"All-American Boy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Steve Grand. It was released on August 2, 2013 as Grand's debut single.[1] The song's music video was uploaded to YouTube on July 2, 2013 and immediately went viral; just eight days later, the video had more than 1,000,000 views.[2][3][4][5]
"The world never sees change until people say … I’m going to just do it. I have to do it. That’s why I went all in. I’m not going to play it safe. There’s no room in the world to play it safe. You have kids killing themselves. Sure, there’s been progress politically, but there’s all these rural places in America, especially, that are very homophobic."[6]
—Steve Grand talking to the Los Angeles Times about his decision to be open with his sexuality in the song.
"All-American Boy" was written solely by Grand. The narrative of the song focuses on a gay man's unrequited love for a straight man, although Grand contends that the song is more broadly a "universal story of longing".[7] In an interview with BuzzFeed, Grand explained that the song was inspired by negative experiences he encountered as a gay male throughout his adolescence, including conversion therapy.[7] Grand further explained the meaning of the song:
I needed to do something to share the ache and share the pain that I've felt for most of my life. This is the story I wanted to tell. This is who I want to be. I owe that. I owe that to all the people who have felt this.[7]
Music videoEdit
BackgroundEdit
The music video was directed by Jason Knade at various locations in Wisconsin, also featuring cinematography by Brendan Leahy.[8] The video was entirely financed by Grand for a cost of approximately $7,000, with the majority of actors in the video being Grand's friends.[8] In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Grand explained that "there was no Plan B" with the creation of the video, commenting that he maxed out his own credit card when financing the project.[6] The video was uploaded to Grand's YouTube account on July 2, 2013. Grand described the release of the video as "very grass-roots", sharing the video on both YouTube and Facebook in hopes that it would go viral.[6] Grand explained that the intention of the video was "me coming out as totally myself", in hopes that it would resonate with listeners.[7] Following the release of the video, Grand said,
[The video has] really resonated for those people who haven’t had a voice. I feel this giant responsibility to be there for them, even if I’m never on the radio because people aren’t comfortable with a guy singing about a guy – or because I don’t write poppy enough music. ‘All-American Boy’ is hopefully just the very beginning of a career for me.[6]
Synopsis and receptionEdit
The video almost immediately went viral. Just eight days later, "All-American Boy" had more than 1 million views.[2][3][4][5][9][10] The song, set against a backdrop of country roads, an American flag and friends around a campfire, tells the story of a young man in love with a heterosexual male friend.
Although Grand has received mostly positive reaction to the song, some gay activists have criticized its content, with one stating that its message is that "Gay men drink too much, feel sorry for themselves, and come on to straight dudes when their girlfriends aren't around."[11] Writing for Slate, J. Bryan Lowder had an even harsher take on the video, describing it as "woefully out-of-tune with the times. It's like something out of a homo smut story from before Stonewall", and adding "this particular narrative of the tantalizing straight guy and lovesick queen is so hackneyed in gay culture as to be laughable."[12] Grand has said that he appreciates different perspectives regarding his work. In an interview with The New Civil Rights Movement, he also said: "When I made that video, I did not set out to make any statements about gay people other than what we share in common with our straight brothers and sisters—that sometimes you love someone you can’t have. I know that especially rings true for gay people who grow up in a heterosexual world."[13]
Live performancesEdit
Grand's first public performance of "All-American Boy" was held live at The Joynt in Chicago on July 6, 2013. He performed the song at his final two gigs at The Joynt on July 12 and 13. On July 18, Grand performed "All-American Boy" on the Chicago morning talk show Windy City Live.[14]
Credits and personnelEdit
Credits and personnel are adapted from the All American Boy album liner notes.[15]
Steve Grand – writer, lead vocals, background vocals, piano, acoustic guitar, digital editing
Aaron Johnson – producer, digital editing, engineering
^. Archived from the original on March 12, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ abInawat, Ron Matthew (July 11, 2013). "Chicago's gay country 'All-American Boy' Steve Grand hits 1m views". Chicago Pride. Archived from the original on July 12, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
