Boy Band Members Who Are Out As Gay, Bisexual or Queer
Boy Bands, a group of young male teenage vocal singers, have been a popular phenomenon in the music industry for a long time. They are known for their catchy pop-style of music which often includes matching choreography, stylized costumes, and extravagant stage settings in their live performances and videos. Today's boy band phenomenon emerged from the earlier a cappella barbershop quartets of the late twentieth century.
The mainstream popularity of boy bands in western music almost ensures that one or two members of each group identifies as gay, bisexual or queer. Having those individuals publicly identify as such can be challenging - the target audience tends to be teen-age girls. As well, most boy bands are created through the efforts of a professional producer or manager, and this individual often counsels members of the boy band on how to behave and present themselves publicly to maximize popularity and profitability. Most out gay boy band members talk about their early career days of having dual personas - the public heterosexual teen male, and the private gay individual, creating an authenticity paradox.
There have been sporadic attempts to create successful all-gay boy bands to cater to the LGBTQ dance club crowd. None of these efforts resulted in any success.
Nevertheless, there is a group of notable boy band members who publicly identify as gay, bisexual or queer. These individuals hail from Great Britain, New Zealand, Ireland, the Netherlands, the United States, Scotland, and Puerto Rico. To read their fascinating biographies, simply click on their names:
- Robert Arnold, New Zealand – BoyBand
- Lance Bass, United States – ‘N Sync
- Eloy de Jong, Netherlands - Caught In The Act
- Mark Feehily, Ireland – Westlife
- Angelo Garcia, United States - Menudo
- Stephen Gately, Ireland – Boyzone
- Jaymi Hensley, Great Britain – Union J
- Duncan James, Great Britain - Blue
- Andrew Kinlochan, Great Britain - Phixx
- Jonathan Knight, United States – New Kids on the Block
- Jamie Lambert, Great Britain - Collabro
- Ricky Martin, Puerto Rico - Menudo
- Kevin McDaid, Great Britain – V
- Les McKeown, Scotland – Bay City Rollers
- George Michael, Great Britain – Wham!
- Ricky Rebel, United States - No Authority
- Lee Ryan, Great Britain - Blue
- George Shelley, Great Britain – Union J