Did the 'secret' lead him down a path of self-destruction? Possibly. This clip is from March, but still very telling.
Ty Herndon
November 25, 2014
Was it drugs or sexual orientation that stalled out Ty Herndon's career?
November 24, 2014
Ty Herndon, Andy Griggs, & Jamie O'Neal announce 2015 tour
Well dang. I was hoping after Ty Herndon made his brave announcement on Thursday that he's gay, he'd disappear and then come back in a year or so with the most amazing country album ever recorded (hey, it could happen) and he'd officially become the first openly gay country mega-star.
Now comes word that he's got a tell-all book that he's working on and he's announced a new tour, which should give the publicity conspiracy theorists loads of ammunition to claim that Ty's coming out was all just part of a big publicity ploy.
Well let the the naysayers naysay, I guess.
On Saturday it was announced that Ty is heading out on tour with the always amazing Jamie O'Neal and Andy Griggs.
Here's the full press release:
There’s an old saying about there being strength in numbers. Country Music fans will no doubt find that out with the upcoming tour that teams up three of Country Music’s most distinctive stylists of the past two decades – Ty Herndon, Andy Griggs, and Jamie O’Neal. Separately, the numbers don’t lie – and together, they are staggering – over 40 chart singles on the Billboard Country Singles chart and millions of records sold. Each artist has their own success story to tell, but when they are on stage, it’s truly a magical combination – one that will stay in the minds of fans well after the last bow.
Talk to either Ty, Andy or Jamie, and you will find nothing but respect for the other two artists. Andy said that he’s excited to be teaming up with a pair of artists that are among his favorites, though he does admit that opposites do attract. “We all blend together about like Tupac, Bill Monroe and Joan Rivers but somehow it works on stage! Go figure! But when we’re not singing our hearts out together it's the most awkward, misplaced, dysfunctional, hilarious carnival that has ever been displayed!” Andy expects being on the road with Ty and Jamie to be nothing short of...entertaining.
When discussing Jamie, Andy says “Take a phenomenal female vocalist. Now add a husband to go with that that has to carry her 10 piece luggage all over God's creation. Then, mix it with her having to put up with 2 guys that are more different than night and day and can't even agree on having a vocal rehearsal which in return drives her so far up the wall that she's on verge of quitting the whole tour at any given moment of any given day and that's Jamie,” he says, adding that Ty is also an interesting character, as well.
“God certainly displays his amazing sense of humor each time he places me and Ty on tour together! I've never known a guy that I had half of the things in life in common with (born in the Spirit filled Bible Belt, completely southern, in love with the same kind of music...etc..) but then again can't be any more different than John Wayne and Prince! There's no way for us to completely understand each other's taste buds of life and we don't even pretend to try. That would be a total waste of each other's time. It's the strange ironies and upside down compasses in life though that makes us all rich. With Ty and myself, we share 2 of the rarest things in common. I suppose they out trump the mountains of shortcomings and differences that lay between us. Those two qualities we share are: being real and true to our natures, and being friends.”
Jamie feels that the new partnership will definitely be entertaining – on stage and off. “I'm so excited to be a part of this. Ty and Andy are two of the best male vocalists from any genre. They're so funny, good looking, and just a couple of goofy smart asses! I just couldn't resist. Ty is the most well put together, smoothest control freak I've ever met. Andy is a cute, lovable redneck with the softest heart. I only know when we sang together for the first time something very special happened and here we are, taking the next obvious step.”
Ty believes that the fans are going to get their monies worth when seeing their show live. He knows he’s been entertained from the stage. “The first time the three of us did a show together I wondered how in the world this would ever work. At first we did separate shows, but as time went on we started doing our shows together. The crowd seemed to love the fact that they got all these hits in one 2 hour show. Then we started singing harmonies with each other. I noticed pretty quickly that we had something special. Three powerhouse vocalists coming together and taking things to a new level. I first noticed it when something went wrong on stage and we had to save our asses by singing something acapella. ‘Amazing Grace’ never sounded so good. It was magic!”
