Singer With Millions of Streams Comes out as Gay
The soloist said he’s finally ‘letting people in.’
Matt Terry’s new power ballad “His Car” is an apology to the first man he ever loved in which he opens up publicly about his sexuality for the first time. “I’m very proud [of my sexuality], and I’m no longer afraid,” the English singer-songwriter told GAY TIMES.
Regarding the creation of “His Car,” Terry said, “It’s the only song I’ve struggled to record.” “As you’ve heard, it’s not vocal acrobats or screaming—it’s telling a story. That’s my story. That’s my truth. And it’s one of the most important stories I’m going to tell. I’ve been hiding who I was, and I haven’t really opened up. I’ve never let anybody in.”
“This song is an apology to the first man I fell in love with because I asked a lot of him,” he explained. “I said to him, ‘You’re not allowed to tell anyone about this,’ and he loved me enough to do so. Six, seven years later, I realize that’s not something we should be doing, and it’s not something you should ask somebody. It’s such a regret of mine, and I’m just really sorry. I’ve spoken to him about it, and he said, ‘I wouldn’t have done anything that I didn’t want to do, so I had a part to play.’
He added, “In music, we need more stories like this. That’s the reason why I’m letting people in.”
Terry said that he was “smiling” after discussing the societal pressures he faced after winning the 13th season of The X Factor in 2016 at 23. Due to persistent speculation over his sexuality from British tabloids, he said it “was so f**king hard, I’m not going to lie.”
“Any comment I saw or heard, any tweets, my heart would drop and I would immediately break into a sweat. I went on the show because I love to sing. I didn’t want to be – it sounds so silly – famous. I’m not here for that,” he told GAY TIMES.
“When I won, I never thought about what would happen. I didn’t think ahead. I never thought about the press or my sexuality or, ‘What am I gonna tell people?’ The paparazzi would always write ‘Matt Terry kisses male outside pub’ or ‘Matt Terry likes Tom Daley’s Instagram picture.’ I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I hadn’t spoken to my family. I hadn’t spoken to my friends. It was getting on top of me.”
Also, I had the pressure of delivering a number-one album, otherwise I’d be a failure,” he continued. “So, I privately came away from the industry, and lots of people have been like, ‘Where have you been?’ I’ve been discovering who I am as a human and as an artist. This is me taking back control.”
After a brief hiatus from the industry, Terry said he was “grateful for the show and everything it’s given me. I’ve learned a lot from it, but I won’t let it be the same as before. I won’t be put in a box with my sexuality. That is part of me, but it’s not all of me. I appreciate it – thanks Simon [Cowell], love you. It just can’t define the rest of my life, and I won’t let it. I’m in a really lovely place, and this is not a pity party at all. This isn’t, ‘Poor Matt, he went through so much!’ This is, ‘Matt has taken back the power and is doing it on his own terms.'”
