Ben Platt Drops First Tracks From Debut Album 'Sing To Me Instead'

Tony Award winner Ben Platt

Tony Award winner Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen) drops the first two tracks from his upcoming debut album, Sing To Me Instead.

Platt recently told the Los Angeles Times that the album will be structured with a loose narrative based on his own past relationships.

The first, "Bad Habit,"gives Platt fans exactly what they want: a sensitive and raw reading on missing an ex that builds to pop power ballad levels complete with long-held, over-the-bar notes.

"'Bad Habit' is like a prologue, somebody singing retrospectively about a relationship they've gotten out of and realizing that they have somewhat of an addiction to this person," he told the LA Times. "And regardless of understanding they may not be the best or healthiest person for them, there's just still this hole inside that's hard to ignore."

Out actor Charlie Carver (The Boys in the Band, Teen Wolf) has a cameo at the end of the music video   which seems to make this a story of gay love gone bad.

Did Ben Platt just come out?

The second, "Ease My Mind," is a thoughtful, piano-driven, R&B-style ballad that leads to a rich, gospel-inspired release.

Platt says the track, "harkens to the beginning of that relationship to consider the reasons why it got started in the first place."

Platt will next lead an all-star cast in the much-anticipated new Netflix series, The Politician, set to premiere laster this year. Platt's co-stars include Jessica Lange, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Zoey Deutch.

He will also star in the upcoming films Run This Town – premiering at this year’s SXSW Film Festival – and Broken Diamonds.

Check out the new tracks below. Sing To Me Instead will be released March 29.

All-Star "The Boys In The Band" Revival Opens Tonight On Broadway

(all images courtesy of The Boys in the Band Broadway revival)

I recently wrote about Matt Bomer’s nearly naked mishap during the previews of the Broadway revival of The Boys In The Band, the iconic homocentric play by Mart Crowley.

To recap, Bomer forgot to check his props before a preview performance and after showering onstage realized he had no towel to cover himself with. But being the pro that he is, Bomer soldiered on through the scene wearing just his wet, tight white briefs.

Tonight, the 50th anniversary production premieres on The Great White Way. And the production has released several promo pics - including one of Bomer in those very tight, white briefs.

The Boys in the Band is rightfully considered a landmark as the first mainstream play to explore gay men’s lives onstage, without filter or judgement. Premiering off-Broadway in 1968 in New York City, this was all before the Stonewall riots which launched the gay rights movement.

The comic drama became an instant sell-out and ran for over 1,000 performances.

The movie adaptation, released in 1970 featuring the original stage cast, continues to be a milestone in queer cinema.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

First produced in 1968, Crowley's biting comedy drama is a groundbreaking work among pre-Stonewall depictions of LGBTQ characters, chronicling the fun and frictions that emerge when a group of gay male friends gather for a boozy birthday party in New York City. The play is loved and loathed to an equal extent, with some calling it a perpetuation of negative bitchy stereotypes and others hailing it as a breakthrough in its intimate exploration of the attitudes and behavior of gay men at a time when cultural representation was minimal.

With direction by Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello (Wicked, Assassins), the new production features an all-gay, star-studded cast led by Jim Parsons, Matt Bomer, Zachary Quinto and Andrew Rannells.

Also starring in the play are Charlie Carver, Michael Benjamin Washington, Brian Hutchison, Robin de Jesus, and Tuc Watkins.

The limited 15-week run of the production is being produced by Wicked’s David Stone and out TV producer Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, GLEE)

Check out the newly-released pics below. Click here for the official website.

Matt Bomer (L), Jim Parsons (R)

Foreground - Zachary Quinto (L), Charlie Carver (R)

Zachary Quinto (background)

Tuc Watkins, (L) Michael Benjamin Washington (center) Matt Bomer (R)

News Round-Up: December 16, 2017

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• I've been fascinated by this pic of fitness model Quin Bruce (above). I find his expression captivating.

• A Tennessee county commission is planning a symbolic resolution condemning same-sex marriage after the U.S. Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land. #Whatever #WhyHate?

• All credit to Boy Culture for revealing not only did Democrat Doug Jones win the special Alabama Senate election this week, but Jones has a hottie gay son.

• A new poll shows a clear majority of Americans believe Donald Trump is guilty of sexual misconduct.

