Frank Ocean's Not Alone: Five Other Singers Who've Come Out as Gay

Adam Lambert, Ricky Martin and more

By Brett Malec Jul 12, 2012 12:00 AMTags
Frank OceanKarl Walter/Getty Images for Coachella

The hip hop world exploded with support for singer Frank Ocean when he revealed his first love was a man last week, but the 24-year-old "Novacane" crooner isn't the first music-maker to come out as gay.

Music veterans like Melissa Etheridge, K.D. Lang and even Judas Priest rocker Rob Halford have paved the rainbow way for today's same-sex lovin' singers to be out and proud.

Read on for five other notable celeb singers who've come out of the closet...

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1. Adam Lambert: There was lots of speculation about Lambert's sexual orientation during his stint on season 8 of American Idol and he didn't wait long after the show finished to put all the gossip to rest. "I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I'm gay," the 30-year-old San Diego native told Rolling Stone in 2009. "I'm proud of my sexuality. I embrace it. It's just another part of me." The pop star is now dating Finnish reality star Sauli Koskinen.

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2. Ricky Martin: Who knew during his time in the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo that Martin would eventually become one of the most well-known (and most caliente!) openly gay singers in the world?! "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man," the proud papa of twins Matteo and Valentino admitted in an open letter on his website in 2010. "I am very blessed to be who I am."

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3. Chely Wright: The 41-year-old country crooner, who had a brief romance with fellow singer Brad Paisley over a decade ago, struggled terribly with her sexuality before finally revealing to the world she's gay in 2010. "I'm scared to death," Wright told us of coming out. "But I feel like this is what I am supposed to do. I'm ready for it." Wright married her girlfriend Lauren Blitzer just over a year after the announcement.

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4. Clay Aiken: Before Adam Lambert, there was another American Idol runner-up who's private life came into question while on the reality competition show back in 2003. At the time, Aiken dodged questions about his sexual orientation. Fast forward to five years later when Aiken came out on the cover of People magazine in 2008 with his newborn son Parker. "It was the first decision I made as a father," Aiken, now 33, said. "I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn't raised that way, and I'm not going to raise a child to do that."

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5. Lance Bass: 'N Sync fans around the world were taken by surprise when the boy-bander revealed his same-sex preferences back in 2006 on the cover of People. "I knew that I was in this popular band and I had four other guys' careers in my hand," Bass, who at the time was in a relationship with Amazing Race winner Reichen Lehmkuhl, said of previously keeping his sexuality a secret. "I didn't know: Could that be the end of 'N Sync? So I had that weight on me of like, 'Wow, if I ever let anyone know, it's bad.' So I just never did."