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Ada vox age1/17/2024 ![]() ![]() Even in 2018, Wells still hears homophobic jokes in music writing sessions, which made him realize that gay people are one of "the last socially accepted" groups to make fun of. "Radio is a very, very, very conservative format and it misses so much of the great music being made," Wells lamented. It's better probably than it's ever been in America, but in Europe it's way less of a big deal," said Wells, who spends part of each year in Stockholm, as his wife is Swedish. "There's there's rampant homophobia, not just in the record business but in the American media. "Which wound up being true," said Wells, "because, I won't name names, but let's just say the gatekeepers of radio actually told Mika's mom, 'We can't get behind a man singing in falsetto that he wants to be like a woman,' referring to the song 'Grace Kelly,' Mika's big hit" in Europe. He's gonna drive you crazy." Likewise, when Wells collaborated with Mika on his 2007 album Life in Cartoon Motion, another manager told Wells, "Just do two songs and get out, because. Why would you want to work with him? He's not going to sell any records. In 2001, when he told his manager at the time that he would work with Wainwright, who is gay, his manager replied, "Don't work with him. Through these musicians, he witnessed homophobia in the music industry firsthand. lang and produced albums with Mika and Rufus Wainwright. Wells has also worked with many queer artists throughout his career. This early influence impacts his music even today. Wells thought about Derek while he was working on the Greatest Showman soundtrack - as well as how his friendship with him "opened me up in so many ways." Through Derek, Wells learned what it was like to be "a young gay man in a town where you couldn't talk about that." And culturally, his friend "really offered me up to so many things that I never would've been exposed to it all," like the art of Andy Warhol and films of John Waters starring Divine. Recently, at LoveLoud, a music festival supporting LGBTQ young people, a trans youth brought the crowd to tears by singing a rendition. It was played in Pride parades throughout June and is a favorite performance choice of Ada Vox, the first drag performer to reach the top 10 on American Idol. Thanks to the empowering words of lyricists Paul and Pasek - who is gay - combined with the magic touch of Wells, "This Is Me" has become a new anthem for the LGBTQ community. "Music, when you get it right, is among the most powerful stuff out there in a way that I can't really put a label on," said Wells. And then if it's going well, the performer feels that energy coming back from the audience, and it's a beautiful chain reaction." It's an energy exchange between the performer and the audience. "Music to me, absolutely, is audio, but it's so much more than that," Wells said. If done incorrectly, it can turn a fantastic live performance into something "underwhelming." It is a "funny balance" to accomplish with recorded music, he said. "I just wanted the cathartic release to be as big as I could get it without overturning the apple cart," he said. So, while layering the track, he added the sound of drums, which becomes more prominent as the song progressed. Wells immediately recognized the need for an audience member to be "riveted" during this song as it builds to an emotional climax.
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