So far no tour dates have been announced.
November 21, 2014
Surprise ... second country singer comes out as gay
The official National Coming Out Day was October 11, but apparently someone forgot to tell the men of country music that.
Just hours after Ty Herndon revealed that he is an out and proud man, another country singer decided it was time to reveal that he's also gay ... Billy Gilman.
Billy, however, did things a little differently than Ty. Rather than going on national television and appearing on People.com to make his announcement, Billy made the announcement in an emotional video on YouTube.
"Hmm. How should I say this?" He started the video, obviously struggling with how to begin his revelation.
You know, it's difficult for me to make this video not because I'm ashamed of being a gay male artist or a gay artist or a gay person. But it's pretty silly to know that I'm ashamed of doing this knowing that because I'm in an genre and industry that is ashamed of me for being me. That said, I want to say that all of the country artists that literally I grew up with - Keith Urban, Vince, LeAnn Rimes and all of these wonderful friends of mine have been nothing but supportive. Not that they knew but they've just been such wonderful people.
After Billy's announcement, LeAnn Rimes, who was singled out in the video as being very supportive in the past, tweeted her happiness.
I'm crying in a damn @McDonalds restroom in VA Thx to you both @TyHerndoncom @BillyGilman #speakthetruth #LGBT #ComingOut
— LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (@leannrimes) November 20, 2014
Billy also revealed in his video that he's had a boyfriend for the past five months and knows that coming out will probably be detrimental to his country music career.
I certainly hope he's proven wrong.
Check out Billy's full coming out video below.
November 20, 2014
Watch Ty Herndon announce to the world that he's gay (video)
As I was first to tell you this morning, Ty Herndon sat down with Entertainment Tonight recently for an interview and revealed that he is, as many have suspected over the years, gay. Now a portion of his interview is available to watch.
In it, Ty reveals that he's got a boyfriend of many years and hopes to get married someday (soon it sounds like). He also talks about his former marriages, legal troubles, and drug use.
He also reveals why he kept the news that he was gay secret for so many years.
"I had a lot of people around me that I trusted at a time and I was like,'Hey, you know this about me but the world doesn't. So I'm gonna need to call on your services for a little while,'" he confessed. "It was unfortunate that I had to do that, but I felt that's what I had to do to have my career. Standing on some pretty solid legs today, so I get to tell my truth today."
It would be nice if we lived in a world where it wasn't necessary to announce your sexual preference and where no one cared one way or the other. Unfortunately, we're not quite there yet, so it's nice that Ty's found peace enough in life that he doesn't feel the need to hide anymore.
Check out a snippet of Ty's revealing interview below. Fans can watch the full interview when it airs on "Entertainment Tonight" this evening.
Update: Herndon also spoke with People.com in depth about his decision to come out.
Ty Herndon comes out to Entertainment Tonight, announces "I'm Gay"
Photo: Entertainment Tonight
For two days now, I've noticed that "gay country singer" has been a hot search item. People have been showing up on NashvilleGab after searching for those words in huge numbers. I thought it was odd because I haven't written anything for quite a while in regards to gay country singers, so I thought I'd do a little investigating.
Turns out long-rumored-to-be-gay singer Ty Herndon has officially come out of the closet ... sort of.
Entertainment Tonight has a photo and link to a video that says "Country Star Ty Herndon I'm Gay." Unfortunately when you click the video link it goes to a "page not found" page, so I'm thinking they may have jumped the gun and released the video (or the hint that the video existed) earlier than planned.
Either way, good for Ty for finding the courage to be honest with fans and the world.
I'll post his interview just as soon as it's released.
February 25, 2014
He could have been bigger than Garth Brooks...
Some friends of mine in the biz told me that before his run-in with the law, Ty Herndon was on his way to becoming country music's next HUGE superstar.
In a candid conversation, Ty discussed cracking under pressure, and also revealed that he's in the process of writing him memoirs.
Listen to the full interview below or here if that doesn't work.
Have you heard his new album?
July 08, 2013
Shannon
I'm a mom of two and a wife of one
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