[新聞] Chely Wright成為首位出櫃鄉村歌手
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Chely Wright Comes Out As Country Music's First Openly Gay Singer
by Chris M. Walsh, N.Y. | ?? 04, 2010 2:19 EDT
Growing online buzz and speculation came to a head this past weekend when it
was revealed that country artist Chely Wright, 39, would announce that she is
gay in this week's People Magazine.
The move is obviously not without precedent; Ricky Martin came out in the
same way just a month ago. And stars like George Michael, Melissa Etheridge -
and even younger, less established artists like "American Idol" alums Clay
Aiken and Adam Lambert - along with many others, have come out of the closet
and gone on to greater success.
In short, coming out of the closet doesn't seem to negatively impact one's
career. But, this is uncharted territory for country music: there's never
been a major star in this genre to reveal his or her homosexuality. Country
music's artists and fans have typically skewed to be more conservative than
not.
Wright's camp seems to be going all-in on the bet that being openly gay won't
hurt her career -- and they will find out quickly. Her announcement comes the
same week that her memoir, "Like Me," and her first album in five years,
"Lifted off the Ground," are released.
While it remains to be seen how fans will respond to her announcement,
there's evidence that some of the genres big stars would be supportive. Last
year, the Rascal Flatts song "Love Who You Love," was interpreted by some as
a message of acceptance toward the gay community.
And as far back as the early '90s, Garth Brooks was singled out by the Gay
and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/Los Angeles when he was awarded the
Outstanding Recording Award for his "We Shall Be Free" video, which
encouraged tolerance and understanding.
So far, there's certainly a case to be made that the move was a good one, as
she continues to be buzzed about online (Wright was in the top Google
trending topics early in the week). Whether or not that translates into album
and book sales remains to be seen. Initial album sales projections won't be
available until later in the week.
The nine records Wright has released since 1994 have sold a total of 975,000
units according to Nielsen Soundscan.
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