^ abBenjamin, Jeff (July 9, 2013). "Meet Gay Country Star Steve Grand". Fuse. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
^ abConnelly, Chris (July 9, 2013). "Gay Country Singer Adjusts to Newfound Web Fame". ABC NewsGood Morning America. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
^ abShamberger, Ebony (July 8, 2013). "Steve Grand called first openly gay country singer after video release". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
^ abcdKennedy, Gerrick (July 13, 2013). "Steve Grand breaks out with 'All-American Boy'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
^ abcdBellassai, Matt (July 8, 2013). "The Story Behind Gay Singer Steve Grand's "All-American Boy"". BuzzFeed. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
^ abInawat, Matt. . ChicagoPride.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
^Lennox, Michael Cidoni (July 8, 2013). . Huffington Post. Archived from the original on July 9, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
^. The Center Orlando. July 5, 2013. Archived from the original on July 10, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
^King, Mark S. (July 8, 2013). "Gay country singer's video portrays gay men as sad, predatory drunks". LGBTQNation.com. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
^Lowder, J. Bryan (July 10, 2013). "This Is Not the First Openly Gay Male Country Star. At Least I Hope Not". Slate. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
^Sala, Sean (October 28, 2013). "'All American Boy' Singer, Songwriter Steve Grand Is Turning Heads And Minds". The New Civil Rights Movement.com.
^Geoffroy, Kyler (July 18, 2013). "Steve Grand's Slow Rendition of "All-American Boy" Will Melt Your Heart". Towleroad.com. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
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This article is about the Steve Grand song For other songs see All American Boy disambiguation All American Boy is a song by American singer songwriter Steve Grand It was released on August 2 2013 as Grand s debut single 1 The song s music video was uploaded to YouTube on July 2 2013 and immediately went viral just eight days later the video had more than 1 000 000 views 2 3 4 5 All American Boy Single by Steve Grandfrom the album All American BoyReleasedAugust 4 2013 2013 08 04 Recorded2013StudioBand House Studios Sound Factory Hollywood California The Bank Burbank California Harmony Studios West Hollywood California Parents Basement Lemont Illinois GenreCountryLength5 24 album version 4 34 single version LabelGrand NationSongwriter s Steve GrandProducer s Aaron JohnsonSteve Grand singles chronology All American Boy 2013 Stay 2013 Music video All American Boy on YouTube Contents 1 Background 2 Music video 2 1 Background 2 2 Synopsis and reception 3 Live performances 4 Credits and personnel 5 ReferencesBackground Edit The world never sees change until people say I m going to just do it I have to do it That s why I went all in I m not going to play it safe There s no room in the world to play it safe You have kids killing themselves Sure there s been progress politically but there s all these rural places in America especially that are very homophobic 6 Steve Grand talking to the Los Angeles Times about his decision to be open with his sexuality in the song All American Boy was written solely by Grand The narrative of the song focuses on a gay man s unrequited love for a straight man although Grand contends that the song is more broadly a universal story of longing 7 In an interview with BuzzFeed Grand explained that the song was inspired by negative experiences he encountered as a gay male throughout his adolescence including conversion therapy 7 Grand further explained the meaning of the song I needed to do something to share the ache and share the pain that I ve felt for most of my life This is the story I wanted to tell This is who I want to be I owe that I owe that to all the people who have felt this 7 Music video EditBackground Edit The music video was directed by Jason Knade at various locations in Wisconsin also featuring cinematography by Brendan Leahy 8 The video was entirely financed by Grand for a cost of approximately 7 000 with the majority of actors in the video being Grand s friends 8 In an interview with the Los Angeles Times Grand explained that there was no Plan B with the creation of the video commenting that he maxed out his own credit card when financing the project 6 The video was uploaded to Grand s YouTube account on July 2 2013 Grand described the release of the video as very grass roots sharing the video on both YouTube and Facebook in hopes that it would go viral 6 Grand explained that