Blake McGrath, the bisexual dancer-choreographer So You Think You Can Dance made famous (with a little help from J. Lo’s Dancelife), is a pop star in the making. Or so I’m being told! Releasing the video for the made-for-the-club track “Night (Only Place To Go)” in April, which I quite liked, Blake today premiered his follow up, “Relax,” on Much Music in Canada. We scored a copy.
[flv:http://media.queerty.net/blakemcgrathrelax.mp4 https://queerty-prodweb.s3.amazonaws.com/wp/docs-null/2010/09/blakemcgrathrelax.jpg 650 400]
It’s definitely a sexier take on Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s rendition, though I’m a little upset the black-and-white cinematography means all that make-up really obscures his abs.
Is this destined to enter heavy rotation on my iPod? Perhaps. Or at the very least Blake offers an alternative to Adam Lambert — I’ve pretty much worn out “If I Had You.”
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
jason
The music industry in America will not allow a male singer to use his bisexuality as a marketing ploy. Record companies are extremely homophobic towards the concept of male-male sexuality in marketing.
There are several reasons for this:
a) Women. Women are jealous of male-male intimacy. Women want to be the center of attention in everything. Male-male intimacy deflects attention away from a female’s ego, and thus needs to be countered. If all men turned to men for affection, women would be redundant. Women know this.
b) The bisexual double standard. The porn industry has spent the better part of the last 40 years glamorizing and promoting female bisexuality but not male bisexuality. The constant barrage of female bisexual depictions in two-gender, mainstream porn has shaped people’s views in a way that benefits the concept of female bisexuality.
c) Blacks. Blacks dominate the music industry. Young black men are extremely homophobic on the whole. So long as blacks dominate the music charts, it will be difficult for a bi guy to break through.
Dollie
@jason: Though I agree that the music industry might be weary of using male bisexuality as a marketing ploy, it would be much easier to take your comment seriously had it not been laced with vile, misguided, and unwarranted sexism and racism.
jason
Dollie,
I’ve simply stated an informed opinion. My opinions are based on facts, not prejudices.
If that irks, so be it. I’m not here to be nice or PC. You might note that I have also been merciless in my criticism of religious conservatives and gay male promiscuity.
I won’t be prevented from stating an informed opinion no matter how many people I offend, Left or Right.
Chris
Jason has spouted his sexism and misogyny before and I’ve already slammed him for it. It’s clear he didn’t think about jack shit. It’s the same old talking points, almost word for word.
more Jason spouted vitriol here: http://www.queerty.com/does-ikeas-new-ad-represent-beautiful-bisexual-inclusion-or-slutty-stereotypes-20100910/
and some sex-negativity and puritanism here: http://www.queerty.com/are-you-sure-lady-gaga-is-the-feminist-icon-you-think-she-is-20100917/
I’m not going to get into this again. *headshake*
Hotone2me
@ Jason, I is a travesty to allude that homophobia is perpetuated among young African American males and not take into full account of the survival aspect of not being disclosed as a sexual minority especially given the context of Slavery, Reconstruction and most importantly during jim Crow Segregation. It truly was a matter of life or death for African American that were gay to not have that reveal in the slightest notion in fear of being lynched.
Although progress have been made, the survival nature of those who lived during a time of civil unrest has been passed down generations. To assumed that GLBT equality and acceptance relays on the African American Community negates strongly the power of religion and its ideology that is dominated by white males within the United States.
So in order to disect the problematic aspect of the US reluctance to embrace GLBT individuals either in the music industry or other wise, you first have to take a very hard look at the residual baggage of how our country developed and what psychosocial and cultural barriers persist within it.
It is women that birth us, nurture us and quite often allow for us to express a more kinder gentler aspect of being male. It is not always a barrier or a means for hostiltiy towards them that empede upon our notion of samesex attraction.
So homophobia as a collective is really social constructed by whites and takes away from the privillage of being whtie for those who identify as GLBT.
And yes, African Americans have had a tremendious impact upon the music around the world historically, it is whites males that are the majority empowered that control the music industry.
So I ask you Jason.. what the hell are you smoking?!!!
missanthrope
Oh, Jason is claiming that blacks, women, and bi-sexual women are all oppressing gay men again. This happens like twice a week.
