Country music singer Richell Rene “Chely” Wright has come out.
In an interview with People magazine, the “Shut Up and Drive” singer revealed her sexual orientation, and said she had previously resisted the urge to publicly address her homosexuality because she didn’t want to be the first country star to do so.
“There had never, ever been a country music artist who had acknowledged his or her homosexuality,” she said. “I wasn’t going to be the first.”
But now Wright has changed her tune.
“Nothing in my life has been more magical than the moment I decided to come out.”
The singer-songwriter, who has won both an Academy of Country Music and a Country Music award, will later this week release her memoir, Like Me, as well as her first album in five years, Lifted off the Ground.
