Boy Band Members Who Are Out As Gay, Bisexual or Queer

'” says Mark Nelson, founr of Mark Nelson Events, who’s booked acts like Perry, Mogue and the Psyt Dolls for key gay club shows. That’s why barely an eyebrow was raised when Adam Lambert recently beme the first openly gay performer to but at No. Even Azealia Banks, the most buzzed-about female rapper sce Maj, quietly me out as bisexual a recent New York Tim profile and turned her first headlg New York ncert to a tribute to late-’80s gay Harlem, hostg a stume ntt filled wh vogug straight out of “Paris Is Burng.

THE WANTED’S MAX GEE CALLS ONE DIRECTN’S LOUIS TOMLSON GAY

And though gay-targeted publitns like the Advote and Out stggle wh circulatn, the enomic revery of mid-2010 seems to have benefed the gay prs. 5% to $307 ln, the rult of creased spendg on natnal publitns om beverage/alhol, tomotive and retail marketers, among others, acrdg to the 2011 Gay Prs Report, piled by ad agency Prime Accs and LGBT media placement firm Rivenll Media.

Even Clear Channel has a Pri rad work that serv 19 markets wh gay-iendly pop mic as well as across iHeartRad’s digal work. Gay buyg power, often touted for the nsumer group’s supposed affluence, remas a b of a misnomer.

WATCH: THE WANTED PREDICT WHICH ONE DIRECTN MEMBER IS GAY

“There’s no data that suggts gay people are wealthier than anybody else, ” Weck Communitns’ Bob Weck says. ” Neverthels, Weck’s firm found that gay nsumers spend more on entertament than other nsumer groups and projected the market’s overall U. Labels are startg to velop dited gay-marketg strategi for certa artists, much as they already have for reachg Hispanic or Ain-Amerin dienc.

Adam Lambert beme the first openly gay artist to but at No. Island Def Jam executive VP of marketg Eric Wong has long turned to the gay market for artists rangg om Lopez and Carey (whom he -manag) to velopg acts like Kerli and Neon Tre, whether ’s through dance remix, club promotns or personal appearanc.

THE WANTED: IS JAY MCGUS GAY? BRISH SGER’S SEXUALY EXPLORED

) And a new wave of major-label pop acts is urtg the gay dance-club dience as an early champn. ’ Neon Hch, bt-known to pop dienc for her vols on Gym Class Hero’ “Ass Back Home, ” has been workg dance sgl like “F— U Betta” to gay clubs for months now, while Young Money’s Porcela Black often squeezed gay-targeted shows between tour stops wh labelmat Maj and Lil Wayne last year. Atlantic act Mara & the Diamonds’ sophomore album, Electra Heart, will get a big gay-marketg ph om Fly Life when the album hs U.

But even gay nsumers aren’t immune to a tough tourg enomy, as the founrs of Cyndi Lper’s Te Colors tour learned 2009.

JAGUARS STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY

Established 2007 to raise funds for the Human Rights Campaign and support of the Matthew Shepard Act (later approved by Congrs October of that year), Te Colors was a mega-tour of sorts for gay and gay-iendly acts like Erasure, Gossip, Deborah Harry, the B-52s, the Drn Dolls and Ruf Wawright.

Beyond pop, there isn’t a clear paradigm for other genr to tablish more out gay stars like Lambert, Aiken and John. Hip-hop remas the last taboo, wh the bisexual Banks and male rappers’ reactive support of gay marriage signalg baby steps toward an out gay male rapper. In the rock world, Michael Stipe and Rob Halford waed long after their reers were tablished before announcg they were gay.

Boy Band Members Who Are Out As Gay, Bisexual or Queer

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WHY THE WANTED PLAY GAY CLUBS: MARKETG, MIC AND THE LGBT COMMUNY’S MASTREAM MIC CLOUT

THE WANTED'S MAX GEE: 'LOUIS TOMLSON WILL BE FIRST ONE DIRECTN STAR TO COME OUT AS GAY'

LOUIS TOMLSON GAY? THE WANTED REVEAL THE TTH!