Another Country singer, Billy Gilman, comes out as gay via a YouTube Video.
Will Nashville become a little more friendly towards gay artists after a second Country singer Billy Gilman, 26, came out yesterday in solidarity with Ty Herndon, who came out as gay during an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
Billy came out in a YouTube video to his fans, in a way that echoed Tom Daley’s coming out in December 2013. The video has been viewed 551,000 times in just two days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N7MBAPZWms
In the five and a half minute video the vocalist talks about life with his partner, who he’s been with for five months, and his difficultly with major record labels wanting to re-sign him, despite selling 5 million records.
No major label showed up to a showcase he did, highlighting the struggles that gay artists have in the music industry. He had been signed to EPIC, home to Alexandra Burke and Olly Murs, before moving to Image Entertainment.
His debut album went double platinum in the US, selling over 2 million copies.
The star also shows a sneak peak of a new music video he’s planning to release independently.