How Greyson Chance Inspired a Closeted Fan to Come Out to His Family

Greyson Chance, the pop singer who first went viral in 2011 with a piano ballad cover of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi," is now inspiring the next generation of LGBTQ+ young people with his own music.

In a new interview with Out, Chance shares the story of a fan who came up to him at a meet and greet after a Salt Lake City show in 2019 and cites it as one of the experiences that inspired his brand new project, Trophies. 

"A kid came up and I would probably say he was like 11-12 maybe, if I'm trying to guess," said Chance. "He came up with his family and we take a picture and his family kind of walks off and he kind of leans up to me and he goes, 'I'm going to come out to them tonight.' And I was like, 'Oh, my God.' And he said, 'You really inspired me and I didn't think that they would want to come to this show but I think after seeing your show, it's going to sort of bring us together.'"

A few days later, Chance heard back from the kid. "I got a message from him a week later saying that it went really well, that his family was so supportive, and he really did think the show helped sort of breeze that gap of saying, 'Here's what a queer show looks like,' right?"

Experiences like this one drive Chance to keep making music, even in his lowest moments where he's taken breaks or gotten down on himself. "That's why I'm still here," he says. "That's why I'm still going to keep on doing this for a long time. I understand that I am a source for kids who look up to me and they say, 'Okay, I can have the path that he had as well.' That's what makes it worth it, so that's why we're here talking."

Read Greyson Chance's full interview with Out here. And listen to Trophies wherever you stream music!