Philadelphia-born singer Terrence Stone came out as bisexual.
Stone, who recently changed his name from Aaron Thomas, has had a successful career as a gospel singer. He’s appeared on shows like American Idol, BET’s Sunday Best, and Showtime at the Apollo. But as he told Philadelphia Magazine, this was never enough for him.
The 27-year-old told the magazine that he’d always felt judged by the Christian and gospel worlds that he called hom.
“I lived my life according to others’ opinions of what I should do and who I should be,” he told the magazine. “Grew up singing in the church. All I knew was church. I love it and I love God. But one thing I could never agree with was the religious aspect. As a gospel artist, it was always challenging for me to be me. The expectations of the gospel industry is to present yourself as this perfect person, when I was far from that.”
Despite the limitations that the gospel industry as put on him, Terrence Stone says that he wants to be as authentically himself as possible. That not only means finding a merge between gospel and R&B, but also means making his bisexuality public knowledge.
“The gospel industry always made me feel like I wasn’t good enough. R&B is another genre of music that I love. It’s music that’s real and tells a story,” he said. “The more I grew as an artist and as a person, I knew that my gift wasn’t only for the church. I then discovered that my mission on this earth is to impact the world through my music and life story no matter the genre. The R&B platform gives me the opportunity to encourage, inspire and uplift people in an authentic way.”
Stone also recorded a message on his Instagram account to share words of encouragement with his fans and say that he'll always be himself (new name or not).
