Dropped for coming out as gay, Singaporean singer Wils releases new album and wants his music to help others struggling with their identity
- Rising pop star Wils refused to be disheartened when his record label dropped him for coming out and deleted his popular social media accounts
- Now based in Los Angeles, he explores what it’s like to navigate the ups and downs of love as a gay man on his new album
Coming out as gay is never easy, especially in Asia. But for Singaporean singer-songwriter Willie Tay, alias Wils, revealing his sexuality cost him both his record deal and audience after his managers deleted all his social media accounts.
Despite being told that being open about his sexuality would kill his music career, Tay bounced back. He has just released his latest album, Don’t Leave Too Soon, an uplifting 12-track exploration of what it’s like to navigate the ups and downs of love as a gay man. But, as Tay describes it, surviving his rocky coming out was just the beginning.
“You think you come out of the closet and everything will be bright and colourful,” he laughs. “Then you realise that you have to go through dating as a gay man. And in gay culture, it can be quite challenging – there are lots of different subgroups and categories.
“It’s like for your whole life, you were put into a box for being different. And now when you’re out, you still have to do that.”
That was the impetus behind his 2019 single Empty. Part critique of queer hook-up culture and part eulogy for a fading love, the song eschews the typical stereotypes of a promiscuous gay man only looking to jump into bed – instead, Tay reveals a less-discussed aspect of gay culture.