• Out actor and Teen Wolf star Charlie Carver has joined the cast of the upcoming all-star Broadway production of the groundbreaking gay play, The Boys in the Band, as "Cowboy." The production is slated to run April 30-August 12 at the Booth Theatre on Broadway.

• The rumor around Washington DC is Donald Trump may fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller before Christmas. If that happens, watch hell break loose.

• I was just down in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, celebrating my hubby's birthday and ran into underwear designer Andrew Christian. So in his honor, let's celebrate a bit of the holiday season with his hottie models. Watch below.

News Round-Up: September 27, 2017

Some news items you might have missed:

• After a week in NYC I gained 4 pounds eating at my favorite restaurants, and now here's fitness trainer Ramses Principe (above) being so good with his prepped lunch and all. #GymInspiration

• Fox has announced a new, live musical production of RENT, the ground-breaking rock adaptation of La Boheme that unflinchingly takes on HIV/AIDS, gay and lesbian relationships, trans identity, and substance abuse. Announced air date is January 27, 2019.

• Openly gay Teen Wolf star Charlie Carver posted a naked in nature pic and folks were seriously having it.

• Twitter is considering expanding the 140 character limit on tweets to 280. Selected twitter accounts are getting to try it out. It's making some folks feel very empowered :)

Oh shit I was selected as one of the special ones to tweet in 280 characters. HAHAHA suck it losers, I feel like God right now. Wait, I'm not done, I would also like to say that all these words I'm typing right now are useless and I wasted them just because I CAN. These too, lmao

— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) September 27, 2017

• New York filmmaker/actor Brock Yurich shares details about his next project, Test. The film follows a young amateur bodybuilder in the Appalachians struggling with his sexuality. Those tensions are pushed further when his coach puts him on a heavy regimen of steroids and a path of exploitation to pay for his competition costs.

• A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows 57% of Americans disagree with Donald Trump and do not think NFL players who kneel during the National Anthem should be fired.

• This 16 year-old got a big round of applause when he came out on live TV as bisexual.

16-year-old Andy got a massive round of applause for coming out as bisexual on our #GenZ programme. He'd never said it publicly. 👏👏🏽👏🏿 pic.twitter.com/06a8w5oFA7

— BBC Newsbeat (@BBCNewsbeat) September 26, 2017

Out Actors Colton Haynes & Charlie Carver Return To MTV's TEEN WOLF

Colton Haynes (L) and Charlie Carver (R) in Teen Wolf

On the September 10th episode of MTV's Teen Wolf, out actors Colton Haynes and Charlie Carver return to the hit series in spectacular fashion.

The clip opens with Charlie Carver's "Ethan" making phone calls to an unidentified boyfriend. A boyfriend who has apparently forgotten the couple's anniversary.

Next thing you know two bad guys enter the apartment with a captive with a hood over his head.

After wounding "Ethan" with a shot of wolfsbane, he casually comments that the hooded captive is part "kanima" (which Colton's character used to be). Haynes' "Jackson" is unleashed and a fight ensues as Ethan bemoans the loss of antiques and framed photos.

You may recall that during Colton's two seasons on the series, his character Jackson carried around a whole lotta emotional weight and angst, and I'm guessing his being in the closet was the reason why.

Teen Wolf showrunner Jeff Davis told EW  that Jackson's newly revealed sexuality is something that came to him years ago. “I thought, if Jackson comes back, he’s coming back in a relationship with a guy,” Davis says. “Whether that means he’s bisexual or gay, that’s how he’s returning. I just felt like he went off to London and found himself.”

Charlie Carver adds, “We’re an odd couple. His character’s always been kind of an arrogant prick, so I’m the one who tones him down.”

“They complement each other perfectly,” Colton says. “They have a really beautiful relationship.”

I have to say, even in just this short clip, you can see the two actors have terrific chemistry.

Teen Wolf can be seen Sundays at 8/7c on MTV.

Jackson & Ethan are back in Beacon Hills...& make quite the entrance😜Did y'all see the exclusive clip yet??? I see the ship names already forming. #TeenWolf final season. @charliecarver

A post shared by Colton Haynes (@coltonlhaynes) on Aug 24, 2017 at 12:31pm PDT