*yawn*
Chris
@Hotone2me: See, this is when I will also call “bullshit.” I got into a huge fight defending the black community from blanket racists on another thread, but now it’s time to call the other side out, as you’ve moved past claiming responsibility and instead pointed fingers at another group (whites and religious).
There exists homophobia everywhere, also in the black community. Like we’ve said before, it’s not discriminatory to acknowledge that. We can also analyze the reasons behind it all we want, but that doesn’t make it go away. Pointing the finger at another group and saying “it’s your fault, you fix it” is counter-productive. Acknowledge the sociocultural background for homophobia in America and in black America, and work towards changing it.
Individual responsibility, people.
DigitalFudge
@jason
I find your original comment, well, just so wrong. I really mean no disrespect
The Music Business and Recording Industry are two different things. No one rules the Music Business anymore. There is myspace, there is youtube, you can shoot a video of yourself and send it to ellen performing “Im a slave 4 u” and she might play it on her show for lols and giggles.
Now you are talking about the “Recording industry” another business.
Point blank. Businesses like to make money, it is easy to get a straight guy to sing a song about girls and have all the girls buy it. It is a tried and true method.
There is another group of people for the Recording Industry to make money off of. The Gaga fans, the Glee watchers, the people who will watch every season of Housewives until their brain falls into itself
Gay men, and the women who love them.
The recording industry saw the power of the gay dollar with Gaga and I can assure you. With every fiber of my soul. That they will exploit us gays with any hot guy they can find very very soon.
They want money. Period.
Who buys all of Britney Spear’s albums and singles? Who buys stuff that madonna puts out? Who bought 11 million copies of “The Fame”
Straight, homophobic, men? Women who have big egos? The same women who have 30 Gay BFFs?
I promise you the day that a semi masculine man decides to sing a song about how he loves another guy and it’s good? He wont need a record label, he wont need the “Record Industry”, he wont need the illuminati, all he needs are 1/8 of the gays that support gaga and he is set for life. 1/4 and we have a pop superstar.
Charlie Jackpot
I have to agree with DigitalFudge a bit
However the reason this won’t be a success is because its a dreadful song and video – this has no audience outside of gay men and it’s bloody awful
Hilarious
@Chris: I like how you separated America and “black America”.
DR
@jason:
Just curious… Are you a bitter bisexual guy who can’t get any play from the ladies because of it?
I’m not going to call your post misogynistic or racist, but your blanket comments reek of ignorance.
And quite frankly, if you want to find a group to attack for some of the worst attacks on bisexuality? You forgot gay men, who think it’s nothing more than “gay-in-training”, and get really pissy when a bi guy kisses a chick. Just saying.
jason
I really don’t give a rat’s tossbag about slavery or some such. It’s 2010, get over it. Blacks have not been slaves for over 100 years. Yes, it was disgusting what happened to them then, absolutely disgusting. But that is no excuse or justification for the way black culture is today.
Most of you fail to see reason for the simple fact that you’ve got your PC glasses on. You’re PC towards blacks, you’re PC towards women, and you’re PC towards your fellow gays. That is no way to assess issues and draw informed conclusions.
I would say that, at the legal level, religious conservatives are the greatest threat to gay and bisexual men. I would also say that, at the social level, the greatest threat to gay and bisexual men is women and blacks. Yes, women and blacks.
You will never achieve equal rights at the social level until you take your fight up to women and blacks. It’s as simple as that.
SomethingElse
Jason : You’re trying to argue with pc gays. They hate Israel and adore the Palestinians, for goodness’ sake. Luckily the younger generation of homos live by evidence and aren’t stuck in a wishful world of pc fantasy.
L.
On-topic discussions are, like, so 2009.
Marcus M.
So how bout that video?
alan brickman
Is that women oppresssing gay right’s name Katy Perry???
scott ny'er
The video is pretty good. It could be better.
The song isn’t bad. I’m digging it. I llke Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s version better. But this is good.
Mr. Enemabag Jones
I read on a website that Mr. McGrath no longer identifies as bi. Apparently he is now straight, and has found God.
See the site here:
http://tinyurl.com/29an396
DR
@DigitalFudge:
Uhm…. Bob Mould, Eric Himan, Jay Walden, Rob Halford, Levi Kreis, Jay Brannon, Jason and deMarco… sadly I don’t see too many gay men jumping on their bandwagon, they’d rather fawn over Madonna and Lady GaGa.
