DECADE OF ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
3/20/10
First of all, I want to thank Jeff Brenner at Kurfew Entertainment, the RDP Group and the Original GLBT Expo for the opportunity to express my gratitude to the GLBT community.
When I was recording my debut CD back in the 90’s, I wanted to make pop music that I didn’t have growing up--Music that spoke directly to the experience of LGBT people. I am so thankful for the ways in which the community has embraced me and supported me. Every fan that has told me my music helped make them feel better about themselves makes any struggle I’ve had to go through completely worth it.
But this award is not about me--its about the community coming together to recognize work by and about LGBT people because unfortunately—especially in the music industry-we are not hearing our unique voices nearly enough. And that means that our work is not done.
While we can certainly hope that the mainstream music industry will support the work of openly gay artists and we can be optimistic that an artist like American Idol’s Adam Lambert will help open doors, we cannot simply wait for that to happen—especially in a music industry in crisis—even before the fallout of this economic crisis.
It is up to us to create our own stars and create our own opportunities to recognize each other and support one another just like this opportunity was created for me today.
• If you are a gay magazine publication, you might think you need straight celebrities to sell advertising, but please be creative on how you can highlight gay artists on the cover.
• If you are a company selling any product, join forces with a gay artist for promotion like the ventures we see every day with mainstream artists.
• If you are a pride festival or gay club, it’s understandable to sprinkle some big name straight artists in between gay artists—but it shouldn’t be the other way around.
• Dowload music from iTunes of your favorite LGBT artists TODAY!
Let’s make sure that we treat our gay artists with just as much reverence, care, and support as we do our mainstream stars. And remember that nothing great comes without risk.
I humbly accept this award that recognizes the incredible decade of achievement I have had as an openly gay artist from the beginning of my career. But if I tell you that I am up here and still need support to continue to do my work, then we can only imagine how many other gifted and talented gay and transgendered artists are out there who also need institutional or financial support to do their work.
The gay community- with all our talent, creativity, innovation and “disposable income” – should be able to come together- bringing more visibility and power so we can finally be seen in all our complexity, diversity- and equality.
I want to conclude by saying that I could not have achieved anything without the help of my family who have stood by me and cheered me on. I think that kind of support from your family cannot be underestimated in contributing to the strength that is necessary to be an artist who is fiercely unafraid to show who they truly are in a world where we are still fighting for our equal rights. Thank you and let’s rock this next decade out better and stronger than the last.