RightOutTV Music & Video Awards 2014

The most difficult job in the LGBT Music community was given to an impressive list of entertainment industry heavyweights and their decisions have been made. The nominees for the 2014 RightOutTV Music & Video Awards are announced!

Once again the global awards have received submissions from LGBT artists from multiple countries including Switzerland, China, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, Canada and the United States.

“One of the goals of the awards is to increase the awareness of these talented writers and singers who still don’t experience open doors in mainstream music for their queer-themed lyrics,” says Marlee Walchuk, co-producer of the RightOutTV Awards. “Whether or not they win in their nominated categories, every artist will benefit from being seen and heard by our judges and the thousands of fans who vote for the Fan Fave and who watch our final awards presentation show. This is much more than a contest,” says Walchuk.

Tully Callender, left, and Marlee Walchuk, right.

Co-producer Tully Callender adds, “With new categories added this year such as Best Song and Video with a Social Message, we are seeing these artists shine, doing what they do best, trying to affect change through their music and video images. We are very proud of our community.”

To see and hear all of the nominees, visit the RightOutTV Awards website.

Members of the public may still vote until Oct. 27, 2014 (one vote per person, please) for one LGBT artist to win the RightOutTV 2014 Fan Fave Award here. Award winners in 17 categories will be announced in an online awards show featuring many of the nominees on November 10, 2014 at the RightOutTV Awards website.

2014 NOMINEES for the RightOutTV Music & Video Awards

BEST SPIRITUAL / BLUES / JAZZ / INSTRUMENTAL SONG

Jamie Anderson, "Black and White"

Shawn Thomas, "Still Speaking"

Anna Gutmanis, "Lately It's Cold"

Norine Braun, "Lightning Strikes Twice"

Shawn Thomas, "I'm Alive"

BEST ELECTRONIC / DANCE SONG

Sponge Finger, "You're a Bitch"

Jay Blahnik, "American Thumpdalina"

Michael V. Doane, "Looking for Love"

Matt Zarley, "Somebody 4 Everybody"

Kevin Wood, "Falling Away"

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A LIVE VIDEO

Jamie Anderson, "Her Problem Now"

FlyKINGi, "At the Roxbury"

Avi Wisnia, "Sky Blue Sky - Live at The Michener"

Andrew Suvalsky, "Live at Jazz @ Kitano in New York"

Rev. Yolanda, "@The Duplex"

BEST LYRIC VIDEO

Matt Fishel, "Finally"

Shawn Thomas, "I'm Alive"

Saturn, "We"

Norine Braun, "Boy"

Saturn, "I'm Coming Out"

BEST VIDEO SO FAR

I.K.P., "Hunt Me Down"

Jay Blahnik, "Boom Box"

Thos Shipley, "M-O-N-E-Y"

Jansz & June, "Rattlesnake Rose"

Drake Jensen, "On My Way to Finding You"

SONG OF THE YEAR

Sarah Golden, "The One I Love"

Martine Locke, "All My Days"

Corday, "Riding a Rainbow"

Jane of Arc, "Run Flying"

Megan Lane, "Someday We Will Leave This Town"

Kevin Wood, "One Time Around"

BEST POP SONG

Andrew Suvalsky, "Helplessly"

Kevin Wood, "Edge of Greatness"

Alex Woburn, "Stop Playing The Film"

Craymo, "Be Myself"

Matt Zarley, "Somebody 4 Everybody"

BEST ROCK SONG

Janis Mullan, "Nobody's Fool"

Run Jenny, "Run Jenny"

Felonious Parker, "Dominoes In Action"

Szilenze, "Nothing Left to Say"

Megan Lane, "Someday We Will Leave This Town"

Patrick Boothe, "This is Not Venice"

BEST SOUL / HIP HOP / RAP / R&B SONG

Marck Angel, "Summertime"

Be Steadwell, "Rainwater"

D'Lance Jones, "Forever With You"

Wordz the poet emcee, "U See That"

I.K.P., "Meraki"

Lester Greene, "Marital Bliss" feat. Michelle Tabot, Allen Parker

BEST FOLK / ROOTS/ COUNTRY SONG

Sarah Golden, "The One I Love"

Norine Braun, "I Found You"

Andrea Nardello, "Home To Me"

Run Jenny, "Get My Whiskey On"

Toni Vere, "This Old Heart"

Sarah McCracken, "Horse Grapes"

BEST SONG WITH A SOCIAL MESSAGE

Anna Gutmanis, "Another Way Out"

Sarah Golden, "The One I Love"

Summer Osborne, "This is Your Call"

Kristie Stremel, "Love Makes a Family"

Jane of Arc, "Stand"

Summer Osborne, "Solution"

BEST SONG SO FAR

Janet Whiteway, "Pure Sunshine"

Matt Zarley, "Here I Am"

Kevin Wood, "The Moon Says Something"

Caroline Murphy, "Hurricane"

Summer Osborne, "Letting Go"

BEST VIDEO DIY

Tony Banks, "Old School Love"

Nastaij, "You Don't Represent Me"  feat. Dawn Laird

Ember Swift, "Laowai / Foreigner"

Random Order, "Black Lipstick Kiss"

K Anderson, "14 Year Old Me"

BEST VIDEO PRO

Matthew Connor, "How is July Already Over?"

