Had Vassy listened to her music teachers when she was seven-years-old, she might never have become a certified Platinum recording artist with multiple chart-topping dance hits.
“I always wanted to do music, even from a young age,” says the Australian-born vocalist. “But I was actually kicked out of school choir. I was told I don’t have what it takes. Can you believe that shit? I have sort of a weird voice. But I think it’s because I was just instinctively an artist, at a young age. I probably wasn’t singing the melody like the rest of the kids, following protocol. I was totally doing my own little thing.”
It’s that same powerful, brassy, yet soulful voice that’s propelled Vassy’s rise. The 34-year-old has had five different singles reach the top ten on Billboard‘s Dance Club Songs Chart, including No. 1 hits “We Are Young,” “Hustlin’,” and “Nothing to Lose,” her most recent project, produced by the “Godfather of EDM,” Tiësto. Her trademark voice has also been featured on popular singles like Tiësto and KSHMR’s “Secrets” and David Guetta and Showtek’s “Bad,” which earned her an award in 2015 at the 30th Annual International Dance Music Awards.
Vassy has always been an unapologetic defender of the downtrodden, outcasts, and the marginalized, speaking out against bullying, working with people with disabilities, advocating for at-risk teenagers, and serving as an LGBTQ ally and ambassador to the NoH8 campaign.
“When I was 14 in high school, one of my dearest friends, a special little soul, used to get teased,” she says. “I remember one day asking him, ‘When are you going to tell your family you like boys?’ He just looked at me, poor thing. He was shocked, and he started crying…. I didn’t even know what ‘gay’ was. I just instinctively was in tune with sexuality, and how it can differ, and it’s a versatile place.
“I was just one of those kids, like I don’t give a shit. If I ever saw anyone vulnerable get teased, I would just step in and tell that little bully where to go. I wanted, from a young age, to protect people who got teased by other people, and that’s how I became passionate about advocating for human rights. Not just gay rights, but all rights.”
Currently hitting various festivals and Gay Prides internationally, Vassy is especially thrilled to be performing at the Capital Pride Concert on Sunday, June 11.
“The energy at these festivals is awesome,” she says. “People are really there to celebrate, and it’s a day where everyone’s coming together to celebrate the same thing. I feel there is a bond, a very special bond, that happens. It’s that one day where we’re all there for the same reason. There’s just love in the air.”
Vassy is scheduled to perform on the Main Stage of the Capital Pride Concert on Sunday, June 11, around 2:15 p.m. Times are subject to change. For the latest updates, and info on how to purchase VIP or Pit Passes, visit capitalpride.org.
Delaware State Sen. Sarah McBride (D-Wilmington) has made history by becoming the first out transgender person elected to Congress.
McBride, best known for her former role as spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, was declared the projected winner by NBC News with 70% of the vote reporting. The Associated Press has not yet called the race, but McBride was leading James Whalen III, a former police officer, by a margin of 58% to 42% for Delaware's sole congressional seat.
A former White House intern during the Obama administration, employee of the Center of American Progress, and board member of Equality Delaware, McBride has been credited as one of several influential activists who successfully lobbied for the passage of Delaware's comprehensive nondiscrimination law protecting the rights of LGBTQ individuals.
Tucker Carlson has asserted that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is secretly gay and being forced to remain in the closet by the Democratic Party.
The former Fox News host appeared on Megyn Kelly's SiriusXM show and implied that the Democratic nominee for vice president is gay because he gesticulates emphatically during campaign appearances.
Kelly played a clip of Walz gesturing and bowing and posing for pictures with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers at a campaign rally.
"I'm just gonna say, I don't know any man who behaves like that," Kelly said.
Even as Donald Trump romped to victory in Tuesday's election, there were a few bright spots for our community, with the successes of LGBTQ candidates and ballot initiatives in select states and districts.
The biggest victory of the night was the narrow re-election of U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat who managed to overcome a voter backlash against Democrats that swamped presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Baldwin, a lesbian, will return to the U.S. Senate as its only out LGBTQ elected official, as Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who is bisexual, and Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), a lesbian, are stepping down and did not pursue re-election.
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