Billy Porter dropped a new studio album last Friday called Black Mona Lisa. In an interview with Vulture, Porter talked about his earlier attempts to make it big in the music industry in the 1990s.
Porter, 54, says that he quickly grew frustrated with how music executives tried to mold him into something he is not. However, the straw that broke the camel’s back was when his label took a song he’d recorded and gave it to Celine Dion.
Porter grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He first came to national attention in 1992 on the talent show Star Search in 1992. He won $100,000 and interest from the music industry. Despite already appearing on Broadway, Porter still had dreams of becoming “the male Whitney Houston.”
This led to him releasing his first album, the R&B-influenced Billy Porter, in 1997. However, he was already growing disillusioned.
“Traumatizing”
“It was traumatizing,” he now recalls. “The industry was very homophobic. I had an R&B deal on A&M, and nobody would do anything that I wanted. It was all about the smoke and mirrors of trying to make the world think I was straight, that I was masculine enough to exist.
“It was traumatizing, since my voice, my singing voice, had been my savior … and then for the first time in my life, my voice didn’t matter. All they were concerned about was who I was f*cking behind closed doors on my own private time.
“I woke up after six or seven years of being in the business and didn’t recognize myself,” he continues.
And then the label took one of his songs, “Love Is On The Way” and gave it to Celine Dion. The song is by Denise Rich, Tina Shafer, and Peter Zizzo. Porter released his version in 1996.
“Then my label gave my song to Celine Dion for The First Wives Club! They gave it right over to her! Same producer produced it for her. I was like, ‘I did not come here to be a demo singer for f*cking Celine Dion! I’m done!’.
“No shade, she’s fabulous”
Porter stressed that he had no beef with Dion herself.
“I love her, no shade, she’s fabulous, this isn’t about Celine Dion. It’s about the systems of oppression that mute and dismiss our contribution to the world. It happened in that moment, and I said, ‘I’m done. If this is all the music business has to offer me, I’m done. She can have it, y’all can have it, I’m out’.”
Fortunately, Porter had his career as an in-demand actor and singer on Broadway to fall back upon. He also went on to self-release three albums over the last couple of decades. Black Mona Lisa was released via Republic Records in the US. And the label allowed him to do it as he wanted.
“Mainstream pop on my Black faggoty-ass terms, yes!” Porter quipped. “You can see it now! She free, bitch!”
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LegionKeign
Porter still had dreams of becoming “the male Whitney Houston.”
GURRRRRL! Stop sniffing your own farts!
Observant
Truth. Thanks for the snort laugh.
abfab
That wasn’t funny. It was gross.
Diplomat
Haha. Good advice.
ShaverC
He’s in sufferable. The song is terrible… is Black Mona Lisa a “DaVinci creature” or “self made”, can’t be both. He’s so bitter about everything, labels often give the same song to multiple artists to see how they do and of course, Celine Dion was huge at the time, so she had pick of anything she wanted. I think it’s his bitter attitude that’s keeping him from enjoying any success he’s had.
dbmcvey
He’s fine. Gay, anti-trans conservative trolls are insufferable.
abfab
And they are also bitter about EVERYTHING. One can only imagine what successes you’ve enjoyed, ShaverC, you miserable little bitch-troll-from-hell.
Stefano
@dbmcvey and @abfab : Sorry, but this time ShaverC is absolutely right. Besides, it looks like you spend your days reading and commenting on Queerty. You should get out a bit, it would do you good, maybe you’d be less vulgar and less bitter.
abfab
@stefano. You’re common.
dbmcvey
Hey Stefano, I really don’t care about your opinion. And if you think I post a lot on Queerty, look up Shaver and baron. They keep the site alive with their constant quotes.
