Will Nashville Embrace The Now Openly Gay Chely Wright, And Who is Next?

Now the country music artist Chely Wright dropped a bomb on the country music industry coming out as a gay woman, New York Times wonders if Nashville will let her back in. Chances of that may be slim due to the fact that many country music fans are anti gay individuals. Ms. Wright said she couldn't come out earlier in her career because she knew coming out would have derailed her dreams. Now as an accomplished artist she finally opened the door and said Hi, my name is Chely Wright and I'm a gay American. Will her coming out prompt other gay country music stars to come out as well. There are many who've been under the gaydar for years like Kenny Chesney because...well, wow!

But while her dreams may have changed, the scale of this announcement — made on “Today” in conjunction with an article in the next issue of People magazine and on people.com had little to do with Ms. Wright. Only one song of hers has cracked the Top 10 of the Billboard country singles chart — “Single White Female,” from 1999, which went to No. 1 — and she’s been largely absent from public view since her 2004 single “The Bumper of My S.U.V.,” a genteel, apolitical pro-troops song.  Rather, Ms. Wright’s high-profile declaration casts a spotlight on the world of country music, which has historically had little room for differences. Ms. Wright’s dissent from the genre’s talking points — often conservative and religious, though rarely blatantly homophobic — arrived in tandem with the release of her memoir, “Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer” (Pantheon), and a new album, “Lifted Off the Ground” (Painted Red/Vanguard). But the impact of her story is really more powerful on country music’s monolithic image than on her own image.