As a boy slipping away from his small town to discover a new gay world, The Advocate was the authority on everything queer.

Their mention of my new album and the KnockOUT Tour was rather insignificant, but in that moment it felt important to me. But what was more fun was seeing readers write in to respond to how insignificant the mention was in light of the buzz we had created in the community. In the letter below, this reader calls out gay media’s marginalization of gay male singer/songwriters to indulge in our never-ending diva obsession. I thought it was pretty bold to say.

Both Eric and I could feel the support of our community – even though The Advocate was slow to the party.