Michael’s solo career. Hit the play button below.
Sam Smith (photo: Aria Shahrokhshahi) Four-time Grammy Award winner Sam Smith has released a cover of the 1977 Donna Summer dance classic, “I Feel Love.” “As a queer person ‘I feel love’ has followed me to every dance floor in every queer space from the minute I started clubbing,” the non-binary/genderqueer artist wrote on their Instagram. “This song to me is an anthem of our community and it was an honour and most importantly so much fun to have a go at it. Highest song I’ve ever fucking sang. But a joy. I hope you all like it xx” Take a listen below.
And, of course, how could I touch the subject without referencing the oh-so-awesome original version by our diva, Miss Summer? Produced by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, the track (considered the first electronic dance hit) was a Top 10 smash in the US and went all the way to #1 in the UK, Australia, and other countries.
Paul Middleton releases his new cover of “We Found Love” International recording artist Paul Middleton drops his new video and chill remix cover of Rihanna and Calvin Harris’ “We Found Love” today to raise awareness of mental health in the community. Middleton candidly shares that he’s had his own demons to battle. “I had really bad days. Some days, I would be on social media and it just made me question who I was. If I didn’t look a certain way, then I didn’t belong in the LGBTQ community, or I had to be sexually ‘loud’ with pictures, which is not me.” Middleton says the lyrics ‘We found love in a hopeless place’ to be a reminder that self-acceptance combined with a love for oneself allows for receiving love from outside.
“We are not doing enough to tackle mental health. We need more promotion of self-love in a healthy way and stop using social media to project an unrealistic way of life.”
The music video for “We Found Love” is a celebration of exploring self-love with his new love with his partner, filmed in Sardinia, Italy.
“We Found Love” is out now on iTunes, Spotify, Apple and taken from ‘Remixes’, an EP due for release in February 2020. The track has already been added to the ‘New Look, Old Hook’ playlist on Spotify putting him alongside artists like Kygo, Whitney Houston and Jonas Blue. The singer, who’s toured the world with his music, has already had two #1 hits on the LGBTQ Music Chart in the UK with his covers of “Careless Whisper” and “Vincent.” Follow Paul on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
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)Michael Longoria, best known for his star turn on Broadway as Frankie Valli in the Tony Award-winning musical Jersey Boys, releases his new album today, Like They Do In The Movies.The collection of classic, romantic songs from movies also features the debut of an original song written by Longoria, “Kiss Me (Like They Do In The Movies).” This is the out artist’s third studio album following Broadway Brick By Brick (2016) and Merry Christmas Darling (2018). As a singer-songwriter, Longoria has performed his original songs at Joe’s Pub, The Cutting Room, CB’s Gallery, and Caroline’s on Broadway. The acclaimed artist has been nominated for Best Male Vocalist and Best Cabaret by The Glam Awards in 2016. I had a chance to chat with the handsome actor/singer about his new album as well as the process that goes into creating a new project. The Randy Report: You’ve written a terrific new song for the album – “Kiss Me (Like They Do In The Movies).” I expected a slow, romantic ballad, but instead, it’s a driving, urgent uptempo. What was the inspiration for the song? Michael Longoria: The lyric pleads, “Kiss me like they do in the movies. Like you would in the last row, come on, let’s go. You have to show me now.” When I was recording these amazing movie love songs, I found myself wondering if this kind of love exists in real life. There is a sense of urgency in the beat, mixed with the sweeping strings characterize musically the internal conflict we have when we expect things to be like we have seen played out on film, but in reality, it doesn’t always happen as a screenwriter might dream up.
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: The song list for the new album is wide-ranging – how hard was it to whittle the list down? Was there a song you really wanted that didn’t make the album? ML: So many songs didn’t make the album but were on the long list. I wanted to record “Cruel Summer” from Karate Kid. I find that song so sexy in its tragedy. Another breakup song with an upbeat arrangement. TRR: Many of the songs on the album are so iconic and the performances by the original artists are embedded in our psyche (“Wind Beneath My Wings,” “I Will Always Love You,” “My Heart Will Go On”). Was it hard to disassociate the original? Or did the original serve as a springboard? ML: I was originally discouraged from taking on “My Heart Will Go On” and “I Will Always Love You.” But once I started to dive deep into the lyrics and storyline, the songs became about my life. That’s the sign of a great song. A lyric that tells a human experience and a melody that colors the emotion of that experience. The singer brings breath and sound to these words and then that sound stays in your head. It’s amazing how music can move the human spirit.
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.