There are a lot of masculine gay male performers out there, and most gay men don’t give a rat’s ass about them.
DR
@jason:
It’s got nothing to do with PC, I’m just tired of you blaming every freaking problem on blacks, faux bisexual women et al. Get a new schtick, please, this one is tired.
The men in white coats called, they want their conspiracy theories back.
hotone2me
@ Chris, well sir, you may would like to reread my statement, and allow for some time for it to process. No where in my statement was the implication of “fault” or a simple remedy for a “fix”. I feel that would have made for a better argument to maybe used the words illustrated in my comment for your counter argument. I am unaware of the post that you were referring to that somehow manifest it way into your post, but it did and I am sure there is validity there, I just don’t see it at the moment.
Now @ Jason. I would agree with you that the African American culture is not open for same sex expression on a whole, however neither is Orthodox Jews, Mormons, Orthodox Catholics, Southern Baptist, Muslims, etc.. Hope this helps to clearly show that all groups are represented in The United States and all have great influence on its people. Socially these group have a great influence upon all that are of many races. I would love it, if truly that the African American Community held the supreme dishonor of oppressing the gay community. I say this because clearly as an African American, I could advocate for greater change because I am of course both Gay/Black… hum… gays are all races, religion, cultures and genders. We sit on every continent, are in every country, and have an variety of ways to which we express our same sex, or opposite sex desires. So here to you and everyone else who have a narrow view of the power of oppression and an over simplified remedy to through constructive criticism in the whelm of being PC.. Religion often influence social norms. ( Prop 8) for example. This was heavly funded by the Morman and Catholic Church and yes there was political plow for the media to place a slant on the aging African American Community. The power players that pushed this along were not those in the African American Community. Just saying, to stress my point!!! Yelp folks, they were prodomantly white and male!!
p.s. Before someone even dare try to throw the Angry Black Man racist card at me.. My White, Mennintie Boo would disagree!!!
jason
If a male singer surrounds himself with half-naked men in his music video, he is called “gay” and is lucky to have his video played on TV.
If a female singer surrounds herself with half-naked women (Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Rihanna….), she is glamorized and has her videos automatically entered onto the high rotation play list.
If this doesn’t tell you something, nothing will.
Liberals are responsible for this homophobic double standard. Women and blacks are responsible too.
OrchidIslander
I’m way over slick, wannabe edgy, music videos with performers straight out of the pages of hipster magazines.
It all seems, so already done before.
To me this video is fluff. It looks like the kind of flashy video one would see on monitors at the more trendy uptown bars. Lyrics? Message? Who cares! Look at that bod and simulated sex!
Sadly, and I could be wrong, it appears gay men and young girls are amongst the most easily captivated by this sort of imagery.
When a great song, and accompanying music video, is created that exalts anyone except the young, cookie-cutter, uber-desirable, celebritant, Madison-Avenue-made-model and six-packed – you know, the images that Corporate America tells us that we all must strive for and worship – than my interest might be piqued and churlishness somewhat abated.
But I don’t hold my breath for that.
Jill
I read on a website that Mr. McGrath no longer identifies as bi. Apparently he is now straight, and has found God.
See the site here:
http://tinyurl.com/29an396
Read more: http://www.queerty.com/can-relax-make-bisexual-singer-dancer-blake-mcgrath-a-true-pop-star-20100918/#ixzz101zm6TzK
Personally, I do not wish him success. There is no need to reform yourself and imply that there is something wrong with homosexuality. (When in reality he is probably just trying to make himself more appealing to the masses.)
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
@Jill: 100% Co-sign. Closets should not come equiped with revolving doors……..
Queerts bring please refrain from giving this asshat any more publicity pretty pleeeezee………
MusicLoverDude
I certainly hope he gets some success. I love this song! It’s my current #1 song.
– Ryan (MusicLoverDude)
Bucket
You need to look over your website! I love the fact you have award! You need me on your team! I love to see you as a man looking great! You are! I love you, but I am scared to stand with you! See you on your show, for now! You need to come pick me up! I have your back! You want a army? Do not post please! If you do I will be compromised!