Breaking The Gay Glass Ceiling

The music industry has changed profoundly in the fifteen years since Jason Walker first broke out with his debut album, This Is My Life. The award-winning gay artist has appeared on Billboard’s Top Ten dance chart an outstanding eleven times, with five of them at #1! However, the one thing that has eluded him is the mainstream stardom enjoyed today by gay artists Lil Nas X and Sam Smith.

“I came out way before my time,” Walker reflects. “If I had emerged as an artist today, I believe I would have certainly found mainstream success outside of the dance music scene. But that wasn’t my journey.”

Walker’s journey began in Pittsburgh, where he sang in church choirs by day and in local R&B and Blues bands by night. After gigs, he would meet up with friends at gay dance clubs. “Even then, I was a raver at heart,” he laughs. “I came up in that scene, sometimes even taking trips from Pittsburgh to NYC, DC and Miami to dance the night away at what we called circuit parties back then but are known as festivals today.”

The world first met Jason Walker when he competed on NBC-TV’s It's Showtime at the Apollo. This was way before The Voice and even American Idol. The mostly African American Apollo audience was stunned by the skinny white young man with the soaring diva pipes and named him the night’s winner. Soon after, Jason Walker connected with veteran house music DJ/producer Junior Vasquez, and the two recorded two albums together.

The albums yielded three Top 10 Billboard dance hits and two #1s for Walker, solidifying him as a star of the underground dance scene, but earning little acknowledgement from mainstream. “Being an out artist was more of a hindrance than anything else,” Jason admits. “If I (had been) a straight man or a woman, everything would have been easier.”

Walker says it was difficult to find his place as a gay artist; still he refused to conform or to be like anybody else. “I suppose I’m proud of all I was able to accomplish despite the obstacles. Am I content with where I am, though? No.”

He and Vasquez parted ways after the second album and Walker released his third album independently, landing his seventh Top 20 Billboard Dance hit. He followed it with a slew of dance records including the single he counts as one of his best records ever: his explosive re-imagining of Taylor Dayne’s "Tell It to My Heart." It hit #10 on Billboard. His next single, "Beat Don’t Stop," peaked at #5 on the chart.

Still, the door to mainstream success remained closed to Walker. He considered working on a Blues/Soul project but the lure of the club scene always managed to pull him back.

In 2016, he and Tony Moran (another veteran house music DJ/producer) released "So Happy" and "Say Yes," Walker’s third and fourth Billboard #1s.

It was the first time he noticed a tangible change in the industry. "All of a sudden, I began to feel that my being gay wasn’t the obstacle it had been before.” A new generation of artists were owning their gayness and finding success on radio. Names like Frank Ocean, Troy Sivan and Sam Smith.

Walker, too, was benefitting from the shift in attitude. He was now performing clubs all over the USA and even the world, including Israel, Amsterdam, and Mexico.

“Travelling helped me to evolve as an artist,’” Walker confirms. “Life on the road, with its many experiences, has the ability to change aspects of someone’s life. I began to appreciate where I am and understand that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. I have no regrets in coming out so early. I believe God has a plan for me.”

He will release his fourth album in January, and the buzz from those who have heard it has been overwhelmingly positive. “We’re given one life, one chance and as 2020 approaches, it’s now or never. I am going for it,” he says.

Follow Jason Walker on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.