the intention of the video was me coming out as totally myself in hopes that it would resonate with listeners 7 Following the release of the video Grand said The video has really resonated for those people who haven t had a voice I feel this giant responsibility to be there for them even if I m never on the radio because people aren t comfortable with a guy singing about a guy or because I don t write poppy enough music All American Boy is hopefully just the very beginning of a career for me 6 Synopsis and reception Edit The video almost immediately went viral Just eight days later All American Boy had more than 1 million views 2 3 4 5 9 10 The song set against a backdrop of country roads an American flag and friends around a campfire tells the story of a young man in love with a heterosexual male friend Although Grand has received mostly positive reaction to the song some gay activists have criticized its content with one stating that its message is that Gay men drink too much feel sorry for themselves and come on to straight dudes when their girlfriends aren t around 11 Writing for Slate J Bryan Lowder had an even harsher take on the video describing it as woefully out of tune with the times It s like something out of a homo smut story from before Stonewall and adding this particular narrative of the tantalizing straight guy and lovesick queen is so hackneyed in gay culture as to be laughable 12 Grand has said that he appreciates different perspectives regarding his work In an interview with The New Civil Rights Movement he also said When I made that video I did not set out to make any statements about gay people other than what we share in common with our straight brothers and sisters that sometimes you love someone you can t have I know that especially rings true for gay people who grow up in a heterosexual world 13 Live performances EditGrand s first public performance of All American Boy was held live at The Joynt in Chicago on July 6 2013 He performed the song at his final two gigs at The Joynt on July 12 and 13 On July 18 Grand performed All American Boy on the Chicago morning talk show Windy City Live 14 Credits and personnel EditCredits and personnel are adapted from the All American Boy album liner notes 15 Steve Grand writer lead vocals background vocals piano acoustic guitar digital editing Aaron Johnson producer digital editing engineering Zac Rae keyboard Tim Pierce guitar Jim McGorman guitar Max Steger opening guitar string bend engineering Marc Slutsky drums Sean Hurley bass Chris Steffen engineering Adrian Trujillo assistant engineer Bill Mims assistant engineer Dan Piscina assistant engineer Sam Martin assistant engineerReferences Edit Archived copy Archived from the original on March 12 2015 Retrieved August 29 2017 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link a b Inawat Ron Matthew July 11 2013 Chicago s gay country All American Boy Steve Grand hits 1m views Chicago Pride Archived from the original on July 12 2013 Retrieved July 21 2013 a b Benjamin Jeff July 9 2013 Meet Gay Country Star Steve Grand Fuse Retrieved July 21 2013 a b Connelly Chris July 9 2013 Gay Country Singer Adjusts to Newfound Web Fame ABC News Good Morning America Retrieved July 21 2013 a b Shamberger Ebony July 8 2013 Steve Grand called first openly gay country singer after video release Indianapolis Star Retrieved July 21 2013 a b c d Kennedy Gerrick July 13 2013 Steve Grand breaks out with All American Boy Los Angeles Times Retrieved August 3 2020 a b c d Bellassai Matt July 8 2013 The Story Behind Gay Singer Steve Grand s All American Boy BuzzFeed Retrieved August 3 2020 a b Inawat Matt Jason Knade Interview ChicagoPride com Archived from the original on September 17 2016 Retrieved September 17 2016 Lennox Michael Cidoni July 8 2013 Steve Grand s All American Boy Becomes A Gay Themed Country Music Hit On YouTube Huffington Post Archived from the original on July 9 2013 Retrieved July 8 2013 Our First Country Gay Music Video Steve Grand All American Boy The Center Orlando July 5 2013 Archived from the original on July 10 2013 Retrieved July 8 2013 King Mark S July 8 2013 Gay country singer s video portrays gay men as sad predatory drunks LGBTQNation com Retrieved July 20 2013 Lowder J Bryan July 10 2013 This Is Not the First Openly Gay Male Country Star At Least I Hope Not Slate Retrieved July 24 2013 Sala Sean October 28 2013 All American Boy Singer Songwriter Steve Grand Is Turning Heads And Minds The New Civil Rights Movement com Geoffroy Kyler July 18 2013 Steve Grand s Slow Rendition of All American Boy Will Melt Your Heart Towleroad com Retrieved July 22 2013 All American Boy liner notes Grand Nation 2015 GN3771 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title All American Boy amp oldid 1170899341, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
