Last Updated on 08/14/2023 by てんしょく飯
San Diego-based drag queen and gospel singer Flamy Grant (age 41) has recently released his debut album, “Bible Belt Baby,” which debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes Christian Music Chart. This “unprecedented” accomplishment is attracting a lot of attention in the United States.
One of the singles from his debut album “Bible Belt Baby,” “Good Day,” also ranked second in the Top Songs category.
Flamy, who identifies as non-binary in his personal life, encourages others to live their lives in their own way through drag.
In an interview with TODAY, she expressed his joy at being the first Christian and queer person to achieve such a feat.
I’ve been writing songs since I was 16 years old, hoping to one day be on stage like [American Christian pop singer] Amy Grant, so this is a huge deal for me. It means a lot, and I’m really happy. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
In a video posted on TikTok as of July 28, he congratulated his followers for placing fourth at that time. ‘I can’t believe it. This makes me the first drag queen to enter the Christian music charts,” he commented in the video.
I couldn’t be my true self in the church community…
In the same interview, he also discussed his upbringing. He grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, in an “evangelical Christian” community that believes that salvation is based solely on the gospel of Christ, and as a child he was not allowed to listen to any music other than what was available at the local Christian bookstore.
Flamy, on the other hand, “always had a fascination with drag,” he says. As a child, she recalls, he was taught only the “traditional” view of gender, and it was difficult for his to develop a foundation of acceptance for his true self in the church community.
After graduating from college, Flamy moved to San Diego to be part of a team that started a new church. There, he spent five years participating in “Exodus International*,” a conversion therapy for gays that aims to change an individual’s sexual orientation and gender identity.
I just wanted to fit in with everyone around me. That’s how deep-seated my internalized aversion to homosexuality (homophobia) was. But after that experience, I finally came to think: ‘I did everything I could. I have done everything I can do. My sexuality will never change.
Conflicts with his faith
In one video posted on Tiktok, he says that he has been treated as a “person who has sinned [in religion],” and then refers to the fact that homosexuality is considered a “sin” in some religions, saying that “everyone should be equal at birth. Flamy.
He said it was the podcast Heathen, which he started in 2017, that helped him come to terms with the conflict between his desire to “have faith” and his sexuality. At the time, he said, he was leaving his evangelical Christian faith and reexamining his own religious beliefs.
Through the podcast, Flamy realized that there are many different ways of thinking among Christians, as he conversed with other musicians who were also exploring the same way of dealing with their faith. He continues to be a Christian and continues to believe.
When called upon to perform as a drag queen…
In an interview with <PEOPLE>, Flamy revealed that he started performing as a drag queen when the Covid-19 pandemic forced his to spend more time at home, and he gradually gained recognition as a drag queen through his videos on TikTok, which received a lot of views. In an interview with <PEOPLE>, he revealed that she gradually became known as a drag queen.
Eventually, the pastor of a progressive, inclusive, LGBTQ+-affirming church he belonged to at the time asked his to “preach a sermon” in drag queen form.
The video of his applying makeup and other activities drew comments from people with similar concerns, expressing their gratitude and feelings of empowerment. ＜In <TODAY>, he shared his thoughts on the video’s buzz.
In the video, he said, “It makes me feel like I am understood. It makes me feel safe. I couldn’t stop crying when I saw everyone’s comments like, ‘Thank you so much. Then I understood. I thought I was just doing this drag to heal my “inner child” (negative childhood memories and feelings), but in reality, I was reaching a lot of people.
What I want to convey to the next generation of children
Flamy’s debut album, “Bible Belt Baby,” is a collection of songs that depict his “journey” in dealing with religion and her gender identity.
Flamy hopes that children who grew up in Christian communities like hers will find his music, and he hopes that his presence in the Christian world will reassure LGBTQ+ youth that they are not alone.
And while anti-LGBTQ laws (laws that restrict the rights of sexual minorities) have become an issue in the United States in recent years, in an interview with the music industry magazine <Billboard>, Flamy said that he hopes that his presence in the Christian community will help reassure LGBTQ+ youth in the Christian world that they can find their own music,
In an interview with Billboard magazine, Flamy said that there has never been a more important time to express queerness in Christian music.
I chose Christian music because it’s important to me. And I’m here because I know there are still queer kids growing up listening to it.
‘I want them to know they have a choice. I don’t want them to have the experience of trying to force themselves to conform or be ostracized like I did.”
From now on, Flamy will quit his job in a month and move to North Carolina to begin his career as a singer-songwriter and drag queen. He offered a shout-out to others who are also struggling with their faith and being queer.
People will say, ‘You can’t do it,'” he said. You can’t do drag in church. You can’t do drag in church, and you can’t do drag itself. But I say, ‘You can do anything. You can do anything.
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