LGBT Academy Of Recording Arts Presents 9th OUTmusic Awards Online

Last night, the LGBT Academy of Recording Arts (LARA) presented an online presentation of the nominees and winners of the 9th OUTmusic Awards on www.outmusicawards.com.

These are actually the winners of last year's awards, but the presentation was cancelled due to some financial issues. Those issues continue to be shrouded in secret for what has been deemed legal reasons.

Via press release:

The 9th OUTmusic Awards were scheduled for production on January 19th, 2015, but the ceremony was postponed due to the fact that OUTmusic Inc. the 501c3 non-profit organization was the victim of a substantial financial fraud crime.

“Unfortunately, we had to abruptly postpone our production of the 9th OUTmusic Awards due to the fact that our organization is the victim of Financial Fraud Crime which caused significant and astronomical damages we were not able to recover from as fast as we wanted to. Hence, we were not able to deliver the production of the 9th OUTmusic Awards months later as we were planning. I wanted to share this information with you sooner, but because this was a crime against our organization, I was advised to not disclose any details to ensure the best possibility for justice to prevail in our favor. I have taken the necessary steps with the proper authorities and have been working with some generous business, media, and creative industry professionals who stepped up to offer their support in our endeavor to recover.”

I've supported the OUTmusic Awards in the past as I'm a big believer in giving LGBT artists acknowledgement for their artistic achievements. Here's hoping OUTmusic's issues have been resolved and the organization can move forward in celebrating LGBT achievement in music.

Here's a complete list of the announced award winners:

THE 9th OMA THEME SONG
Gold Nation (Soundtrack To Freedom)
Sir Ari Gold with Bob Sandee, Zhana Roiya and Sophia Ramos

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
We Will Know
Omar Thomas

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
She (She4Me)
Jen Foster

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
The Other Side
Monifah Carter

HUMANITARIAN SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Be Strong (LGBT Youth)
MRF feat. Lisa Bello, Justin Waithe, and Sheree Dunwell

BEST COUNTRY/FOLK SONG
Something Great
Karmen Butler

BEST DANCE/EDM
Deja Vux
Jonte'

BEST RAP/HIP-HOP SONG
New York
Infinite feat. Sonny Lewis

BEST ROCK SONG
Hell In Gramercy
Derek Nicoletto

BEST POP SONG
Unexpected Love
Charice

BEST R&B/SOUL SONG
Ooh Damn (Like Ooh)
Reina Williams

BEST JAZZ/CABARET SONG
Our Love Is Here To Stay
Nhojj

BEST INTERNATIONAL SONG
Toya Delazy
Forbidden Fruit

BEST GOSPEL/INSPIRATIONAL SONG
Come Bless The Lord With Me
The Relationship

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Aris

BEST ALTERNATIVE SONG
Bleed
Jess Godwin

BEST SONG ON A SOUNDTRACK
"Rebecca" from the webseries Producing Juliet
Rob Gokee

BEST NEW AGE/INSTRUMENTAL SONG
Forever With You
D'Lance Jones

BEST CLASSICAL RECORDING/PERFORMANCE
Since U Been Gone
Well Strung

BEST SPOKEN WORD
Tender
MRF feat. TJ Johnson, Clevland P. Jones

BEST CD COVER ARTWORK
We Will Know
Omar Thomas

BEST COMEDY RECORDING OR LIVE PERFORMANCE
It's Christmas Everyday
VonTanner

The Candi & Randy Show: 2012 OutMusic Award winner Matt Zarley

 

Fresh from his double win at the 2012 OutMusic Awards, Matt Zarley joins us to talk about attending the event this past weekend in Las Vegas where he was honored for Single of the Year ("Change Begins With Me") and Album of the Year ("Change Begins With Me").

The OutMusic Awards are presented by LARA (LGBT Academy of Recording Arts).  The OutMusic Awards nominate and honor LGBT musicians for their achievements and contributions during the past year.

OutMusic Awards 2012: Matt Zarley wins top honors

Matt Zarley won Single of the Year and Album of the Year for his song "Change Begins With Me" and his album of the same name at the 2012 OutMusic Awards in Las Vegas.

