Brandon Stansell says that country music is opening up to gay singers and gay life.
In an interview with Billboard, Stansell shared that he thinks the country music scene is more accepting of LGBTQ people than imagined.
“I think that people, especially in the south, who listen to country music are more open and loving than we give them credit to be,” says the doe-eyed 31-year-old. “We just have to give them the opportunity to show us.”
He also said:
“Honestly, ever since I started walking down this road and pursuing country music, I’ve really had nothing but good things said to me and about me with what I’m doing. I had a similar conversation with Cody Allen, who hosts the CMT radio show. He came out a few years ago but he’s established a career for himself. Even he was saying he was really surprised at how wonderful his fellow artists were and how loving the fans were to him and how wonderful his bosses at CMT were.”
The openly gay singer also talked about his new single and music video “Hometown.”
In the video, the Nashville, Tennessee native comes out to his mother. This initially gets a negative and violent reaction out of her. But as the video goes on, the mother starts to miss her son and later welcomes him back into her home.
For Stansell, creating that song and music video was all about creating visibility.
“I think that visibility is important, especially in country music. I think that everyone wants to hear their story told. I think that’s a commonality we share. For the longest time, people who are LGBTQ and lovers of country music, we didn’t really hear our stories on country radio or played on CMT. It was really important for me to share my story in the most authentic, real way I possibly could.”
In fact, Stansell’s “Hometown” is one of the first country music videos with an LGBTQ storyline to appear on CMT.
Congratulations to Brandon Stansell. We hope big things are in his future.
