By now you know that smile. You’re quite aware of those muscles. You may even have caught a live performance or contributed to the third-largest music Kickstarter in history. Now it’s almost time for Steve Grand to give you what your heart desires.
Not that. It’s the other thing your heart desires from him: A debut album. With a nod to the signature single that put Grand (top photo) on the map and into gay hearts, the full length “All American Boy” (right) is set for your playlist on March 24. The artist announced the date and released the album cover (right) on Wednesday and acknowledged a country influence while eschewing labels in general.
“The lines of life are blurring,” Grand tells Out. “We are seeing that in music as in sexuality and gender identity…There’s nothing different about my music just because I’m gay. I sing about things that I go through, but they are things that we all go through, regardless of sexual orientation.”
Of course, he’s nowhere without the gay fans who love his one big hit about hitting on a straight guy and being rejected. But we digress. In addition to the title song, there’s a story arc to the tracks on the new album, Grand continues with Out.
“Each song needed to function as a plot point on [a storyline] arc. A lot of things in life follow that trajectory, where there’s a beginning, middle, and end. Relationships do that, growing up does that, life does that.”
Every number, Grand adds, ”explores some kind of relationship, whether it be a relationship with a romantic partner, a relationship with a friend, a relationship with the past, a relationship with something destructive, a relationship with a community.”
Even though he refused to take off his shirt for one Pride audience, Grand still manages to keep our attention – for his Andy Cohen gigs, mad Kickstarter skills, and shirtless Pride anthem, if not for his amazing body anymore. OK yeah that too.
Can’t wait until March 24 to relive all your Steve Grand fantasies? Watch him slay an acoustic video for his now titular “All American Boy.”
