RightOutTV Awards 2012 • Blinded By Stardust & Darren Ockert

In the final installment featuring the winners of the 2012 RightOutTV Music & Video Awards, I saved these winners to jump-start your Friday, to help kick off your weekend. Not only are both winners making excellent music, they also show the universal nature of both the awards as well as music itself. After all, the spotlight first falls on a musical project from Vienna, Austria. The group Blinded By Stardust was named the winner of the Best Electronic/Dance/Hip-Hop/R&B Video for their fantastic single, "Can't We Just Dance Instead (feat. Biuna)".

I love the song, but I will admit I had a tough time learning more about the group. For more about Blinded By Stardust, 'like' them on Facebook or subscribe to the YouTube channel. I can't seem to find a place to purchase the music, but you can check out their songs on Soundcloud.

Darren Ockert is an out and proud musician from England who is currently living and working in Miami, Florida. Ockert released his first album, 'Anything Is Possible,' in 2005. It is a wonderful collection of Electro-Pop, delicious, really. But fast-forward to earlier this year when Ockert released 'The Rain From London' EP, which featured the single that was named Best Electronic/Dance/Hip-Hop/R&B Song, "This Modern Life (1984)".

For more about Darren Ockert, visit his official website. You can also 'like' him on Facebook, or 'follow' him on Twitter. "This Modern Life (1984)" can be found on 'The Rain From London' EP, which can be purchased on iTunes, Amazon, or Ockert's online store. In fact, you can find his first album on those same retailers, and I can tell you I am thrilled to have it in my collection.

Well, that ties up the winners for the 2012 competition, and I would like to thank RightOutTV founders Marlee Walchuk and Tully Callender for inviting me to join the judging panel, and the opportunity to witness first-hand the depth of the competition among those in the LGBT community who nominated their music and videos. I remain proud of the commitment this blog makes to feature the music of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender artists, the the RightOutTV Awards brought new and interesting artists into my life. For that I will remain so very grateful. You can check out the website for RightOutTV, and discover an excellent line up of amazingly talented people making music from all over the world.

2012 RightOutTV Award Nominees Announced

The RightOutTV entertainment industry judges have determined which LGBT Artists will vie for the 2012 RightOutTV Awards. The Awards’ global reach includes artists from Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Canada, the U.S., Australia, Portugal and Austria.

“Making choices between one great talent and another could not have been easy,” says Marlee Walchuk, co-producer the awards. “The judges have had a difficult job so far and as you can see from the nominees list, it is only going to get harder.”

Co-producer Tully Callender adds "I am so proud of the caliber of original music artists in our community, and one of the joys for me is discovering artists from around the world whom I can’t wait to add to my personal music library.”

Judging for round two begins Friday and the winners will be announced on October 29, 2012. Deadline for voting in the only award category determined by a vote of the public, the Fan Fave, is October 17, 2012. One vote per person is allowed in Fan Fave voting online here.

BEST POP / ROCK / ADULT CONTEMPORARY VIDEO
Jeffery Straker - Gone
Matt Fishel - The First Time
Derek Bishop - Take Him Away
Blinded By Stardust - Changes
Matt Zarley - Trust Me

BEST ELECTRONIC / DANCE / HIP HOP / R&B VIDEO
Saturn - Oblivion
Blinded by Stardust - Can't We Just Dance Instead (feat. Biuna)
Nhojj - My Brother
Young Kaii - Fantasy Girl
Lovari - Keep It Movin' (feat. Loco Ninja)

BEST FOLK / COUNTRY / JAZZ VIDEO
Kat Devlin - Dear Emmi
Steven Gallavin - My Baby Just Cares For Me
Suzanne Nuttall - I See Wild Horses
Charles K Brown - For My Best Friend
Jeffery Straker - Birchbark Canoe

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A LIVE VIDEO
Jen Foster - Taking Bob Dylan
Anna Gutmanis - People (Got To Get It Together)
Rachael Sage - Everything
Rev. Yolanda - Rev Yolanda's Old Time Gospel Hour - Finale
Tom Goss with Potomac Fever - You Don't Question Love

BEST "LIVING ROOM" PERFORMANCE
Norine Braun - 99%
Derek Bishop - Thinking About You
Nhojj - He & Him
Martin Swinger - God Loves
Grrlz will be Boiz - Don't Tell Her

BEST VIDEO DIY (Do It Yourself)
Blinded By Stardust - Changes
Charles K. Brown - Stanley
StormMiguel Florez - I've Been to Manhattan
Kat Devlin - Dear Emmi
Brett Every - What A Beautiful Day
Sonasfly - Carousel
Corday - Weekend Warrior

BEST VIDEO (PRO)
Steven Gallavin - My Baby Just Cares For Me
Matt Zarley - Trust Me
MAOR - Long Way Home
Matt Fishel - The First Time
Kelly and the Kellygirls - Nightsweats

BEST VIDEO SO FAR
Jen Foster - Closer to Nowhere
Kelly and the Kellygirls - Catherine Deneuve and the Deus ex Machina
Matt Fishel - Football Song
Matt Zarley - WTF
Darren Ockert - Celebrity du Jour
Jess McAvoy - Bring the House Down

BEST POP / ROCK / ADULT CONTEMPORARY SONG
Tom Goss - It's All Over
Corday - My Evil Twin
Jen Foster - You Stayed
Darren Ockert - The Rain from London
Matt Fishel - Behind Closed Doors

BEST ELECTRONIC / DANCE / HIP HOP / R&B SONG
Melange Lavonne - One of a Kind (Teen Suicide)
Lunatic-FLO - Gurl U So Fly
Baron - RadioHeart
Matt Zarley - Trust Me
Darren Ockert - This Modern Life (1984)

BEST FOLK / COUNTRY / JAZZ SONG
Summer Osborne - Be Still
Kat Devlin - 4 o'clock light
Emily Nyman - Time for the Marching to End
Lucas Kane Hall - 1985
Ezra Axelrod - American Motel

BEST SONG SO FAR
Matt Fishel - Football Song
Matt Zarley - Change Begins With Me
Jen Foster - I Didn't Just Kiss Her
Nash Satterfield - Down Yonder
Anna Gutmanis - I Am Who I Am

SONG OF THE YEAR
Matt Fishel - Behind Closed Doors
Kat Devlin - Dear Emmi
Kevin Wong - Baby Grand
Ezra Axelrod - American Motel
Darren Ockert - The Rain from London

In a personal note, it was an honor for me to participate in the competition as a judge, and I look forward to final judging. I am also very proud to say several of the nominated artists have appeared on this blog previously.

RightOut TV Awards - Pop/Rock (DIY) Video

RightOutTV announced their first winners in the inaugural awards to celebrate the depth and diversity of the music in the LGBT community. The results reflect an impressive array of talent in 13 different categories. Winning artists represent the United States, Israel, Australia, England and Austria, making this a truly global contest. Next I will feature the winner of the Best Pop/Rock (DIY) Video category.



The award was given to Blinded By Stardust for the video, Cleared and Removed. The video is quite joyful and so very clever. The Electro/Pop/Rock music comes to us via Vienna, Austria. You really must watch it.



You can find out more about Blinded By Stardust on the official Facebook page here. You can find the samples of the music at Soundcloud here. You can watch the music of RightOut TV online here.