Music artist Jason Mraz is embracing his queer identity and declared he is officially done "broadcasting as hetero."
The singer/songwriter who broke into the music scene with the 2002 hit single "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" had previously been open about his sexuality before.
In a recent interview with The Advocate, the musician told the LGBTQ+ publication:
“I will admit that I probably spent the first close to 20 years of my career just broadcasting as hetero."
He alluded to feeling pressured to stay in the closet because of the environment he grew up in.
“You know, saying 'girl' in my songs, and a lot of that is growing up on a conservative street."
"And growing up around homophobia and feeling like I needed to protect some secret.”
In June 2018, Mraz came out as bisexual in a "love letter" to the LGBTQ+ community penned for Pride month as part of a feature for Billboard magazine.
A line from the poem read:
“I am bi your side."
He later told Billboard:
“Honestly, I didn’t realize it was going to be so telling."
The rainbow committee and its allies welcomed him with open arms.
Mraz was married twice, most recently to Christina Carano.
He admitted to having same-sex dalliances while he was dating Carano–whom he divorced in June this year.
He continued:
"But I’ve had experiences with men, even while I was dating the woman who became my wife."
"It was like, ‘Wow, does that mean I am gay?’ And my wife laid it out for me."
"She calls it ‘two spirit,’ which is what the Native Americans call someone who can love both man and woman. I really like that.”
Mraz also said he potentially had a romantic relationship with a man without taking it to the next level sexually.
He told Genre Magazine:
“I had a gay friend I was hanging out with just about everyday. We were basically best friends."
"It took me about three months before I realized, ‘Oh my god, we’re dating."
“It wasn’t until we were out for dinner on Valentine’s Day that I realized we both we’re having a very romantic time together.
“Right before I moved to California he gave me a pretty strong-willed kiss goodbye, which I have never experienced before."
"Unfortunately, he had a little bit more facial hair than I like.”
He added at the time:
“I have a bisexually open mind, but I have never been in a sexual relationship with a man."
"If the right one came along, then sure.”
As of 2014, Mraz has sold over seven million albums, and over 11.5 million in digital singles.
He is a two-time Grammy award winner and the recipient of two Teen Choice Awards, a People's Choice Award, and the Hal David Songwriters Hall of Fame Award.
In the recent Advocate interview, the singer said the music industry and the creative process of songwriting helped him to feel “closer and closer to being myself."
He explained how music figured into his recent introspective analysis.
“It helps you peel the layers off of yourself."
“It helps you continue to express yourself and understand the lessons you're learning in life and understand why you have the loves and the interests you've had in your life.”
Mraz added:
“I was having these curiosities and experiences on the side that were starting to influence who I am and the kind of fun I wanted to have in the world and the kind of person I wanted to be in the world, which is more honest and more loving and more inclusive.”
Mraz just released his latest album, Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride, in June, which coincided with his 46th birthday.
He said that by embracing his queerness, he has felt freedom and joy, and was unfazed by presenting himself on the cover of the latest album–which is something he hadn't done for a while.
“It’s why this album starts with 'Getting Started' and the album ends with 'If You Think You've Seen It All.'"
"It's why I put myself on the album cover, which I haven't done in 15 years. Because I feel brand-new."
"I feel like I'm not trying to hide anymore from who I maybe didn't want to be, and now I'm excited to be somebody that I could be.”
Next up for the singer is the release of the 15th-anniversary version of his third studio album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. on September 22.
He will also be playing with the New York Pop Orchestra on August 17 as part of his final summer tour stop at Forest Hills Stadium.
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