Arts & Entertainment
Watch: ‘American Idol’ contestant comes out during audition
Jorgie credits Katy Perry for inspiring him
One aspiring singer impressed the judges while coming out at the same time during his “American Idol” audition.
Singer Jorgie brought his band, named Jorgie and the Jorgies, to the audition. He began with his imitation of judge Katy Perry’s singing voice in “California Gurls.”
Perry seemed a little thrown off asking fellow judges Lionel Ritchie and Luke Bryan “Do I sound like I yodel? Is that my signature sound?”
Jorgie explains that Perry is an inspiration to him and her song “I Kissed a Girl” helped him to come out. However, he says his father still doesn’t know he’s out.
“Knowing that it could be mainstream, that helped me so much,” Jorgie said of the song “I Kissed a Girl.”
Jorgie launches into an original song titled “Heaven,” about a man he has a crush on who also doesn’t know he’s gay.
“He won’t think twice about me/ But boy if he did/ My life would be heaven,” Jorgie sings.
His song and voice stunned the judges including Perry who insists on giving him a full body hug at the end of his audition.
“When I say you nailed it, I mean to the point of in awe,” Ritchie tells Jorgie “I loved what you just did.”
Watch below.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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