No More Gays In Pop

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
Where did they go? There aren't any male homosexuals in pop anymore. They got replaced by heterosexual women saying it was great to be a gay man, but where did the gay men go?

I think the last one was kinda Will Young, and maybe that little Geordie lad off X Factor. Did they decide that the market demographic was such that gay men make better Consumers than Producers? Or did they all go off into presenting children's TV?

Where did the gays go?

They even killed Stephen Gately off in their homo pop purda. Did the A-Gays become too successful, and have kept the youngers down? Is it a massive A-Gay conspiracy?

It's even OK to be (Robbie and Gary) gay if you're straight, but no.

If you're real, you're concealed.

Where did they go?
 

Ulala

Awkward Woodward
Hmm, I'm pretty sure Ricky Martin's career flatlined after coming out so perhaps there is more reticence among artists these days? Off the top of my head there is still Adam Lambert (who was on American Idol, and who is successful in the US, if not elsewhere) and as mentioned earlier, the Scissor Sisters fella and Will Young.

Isn't it the case that most of the significant gay performers of the past were also writers as well? I'm thinking Pet Shop Boys, Frankie, Erasure... you could also include Elton John and Freddie Mercury, though neither were actually 'out' at the time of their greatest success. (Despite widespread public knowledge of the fact.) Erm... Luther Vandross? Anyway, these guys wrote enormously popular songs, and it's those by which a pop star is made - the X-Factor guy (Joe McElderry) won the show, after all, so the public obviously liked his voice and had no issue with his sexuality: it was the piss-poor quality of his singles that doomed him (and they were written by committee, as is often the way these days, and probably goes to prove my point, I expect).

In short, then: I don't know why. I do believe that straight 'pop' is a dying breed, though. The all powerful urban/R&B juggernaut has eclipsed it, and I'm pretty sure most mainstream gay clubs are now playing Rihanna and Jason DeRulo just like any mainstream straight/mixed clubs do.
 

luka

Well-known member
not much r&b in the charts nowadays. rhianna sounds like pink singing over old eurodance records.
 

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
It'd be great if 50 was a batty.

I'm not sure if the hypothesis is true, is it? It just came up after 15 pints the other day and seemed like a good idea.

I think certainly alot of pop has been queered so maybe it's not the challenge it once was. Scissor Sisters good call though, I'd forgotten about them. Looking back it just seems like everyone in the 80s was gay and now they've all disappeared from mainstream view. I guess you could argue thus that male homosexuality is having a second underground. Or maybe co-option has proved that shopping is more fun.

And yeah maybe Ulalla they are taking behind the scenes roles as writers rather than being up front, maybe it co-incides with the rise of the solo female artist.
 

Dr Awesome

Techsteppin'
I'm sure it's cos all the stuff they play on mainstream "rock" stations is now officially homosexual.


 

Ulala

Awkward Woodward
not much r&b in the charts nowadays. rhianna sounds like pink singing over old eurodance records.

Innit, but the point is it still gets called r&b regardless of whether it sounds like it or not. Pick up your average 'best of r&b' cd and there's no, let's say, Teedra Moses or Jazmine Sullivan, but there is JLS, Rihanna, etc. In the eyes of the industry and (most of) the public, r&b (or more accurately, 'urban') is anything made by young black people that could be danced to.

Anyway, I suppose my argument is that the eurodance elements are probably partly responsible for the crossover of this music into the gay club scene and the related erosion of gay artists making traditional pop music.
 

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
Anyway, I suppose my argument is that the eurodance elements are probably partly responsible for the crossover of this music into the gay club scene and the related erosion of gay artists making traditional pop music.

Maybe the borg like assimilation is complete and all male pop homosexuals have moved off to colonise another planet. It took 20 years of hammering home bad euro in gay clubs before it finally took over the world, mission ended.
 

pattycakes_

Can turn naughty
And yeah maybe Ulalla they are taking behind the scenes roles as writers rather than being up front, maybe it co-incides with the rise of the solo female artist.

probably stating the obvious here but the gays have been behind the scenes running the business side of the industry since the 50s.

first thing that came to mind when i saw the thread title was that there's barely any distinguishable difference between hetero and homo in the male pop singer world

edited.
 
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BareBones

wheezy
Plus it's way worse in the film industry right? How many openly gay actors can you name? I can only think of Rupert Everett
 

Ulala

Awkward Woodward
How has Mika not been mentioned?

Presumably because others, like I did, have installed a complex system of mnemonic blocks to erase any memory of his caterwauling. He is, technically, I suppose, a gifted singer. But his songs, ugh.
 

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
Because we're talking about ordinary gays and Mika is, like, THUPERGAY!

That really made me laugh.

Mika's like the living gay atavist. But good call on mentioning him, and Rufus.

I don't think Anthony counts, he's post-queer-homo-next-gen. Maybe he ATE all the gay people.

I loved it when Mika's sister threw herself out of their house onto some railings. I knew just how she felt.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Wasn't one of Junior Senior gay? Haha, talk about blast from the very recent past.

Speaking of co-option, would it be fair to say that Lady Gaga is her own fantasy idea of what every gay man's secret fantasy self looks like?

I loved it when Mika's sister threw herself out of their house onto some railings. I knew just how she felt.

Was she a 'big' girl that he felt the need to constantly reassure was beautiful, *despite* her bigness?
 
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