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It’s A Small World: 9 Out Gay Pop Stars From Around The Globe

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With the recent coming out of Lebanese-British singer Mika (above) we were reminded that there’s a whole world of gay pop performers out there—and we don’t just mean Elton John, Ricky Martin and George Michael. We thought we’d make a dent in the growing list with a roundup of nine queer pop artists that might be a little lesser known to American audiences, but who get out toes a-tapping nonetheless.

Have an artist you want to spotlight? Sing out in the comments section!

 

Sam Sparro, Australia

Every gay worth his salt had this Aussie singer’s breakout single, “Black and Gold,” on repeat in 2008. Above, Sparro does guest vocals on the song “Feelings Gone” from UK electronic act Basement Jaxx. Nearer to home, Sparro co-wrote “Shady” and “Broken English” off of out popster Adam Lambert’s sophomore album, Trespassing. Sparro’s own recent solo album, Return to Paradise, was released in June.

 

Will Young, Great Britain

Years before Adam Lambert, or even Kelly Clarkson, Will Young became the first winner of England’s Pop Idol, which beget a legion of Idol franchises worldwide. His first single after being crowned was a cover of Westlife’s “Evergreen,” which sold more than 1.8 million copies. Young, 33, came out as gay right out of the gate, telling a British tabloid in 2002, that “For me it’s normal and nothing to be ashamed about. I’m gay and I’m comfortable with that. I really don’t know what the fuss is about.”

Subsequent albums have produced hits like “Your Game” (off Friday’s Child) and “Jealousy” (off 2011’s Echoes), but we really like Young singing the classics, like “Beyond the Sea,” above. Maybe he’ll record some new versions and change the pronouns?

 

Jónsi, Iceland

Jón “Jónsi” Þór Birgisson first came to our attention as the lead singer of Iceland’s Sigur Rós, but he blew our socks off with his 2010 solo album, Go, and the song “Boy Lilikoi” (above). As one YouTube commenter put it, “Whenever I feel lost, hopeless, or surrounded by unfortunate events, I listen to this song and escape into another world filled with hope, light and happiness.”

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Tim Descamps, Belgium

This 26-year-old Flemish singer is better known as an actor, having appeared in the Flemish soaps Spring and Familie. In this clip for “Like It Rough,” he’s playing the part of an International Male catalog model stalking a girl in a creepy abandoned factory. Speaking of acting, that is indeed porn actor Brent Everett Corrigan (a.k.a. Sean Lockhart) sucking face with both Descamps and actress Genevieve Buechner in the video’s gruesome finale. All three appeared in the 2010 film Judas Kiss.

 

Ivri Lider, Israel

Lider, 38, is a huge star in the Land of Milk and Honey, both as a solo star and as part of The Young Professionals, selling in excess of 200,000 records. Here he’s singing a soulful version of “The Man I Love,” which was featured in the Israeli film The Bubble.

 

Sliimy, France

Born Yanis Sahraoul, this Moroccan-Algerian elf wowed fans worldwide with his cover of Britney Spears’ “Womanizer,” including Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Perez Hilton, who signed him to his label, Perezcious. Unlike some other singers, Sliimy has never been coy about his sexuality, saying, “I don’t have any problem saying that I’m gay. I embrace it and don’t want to hide it.”

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Patrick Wolf, Great Britain

Those of us with a thing for fey English school-boy types swooned when we first heard “Magic Position,” 29-year-old Wolf’s debut single. (His tendency to strip down on stage didn’t hurt either.) We were a little less infatuated with Wolf’s comment that “I don’t know whether I’m destined to live my life with a horse, a woman or a man”—but he clarified he identifies as gay in a 2009 interview with The Guardian. Wold and boyfriend William Pollack are planning to get a civil partnership this summer.

Tiziano Ferro, Italy

With more than eight-million records sold worldwide, it’s doubtful Ferro, 32, will have to find a new line of work. But if he did, he could always go work for the UN: In addition to his native Italian, Ferro records all his albums in Spanish and has also sung in Portuguese and English. In 2004, he released the English-language song “Universal Prayer,” was used at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Since then, he’s sung with Kelly Rowland on “Breathe Gentle” and appeared on Mary J. Blige’s “Each Tear.” Though quiet about his personal life for years, Ferro came out as gay in a 2010 interview in Italian Vanity Fair, saying “I want to fall in love with a man.”

 

Pedro Marín, Spain

This song, “El Influjo de la Luna” (“The Influence of the Moon”), is off of Marín’s critically acclaimed 2009 album, I Will Glam, which he says was inspired by 70s artists like T-Rex and Roxy Music. Marín came out as bisexual in 1982, though has called himself “gay” in more recent interviews. What’s bizarre is that, at 50, the youthful Marín’s almost old enough to have heard those bands the first time round. He must have a painting getting older in an attic somewhere.

 

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