L-R Sean Hayes of Will & Grace and Olympian Gus Kenworthy (image via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • Will & Grace: Out Olympian Gus Kenworthy shared the pic above with W&G star Sean Hayes as he shares the news he shot an episode for the upcoming final season of the iconic sitcom. Congrats, Gus! • Washington Blade: 133 LGBTQ activists were arrested outside the U.S. Supreme Court building today as justices heard oral arguments regarding whether federal civil rights laws protect LGBTQ people in the workplace. • Politico: Since taking office, Donald Trump has continually suggested asking White House staffers to take lie detector tests. The Donald has ramped up the idea again as two whistleblowers have come forward with clear information about his phone call with the Ukrainian president. • Netflix: The Fab 5 jet off to Japan for a four-episode Queer Eye mini-season. Streaming giant Netflix premieres the bonus installments on November 1.
• KIT212: It’s Tennis Tuesday over at Kenneth’s place where he always finds the hottest tennis players to showcase. Last week’s specimen will be pretty hard to top… 🙂 • Washington Post: The Senate Intelligence Committee, a Republican-led panel that has been investigating foreign electoral interference for more than two and a half years, said in blunt language that Russians worked to damage Democrat Hillary Clinton while bolstering Republican Donald Trump — and made clear that fresh rounds of interference are likely ahead of the 2020 vote. • New Music: Halsey drops the music video (nearly a million views in 6 hours) for her single, “Graveyard,” which has already amassed over 65 million streams since its release. The music video, featuring Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney, begins in Halsey’s bedroom but evolves into a sweet same-sex romp at a carnival. Stereogum praised “Graveyard” as a “strong pop song about depression and co-dependence” and noted, “Halsey… can sing about stark internal stuff and still make the songs sound like they belong in an arena.”
Cameron Hawthorn (via Instagram/photo: Fredrick Broden) After making a splash with his oh-so-romantical music video, “Dancing In The Living Room,” out country singer Cameron Hawthorn’s follow-up single takes the action from a living room two-step to busting a move in a barroom line dance. Continue reading “Out Music: Cameron Hawthorn ‘Oh Hot Damn!’”
InstaHunk Dan Tai (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Ok, who knew hottie Dan Tai (above) even owned this much clothes??? Btw – Dan shares in his Instagram post wise words about cherishing the moment you’re in. Follow him here. • Billboard: Rapper Lil Nas tells CBS This Morning’s Gayle King he knew he was gay early on and used to “pray, pray and pray.” When King asked what he prayed for, he said, “That it was a phase.” • CNN: The latest polling by SSRS shows 47% of Americans support impeaching Donald Trump and removing him from office, up from 41% who felt that way in a CNN poll in May. Opposition stands at 45% in the new poll, down from 54% who said so in May and the lowest point in CNN polling. There’s equally bad news for Trump in the latest Quinnipiac (47% support) and CBS News (55% support) polls. • Buffalo News: Rep. Chris Collins (R) – most famous as the first member of Congress to support Donald Trump’s presidential campaign – resigned from Congress today after pleading guilty to criminal insider trading. • LGBTQ Nation: Abrahm DeVine, a 23-year-old collegiate swimmer who came out as gay in a 2018 interview with Swimming World magazine, says he was kicked off of the Stanford University swim team due to “systematic homophobia.” DeVine is a member of the U.S. men’s national swim team and was an NCAA champion at Stanford. • Out Music: Peter Thomas drops his latest single, “If You’re Happy Now,” about the aftermath of a breakup. “Heartbreak has been replaced by a less intense heartache,” explains Thomas. “I find myself wondering about you. Are you okay? Do you have someone new? Are we in the same time zone? Maybe we’re not ready to talk yet, and maybe we won’t end up together, but I still care. I’ll always care. And I want to know if you’re alright.” I have stood in the center of that emotional landscape. Hit the play button below.
Jakk Fynn, a transmasculine Latinx pop artist dedicated to redefining masculinity, dropped his latest single this week, “Fire.” Unrequited love is the subject at hand in the pop/dance track. “Oftentimes, queer individuals don’t feel wholly accepted, seen or loved for who they are,” says the artist. “When romantic feelings are so infrequently returned, this can exacerbate an already deeply internalized identity struggle.” “Attraction and love are fairly involuntary,” adds Fynn. “Our central nervous system is a massive orchestration of electrical impulses that ‘fire.’” Jakk, a descendant of Mexican immigrants, is committed to using pop music’s power to uplift audiences and challenge toxic social narratives, especially for audiences who don’t often see themselves fairly and accurately represented in mainstream culture. His previous single, “Share the Seconds,” was released in 2018. 
Chance says while writing the song he found himself “imagining what Johnny Cash would be like if he were around and making music in 2019.” The Oklahoma native says that ‘Western’ isn’t so much about style, “it’s about an attitude, an obsessive loyalty, and an unwavering wildness.” 
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