Matt Zarley, "Somebody 4 Everybody"

Michael V. Doane, "Looking For Love"

Ramona Montañez, "Naked"

Marck Angel, "Positions"

Suzanne Nuttall, "Trophy Wife"

MOST MOVING VIDEO

Kristy Apps and the Shotgun Shirleys, "Modest In its Glory"

Andrew Suvalsky, "The Curtain"

Steven Gallavin, "La chanson des vieux amants"

Ramona Montañez, "Naked"

Paul M, "Hands to Heaven"

BEST VIDEO WITH A SOCIAL MESSAGE

Nastaij, "You Don't Represent Me" feat. Dawn Laird

Big Bad Gina, "Beetz In My Salad" feat. SJ Tucker

Erik Toro, "The Right"

I.K.P., "Let it B. Known"

Linq, "Oh Bully"

Denise Marsa, "The Land Had a Dream"

The RightOutTV Music and Video Awards is an offshoot of the free LGBTI artist promotional site at RightOutTV.com. Walchuk and Callender of the music duo Sugarbeach launched RightOutTV in November 2010 after realizing there were few places to release their own queer-messaged music videos. The women – married to each other – also saw a need for more unity in the global LGBTI music community. RightOutTV was created as a vehicle to serve both these purposes and to provide a fully developed promotional website and channel for artists who deserve more credit for being Out and proud with their music.

Ryan Dolan • Start Again

Now that St. Patrick's Day is done, I know you might have thought I would be done with Irish boys making music. Well, that is not the case, as I have discovered the music of another native is the Emerald Isle, Ryan Dolan. He first came to the attention of music fans when he represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. His song made it to the Top 10, and helped launch his solo debut last May. Now he has a new single out, with a great music video. "Start Again" is a story of the profound effect bullying is having on the world, and the role hate has in it. In an interview this past February on RTE Radio 1, Dolan came out, perhaps taking inspiration from his own teen years for the video. The song, and Dolan's performance of it, are emotionally charge and pretty darned amazing. I hope you enjoy Ryan Dolan's "Start Over".

I must admit, I loved the song as soon as I heard it, and went directly to iTunes to purchase it. I added it to my March 2014 playlist, and look forward to playing it again and again. You can purchase "Start Again" from iTunes and Amazon. For more about Ryan Dolan, visit his official website. You can also 'follow' him on Twitter, and 'like' him on Facebook.

Kenyth Mogan • Fall Apart

As much as I love finding new music, it can be even more exciting when new music finds me! When I opened my email, and found a note of introduction from Kenyth Mogan, I was intrigued. I wasn't really familiar with this work, so I had to do a bit of research. Mogan was born and raised in Montana, but now calls Los Angeles, California, home. There, he has been in the movies, with such wonderful stars as Peter Coyote and James Woods. He has also been an author, using his imagination and talent on the graphic novel, 'The Phoenix Chronicles: Awakenings'. This novel can be found on Amazon. And now he was ready to showcase another talent, with the release of his debut EP, 'Fall Apart'.

The five-song release is a combination of sparkling covers of 1980s confection, and some new material, including one song co-written by Mogan. But the EP opens with a song I so totally remember from the 1981 release of the charming Toni Basil. "Mickey" was written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, and went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. There is something delightful about the cheerleader-inspired tune given an new sheen, sounding fresh yet still recognizable. Kenyth's vocals are strong and fun, and you can hear in this sample of the song.

So fun! I could just eat it with a spoon. That leads to "(Let Me) Unlock Your Heart", a song written by Paul Harris and Matthew Hayes. The Pop tune starts out with an acoustic rhythm guitar, but soon shows it's hand, adding some Electronica that only adds more charm. There is a wonderful warmth to this love song, I thought I lost my heart. Next up, there is the title cut, "Fall Apart". The song was written by Tony Rodini and Mogan. Rodini also produced the album. This wonderful song is the first single off the EP, and will be featured in the first music video coming soon. Until then, here is the lyric video, giving you the chance to hear the song, and truly get to know the lyrics. This is Kenyth Mogan singing "Fall Apart".

"One Worth Losing" is up next, and the energetic song is the most energetic off the collection. Written by Todd Michael Schultz, there is something very 80s-inspired by the track, part Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark with a dash of Giorgio Moroder. But there is also something very fresh, very 'today' about it. I must admit, I wanted to play this one several times on repeat, making me happy. Way back in 1984, some music was coming from interesting places. On of those was California comedy clubs, from artists like Julie Brown. Comedian Brown, not to be confused with the MTV VJ of the same name, was playing clubs and establishing herself since 1981, and finally released 'Goddess In Progress' in 1984. The five-song collection was an independent release, but still brought us the music video for "The Homecoming Queen's Got A Gun", as well as the final song off Mogan's EP, "I Like 'Em Big and Stupid". Both songs were written by Julie Brown, Charlie Coffey, Terrence McNally, and Ray Colcord, and had a delicious look at the culture. Kenyth's cover remains true to the humorous nature of the song, but adds just a bit more edge to the song, sounding less like 1980s Pop, and more like the the Punky work of Oingo Boingo. You can check out the preview below.

'Fall Apart' is a delicious appetizer, a plate with yummy bites that leave you wanting more. I can tell you it makes me want to order whatever is coming next, and come back to listen to 'Fall Apart' a few more times. There is a wonderful sense of life in the recording. You can just hear and feel the love Kenyth has for the material, making it all the more appealing. You can purchase 'Fall Apart' on iTunes and Amazon, both for less than $5.00. And you can also find 'The Phoenix Chronicles: Awakenings' on Amazon. To learn more about Kenyth Mogan, 'like' him on Facebook, and leave a message to say hello! You can also visit him on Myspace, where you can also sample some music.