NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� is strutting off in an entirely new sonic direction on his fifth album. The Broadway, runway and TV star has pivoted to dance music.
鈥淚鈥檓 a new artist. There鈥檚 a transformation that has happened,鈥� the Tony-, Emmy- and Grammy-winner tells The Associated Press. 鈥淚've been offered a real second chance.鈥�
鈥淏lack Mona Lisa鈥� sees Porter embrace club, house and old-school disco over 12 tracks, creating a warm, welcoming space that showcases his voice and redemption story.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been fun. It鈥檚 been a healing. It鈥檚 been beyond anything that I could have dreamed,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to bring some positivity into the world. I鈥檓 trying to heal people.鈥�
The songs veer from the dance anthem 鈥淏roke a Sweat,鈥� to the soulful 鈥淪tranger Things,鈥� the four-on-the-floor of 鈥淏aby Was a Dancer鈥� to the pop of 鈥淣ew Shoes.鈥�
鈥淚 had a lot of different genres in this album and we manage to stay coherent because the cohesive energy comes from me,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 taken me 30 years to figure out how to do that.鈥�
There鈥檚 a playful strut to the lyrics, with a confidence Porter says he feels now. On the song 鈥淔unk Is on the One,鈥� he sings: 鈥淭hey give me Emmy from the TV like a showgirl/Gotta Grammy so big I gotta park it on the curb/Rubbing elbows with the superstars like Big Bird.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time that I am singing music that feels a little bit like a flex, a little bit like a brag,鈥� Porter says. 鈥淚 would never, ever in my life have sung anything like that before now. I embrace it, but sometimes I go, 鈥極K, calm down, girl. Calm down.鈥欌��
The bright album stands in stark relief to his 1997 debut, his self-titled R&B collection, which largely languished despite his Tony-winning voice ("Kinky Boots"), and
鈥淚 was told that it would never work out for me because my queerness would be my liability. And it was 鈥� in all areas. And then it wasn鈥檛," he says. "I鈥檓 grateful that I lived long enough to see the day where it wasn鈥檛, where my liability has become my superpower.鈥�
Porter found a soulmate in songwriter and producer who has written hits for artists such as Britney Spears, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga.
鈥淣o matter how fearless this person is, no matter how confident Billy is, this business burned him real bad decades ago, and so I did the best I could to make sure that he felt heard, to make sure that he felt understood,鈥� said Tranter, who is
Tranter said listeners who just want to dance and have fun can enjoy Porter's album, but those who listen carefully will have a whole journey to digest. The title track, in particular, is a favorite.
鈥�'Black Mona Lisa' is to me Billy distilled into a song, where it is confident, it is vulnerable, it is flamboyant, it is over the top and it is serious, all at the same time. And I think that鈥檚 what is inspiring,鈥� they said.
While dance music is often dismissed as rarely introspective, Porter fuses both huge hooks and poignant, personal lyrics to his songs. He opens 鈥淢ore to Learn,鈥� with the lyrics: 鈥淚鈥檓 alive, what an accomplishment for my kind.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 54 years old. I came out during the AIDS crisis. On paper. I鈥檓 not supposed to be here,鈥� Porter says when asked about the lyric.
Porter is now invited to Dick Clark鈥檚 New Year鈥檚 Rockin鈥� Eve, helps light the National Christmas Tree and sits as a guest judge on 鈥淒ancing With the Stars.鈥� But he spent 13 years away from the business after finding his career stalling. He returned and never looked back after winning the 2013 best leading-man Tony Award for He has now become a producer, backing 2022's best musical Tony winner 鈥淎 Strange Loop.鈥�
Porter then put out three albums of Broadway and Broadway-adjacent music, including 2017's 鈥淏illy Porter Presents the Soul of Richard Rodgers,鈥� which gave some funk and hip-hop feel to some standards.
In some ways, he points to that last album as a bridge for some of his mainly white and over-60 fans from Broadway to follow him to where he is now. 鈥淚 tried to take them by the hands and cross them over to a sound that they might not recognize,鈥� he says.
On a deeper level, 鈥淏lack Mona Lisa鈥� is a bit like a veteran offering advice to the next generation, like on 鈥淎udacity鈥� where Porter sings 鈥淭he audacity to show up honestly/How dare I believe/That鈥檚 it鈥檚 OK be me鈥� and on 鈥淐hildren,鈥� where he counsels: 鈥淪ome people criticize the way you live/But don鈥檛 you apologize, or dare submit.鈥�
鈥淚 grew up in the church, and while I left the church for reasons beyond my control, there were wonderful and astonishing, beautiful things that I learned,鈥� he says.
鈥淥ne of those things is you help people. I鈥檓 also first generation post-Civil Rights Movement so activism is in my DNA. I鈥檝e never known anything different as a Black man and a Black queer man on this planet.鈥�
The importance of activism has led Porter to speak out on everything from and anti-trans legislation to
鈥淎lways love first,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut my grandma used to say every so often, 鈥楾ough love needs to be employed.鈥� Love doesn鈥檛 mean rolling over. Tough love needs to be employed right now to the stuff going on in the world.鈥�
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Mark Kennedy is at
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