JW
I remember buying his CD that he is referring to…I had only heard one song from it which was an R&B remake but his version was AMAZING!!1 and when I heard his rendition of the song “Love Is On The Way”..I was an instant fan of his music and still is…and I had always wondered about her connection to that song considering that his version was released at the same time that his was being noticed and also included in the soundtrack to the First Wives Club but it got overshadowed by Celine’s version…
NYeastvillage1
Billy Porter’s version of this song WAS on the First Wives Club soundtrack – Celine later covered it. Not sure if Porter’s confused or if Queerty’s got some editing issues…..
Randy
I agree. The way this reads you’d think Celine got to release the song before Billy’s version. But his was released first on the First Wives Club soundtrack. Celine covered it afterwards.
David Hudson
That was Porter’s quote, as reported in his interview with Vulture.
abfab
Terry Gross has doen some fabulous live interviews with him on FRESH AIR on NPR. For the Republicans here, that stands for National Public Radio.
MrGoldman
Wake up Billy! Music is a business. Celine did a better version and is infinitely more popular. Try running something yourself one day and stop telling everyone else what they should be doing or should have done.
SarcasaticMisanthrope
I guess he has to drum up Cash somehow after his contentious divorce and the actors strike.
abfab
Wrong. Another know-nothing comment.
abfab
CD is a greedy bitch. Read kids. You know very little about her, save for that screeeeeeching voice.
Is Nothing Sacred
Celine: Let’s talk about greed
by Roger Friedman
Cinemania / Music Central
Part 1: Go Away, Little Girl
(Carole King vetoes publishing “tariff”)
When Celine Dion sings “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” she really means it: The bestselling superstar is collecting a hefty percentage of the publishing rights of songs she herself did not write but performs on her new album. The album, “Let’s Talk About Love,” has sold about 12 million copies worldwide in its two months of release and is currently No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200. Dion does not write her own songs; she depends on professional songwriters to craft her hits. But on “Let’s Talk About Love,” Dion and her husband/manager, René Angelil, asked the writers of all the songs submitted to them for up to 20 percent of the publishing money. Some writers whose songs had been on previous Dion albums declined, and their songs were not used. But six songs by lesser-known writers, or writers without clout in the music industry, succumbed to Dion’s demands. In one case — a song called “The Reason,” co-written by Carole King, Mark Hudson and Greg Wells — the last two writers agreed to Dion’s terms but were vetoed at the last minute by the veteran King, who refused to give in.
The song was still included on the album but not used — as it had been advertised prior to release — as the album’s title. King’s objections, however, are not reflected on the album’s credits: Dion’s music-publishing company, Duffield Music, is still listed as the co-publisher of “The Reason.” Paul Farberman, a spokesman for Celine Dion, says that will be corrected in future printings of the album. King’s manager, Lorna Guess, says, “They asked, and we said no. We never give publishing away.” Guess says that King, who co-writes with many artists, has “never” been asked to do such a thing in the past by anyone.
Diplomat
You’re so much more effective than prescription sleeping pills.
abfab
Again with the drugs.
Diplomat
I like everything Billy except Billy in dresses. It really fks with his message. I will immediately change the channel. Done. Gbye. Gone.
dbmcvey
No. It enhances the message, for those who aren’t already super closed-minded.
Diplomat
Yeah. Like the .00005% of your TNB community and the .001% of the LGB community. Go fly your own TNB flag and get off of mine ya parasite.
abfab
Parasite? Wow you’re in a steep decline DIPLOMAT.
Diplomat
Your entire TNB parasitic agenda is in decline. Good to see rational thought legally throwing your activist asses to the curb. Enjoy the backlash.
dbmcvey
Diplo, the fact that you keep referring to the “LGB” community says it all. But then, I remember people complaining about both the “L” and the “B” being included. So you’re a long part of the history of being on the wrong side of history.
Thad
Lamya, a Kenyan-born English singer-songwriter, had a gorgeous song titled Black Mona Lisa on her album Learning From Falling. Billy’s song is not that. I vastly prefer Lamya’s.
Lamya passed away in 2009 at age 35.
Terrycloth
Billy espically in tv interviews I can only take in very small doses..why does he talk so LOUD. Love yourself was a great single dance anthem haven’t heard anything else after that..