Other notable award winners include Vicci Martinez (of The Voice) for Best Rock Song, Frenchie Davis (of The Voice, American Idol and Broadway) for Best Dance/Electonica and Jeffrey Straker for Video of the Year.

Here is a complete list of winners from the 2012 OutMusic Awards:

Album of the Year
Winner - Matt Zarley - "Change Begins With Me"

Single of the Year
Winner - Matt Zarley - "Change Begins With Me"

Best Pop Song
Winner - Todd Alsup - "The Only Thing"

Best Rock Song
Winner - Vicci Martinez - "Come Along" feat Cee Lo Green

Best R&B/Soul Song - (Tie)
Winner - Nhojj - "Live Your Life"
Winner - B Slade - "I'm Done" (feat. Yummy Bingham)

Best Dance/Electronica
Winner - Frenchie Davis - "Loves Got A Hold On Me"

Best Folk/Country
Winner - Antigone Rising - "Everywhere Is Home"

Best Alternative Song
Winner - Love Darling - "Let Go"

Best Hip-Hop/Rap Song
Winner - KIN4Life "It's Over Now"

Video of the Year
Winner - Jeffery Straker - "Slings and Arrows"

Best Song On A Soundtrack/Instrumental
Winner - Mark Barnes - "Gabby's Song" (A Tribute To Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords)

Best Jazz/Cabaret Song
Winner- Avi Wisnia - "Maoz Tsur (Rock of Ages)

Best Spiritual/Inspirational Song
Winner - Jason Walker - "I Am Changing"

Best Spoken Word
Winner - Red Summer - "Loose Woman"

Best International Song
Winner - Virago - "Love Over Fear"

Biello-Martin Love Song
Winner - Brett Every - "What A Beautiful Day"

Best Producer of the Year
Winner - Michael V. Doane - "Little Kid"

Best CD Cover Artwork
Winner - Rachael Sage - "Haunted By You"

Sonicbids Humanitarian Songwriter of the Year
Winner - Frankie Love "Now Is The Time"

OUTMUSIC Awards to be held Monday, May 23 in NYC

From the AP: Things are looking up for OUTMUSIC: Its seventh annual awards ceremony next week, honoring artists from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, will be at its largest venue to date and has drawn big sponsors including Live Nation. But the group's chairwoman and CEO said there's more work to be done.

When it comes to mainstream music, "artists are often persuaded to pretend to be straight to get the best opportunity," said OUTMUSIC chief Diedra Meredith.

Under her stage name, Deepa Soul, she herself was told "to essentially stay in the closet" when signing a recording contract.

Chely Wright, a former country music star who's to be honored at Monday's awards show at Irving Plaza, announced last year that she was gay. Wright was ostracized; radio stations stop playing her songs, and she was made to feel like an outsider in the industry.

Wright said it was as almost as if she didn't exist.

Though she wasn't thrown out of the Academy of Country Music or had any Country Music Television appearances canceled, she said "I haven't gotten any invites, either."

Wright said she knew of the possible consequences when she came out but was still confused by the ordeal because she was the same performer who had enjoyed a successful career since 1994.

At one time, Wright was one of country music's darlings. She was romantically involved with country star Brad Paisley, whom she credits as one of her two main loves before coming out.

Immediately after her announcement, Wright says OUTMUSIC embraced her and made her feel like she was part of a community again. Now she's touring in support of her 2010 release, "Lifted Off the Ground."

Wright is to be given the organization's Vanguard Award, bestowed on an individual who leads the LGBT community. Cyndi Lauper will be honored as the organization's person of the year. Jonathon D. Lovitz, host of the Logo series "Setup Squad," is one of the evening's presenters. He expects to have some fun with the crowd.

Ray Boltz leads nominees with four nods, including album of the year for "True." Deepa Soul, Jason Walker and Christine Martucci are scheduled to perform. The show will be broadcast on the Logo Network at a later date.

For more info, click here.