Matt Zarley has received critical acclaim as an openly gay singer and songwriter, has been named one of People Magazine’s “Hottest Bachelors,” has performed on Broadway, and last week released his latest CD, “Change Begins with Me” featuring the single “WTF,” that is currently heating up the charts and dance clubs around the world.
While he may be an indie artist, Zarley’s high-quality, well-produced material has gotten rave reviews from critics from across the music spectrum.
All of the songs on the emotionally-charged CD were co-penned by Zarley and feature such songwriting collaborators and producers as Grammy winner Andy Zulla and Mark Picchiotti, among others.
Many of the songs reflect the journeys of some of Zarley’s personal relationships with a poignancy and self-discovery.
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“Like many songwriters, my music is really inspired by love and heartbreak,” admits Zarley.
“During the recovery process after a painful break up a few years ago I had an epiphany and after accepting my contributions to the reason for the split, I really began to work on myself. I believe that you can never really expect people to change and sometimes it requires you to change things in your own life to find happiness,” says Zarley.
“If you want your life to change, I think those changes first have to start within.”
Chuck Taylor from Billboard wrote, “Zarleyʼs stunning tenor range, crafty harmonic layers and spine-tingling money notes…Tweens have plenty of idols to swoon over. Hereʼs a crush for grown-ups, whose earthy machismo is quite the complement to his musical muscle!”
My personal favorite tracks on the new album are “Apology” – stripped down arrangement and vocals lets the song and voice do it’s thing, and “Change Begins With Me” – great build and who doesn’t love big vocals with a gospel choir?
Listen here to a clip from “Change Begins With Me:”
and here’s a clip from “Apology:”
Apology
Matt’s campy, funny video for “WTF” has gone viral with over 100,000 views on YouTube and Vimeo since it was released. Gossip and music sites like DListed.com have picked up on the ‘over the top’ sense of humor (and the hunky men) displayed in the music video.
Matt Zarley’s new album “Change Begins With Me” is available today at digital download retailers:
