Get Out! GAY Magazine – Issue 344 – November 29, 2017

What was your reaction to making the
top 40 charts on Billboard?
Getting “If You Were My Baby” on the
Billboard Top 40 charts again is such an
incredible feeling. As a solo artist, I am
that much more grateful. I was in a pop
group as a kid signed to Madonna’s label,
and I am achieving [a] Billboard chart
position on my own being myself. Success
is much sweeter when you are at the
helm of it all.
Tell us about performing at The
American Influencer Awards. I saw your
performance, and you killed it!
The American Influencer Awards
was a huge event. When the owners
approached me to perform, it was just a
seed of an idea. I had no idea it would be
that big. An incredible number of news
outlets were there, and the creme de
la creme of beauty, music and fashion
showed up.
Your new album has just been released
and is creating a super buzz already.
What message do you hope to convey?
I wrote “The New Alpha” because
I noticed that political correctness
was getting out of control. I wanted
to write a record that could help
empower people and at the same
time poke fun at people who try to
manipulate by being offended [by]
everything and forcing censorship.
I got some heat for the cover of my
album, but what it represents is a
man who is equally masculine and
feminine, and politically speaking
equally left and right. We went
through an incredibly divisive
time in human history due to the
election and people’s black and
white thinking. I personally loved it,
because it made people excited about
politics. I love watching corrupt
people crumble. It’s the rebel in me.
Do you have a favorite song on the
album, one that you’re most proud
of at the moment?
My favorite song is “Magic Carpet.”
I sing like a Middle Eastern man
on it. I love the way they sing. I do
not, however, love the way radicals
throw gay men off of buildings and stone
women for disobeying. I want everyone
to know that I can sing like anyone that I
want to, however way I want to. I am an
American. I am allowed to be gay and sing
Middle Eastern-type music, and fuse it
with sex and pop. I can do that, because
I am free. If I were to live in those other
countries, the penalty for being gay is
death.
I understand you are going to tour
internationally. How excited are you,
and what can U.K. fans expect?
I am thrilled to be performing in the U.K.
I haven’t been in London since the boy
band years. I absolutely love traveling
and meeting my fans. Thanks to social
media, I speak with fans who live all
around the world. My goal is to be able
to travel to all parts of the world to share
my music and my stage show. It sounds
cliché, but my dreams are my reality.
Follow on
Twitter: @rickyrebelrocks
RickyRebelRocks.com
PHOTO BY BUSY MILLER