This Golden Ticket is OUT and PROUD

At the age of 19, singer/songwriter Tommy Boi was granted the golden ticket to go on to Hollywood on American Idol’s Season 12. Though his path on the competition show was short-lived, he walked away with advice from season judge Nicki Minaj – to never give up and keep working at it. Heeding her advice, he has done just that and has become one of the bright stars in the LGBTQ independent musician circuit. Overcoming some major obstacles in his life, he has been heating up the scene garnering millions upon millions of streams across all the major platforms and hitting the stage with powerhouse performances.

Music started early for Tommy, with piano lessons and singing starting at age 7 in Sacramento, California.

I had so many close friends that were like family to me, and I made so many beautiful memories growing up there. And while I was able to make a lot of amazing music with my friends, I always felt like I needed to get to LA to take my career to the next phase. Music became a huge part of my identity from so early on. It gave me the ability to process my emotions. I keep that with me in my songwriting. It was always the place I could turn to when I felt discouraged or lost. As I was finding myself growing up, music was my safe place.

Having a safe space was very important for Tommy as his sexuality started to develop. His early singing started in the church, and he would go on to attend a Christian university. It was at school that Tommy fell in love for the first time. The struggle between personal identity and a conservative upbringing would soon start to clash to form the foundation for today’s openly proud, gay musician.

I think deep down I always knew I was different, but I wasn’t sure why.  Then during middle school, people would start to ask me if I was gay but, growing up in such a conservative world, that never felt like an option for me. I started to get bullied in high school about it, but I hadn’t fully accepted it for myself. I kind of just focused on music during high school and making lots of friends. It wasn’t until I fell in love for the first time with a boy when I was 21 that I knew I had to come out. I was scared of getting rejected by everyone in my life, but I had to make that choice to live my truth. I wanted to be happy and be free no matter the cost. Some people faded away when I came out, but the real ones in my life accepted me with open arms.

And his relationship with religion today?

I don’t really associate with any one religion today but growing up in a religious household definitely made me a spiritual person. I believe in the power of the universe and that all things do work together in such a beautiful way. It’s really all about your mindset and perspective when dealing with life every day.

In 2018, he released “Glue,” his professional coming out.

Once I wrote that song, I knew I didn’t want to live my life in hiding. I finally felt that feeling that everyone else always talked about and I just wanted to let it all out. I knew the people in my personal life would hear my heart in the song and how genuine that love was. It gave me the strength to finally take that step forward.

“Holiday” (the companion song to “Glue”) would detail Tommy’s journey to Los Angeles and the hardships that came with it, including couch surfing just to survive.

Living on my own for the first time and experiencing true independence can also feel like loneliness at times. We all have to find our path in this life and only you can go on that journey but I’m really grateful to have made some really close friends that lift me up and remind me of who I am when I’m struggling. 

After his original move to Los Angeles, he was in a horrible car accident that forced Tommy to move back home for months to recover. But still, he wasn’t throwing in the towel.

That was the darkest time of my life. I was living in LA, recording music, and felt on top of the world but then, overnight, my life changed and just like that I was back home with a broken leg and no car. I was in recovery for six months, but the one thing I did have was all of the masters of my songs. So, it actually gave me time to process the coming out situation with my family and brought us all a lot closer again. I also released “You Never Called Back” while I was living back at home, and it started to take on a life of its own. It was a sign from the universe to not give up.

Despite Tommy’s hardships, his fan base in the music industry and on social media continued to climb. Each new single met with even more attention. As life continued to challenge Tommy on a personal level, the experiences gave him a new edge.

I think my perspective has matured a bit. I’ve learned a lot about love and relationships over the years and I hope that comes through in my songs. It’s less of a victim mentality like “You hurt me, how could you” and more of being grateful for the memories that I made with those people. I think you can see that new perspective in my song “California” – it’s about a past love but it’s not in a hurtful way, but more of a nostalgic and beautiful way. The song is just me processing those feelings of genuinely being happy for someone else while still feeling like I was sacrificing fun to pursue my dreams and build my own life. It’s not really a sad song, but more so about me stepping back and looking at my life, feeling nostalgic about the past, but also knowing that I was in the right place doing what I needed to do for myself to move my life forward. I wanted the song to make people feel good and understood. There is so much beauty in that struggle of growing and forging your own path.

Above all, he remains unabashedly out and proud. Does he think being an openly gay musician is limiting at all?

I don’t like to think about it as a limitation because it’s my story and my reality. All I can do is live transparently and people can take that however they want. Making music is just something I must do to express myself and will always do regardless of what people think about me or my personal life.

While fans can recite Tommy’s lyrics along with him, they also have an equal fervor for Tommy’s shirtless, or pant less pics on social media. Do the underwear and muscle pics overshadow his skills as a musician?

I do think it may confuse people a bit but I can’t help it. I’m just trying to live my authentic life and I also make music from my heart. Being a sexual human being is just part of being a human and I’m not ashamed of that.  I am just trying to live openly and transparently, and I hope that inspires everyone else to do the same no matter what their sexuality is.

Even choosing the stage name “Boi” is without apology.

Someone once told me that my stage name was too gay, so I felt like I just had to do it. It’s not so much about being a boy as it is about being forever young and not taking anything too seriously. I think that’s why I felt good to commit to it.

It’s this mix of confidence, sexuality, and truly well-crafted music that has set Tommy apart from his peers. His voice is plaintive and powerful at the same time, commanding and pleading at others. For Tommy, he is simply telling his story his way.

Fans appreciate the vulnerability and honesty in my lyrics. They can hopefully hear the tenderness in my voice when I sing and that’s it all just coming from my heart and my real-life experiences. It’s scary to put my stories out there sometimes but it is so worth it when I know it’s helping somebody else in their journey feel understood. I just want people to know that they aren’t alone in the struggle of growing up and healing from a broken heart because we all have been there.

With skilled instruction in his arsenal as well as life lessons, his creative process is precise.

I’m always writing down titles in my phone of stories I want to tell or phrases that resonate with me. Then from there, when I’m ready to write, I’ll sit down with my laptop and a guitar or piano and start to write out the hook. I typically build out the song from that point. I write the melodies and the lyrics hand in hand as I go. I’ve written to tracks before, and I enjoy that a lot, but my favorite is writing with an instrument in my hand because it feels like the song is just fully coming from my mind and body.

Tommy’s biggest priorities right now are to release his next EP and continue his live bookings across the U.S. Not only does he want to be an inspiration to other LGBTQ people in coming out, but he also wants to be a point of light for other musicians. His best advice?

Just remember that your story is worth being told. Keep going because you love making art. Make the best music you can and remember why you started in the first place. Enjoy the journey and just focus on growing every single day. It’s all about baby steps! Celebrate every win and learn from every loss. Every day that you are alive is a blessing and a chance to begin again. Find that dream life for yourself and remember it is all about baby steps. I love you all so much!

You can listen to Tommy’s music across all major platforms, and follow him on IG: @TommyBoi.