The latest single release from Sunflower Kid, “How Do I Be Gay??” is a beaming exploration of self-identity wrapped snuggly in acoustic pop and folk tunes. Opening with a gentle piano note accompaniment and a gentle acoustic guitar strumming, the song immerses the listener in an intensely personal excursion that is simultaneously incredibly relatable and profoundly intimate.
After the entrance of the bright strumming of the acoustic guitar and reverberating tinkling of piano keys, Sunflower Kid’s engaging, emotive vocals takes over-weaving this yarn with an introspective, vulnerability-filled richness of voice, full of warmth and sincerity, pulling the listener right from the word go, until the very end.
The instrumentation on the song swells over the track with this dreamy quality, which always gives way to supremely catchy builds in the chorus, that pulls back again and creates space for some reflective verses. In this build-and-release dynamic lies an emotional high within Sunflower Kid’s narrative, where one feels guided through a series of resonant emotions into that last note.
In “How Do I Be Gay??”, Sunflower Kid grapples with brutal honesty at his plight to find ground as a gay man within the larger LGBTQ community, then even more broadly in society. The lyrics go on to describe growing up feeling “too gay for straight people” and now feeling “too straight for gay people.” It goes into what tends to be complex and contradictory pressures toward finding one’s identity.
Sunflower Kid shared that he hopes it will hit home with anyone uncertain about knowing where they belong. “Without role models of who or how to be, I often have questioned the trajectory of my life. Too gay for straight people in my youth and too straight for gay people as an adult, there has often been much said about my existence. How Do I Be Gay?? is me coming to terms with that. I hope anyone unsure about where they belong can find commonality in this song.” he wrote. The said feeling wraps up quite eloquently in the chorus, where yearnings for acceptance and understanding are bared.
As astounding as the production is on “How Do I Be Gay??” had its lyric content recorded at Atlantic Studios West and mixed by renowned producer Christian Fiore; that’s a track with a polished, heartfelt sound where acoustic blends sonically rich pop sensibilities for such a personal track.
Mining courtesies from peers in the lines of Ed Sheeran, Amy Winehouse, and Adele, speaking often to mental health struggles, LGBTQ identity battles, and chasing self-acceptance on many fronts, he has spent years channeling those very struggles into music that turned an entire generation on board his cause.
Sunflower Kid is donating some of the “How Do I Be Gay?” song royalties to The Trevor Project, an organization working to help LGBTQ+ youth. “I want to do good and help young people who
are questioning their identity while trying to navigate the world. I would have greatly benefited from this when I was younger, so I hope I can make a difference in some way.”
The openness and sincerity ooze from Sunflower Kid on “How Do I Be Gay??” are exceptionally characteristics that wind up making the song that extra bit notable for being at once personal and universal. For the Rufus Wainwright and Kacey Musgraves fans, within that moving and melodious framework lies an inquisition: Exactly which pieces of the self could be found amidst the howling cacophony of outside expectations? And most definitely, as Sunflower Kid continues releasing more music chronicling his journey forward, one thing stands forth very distinct in one’s mind: his voice utterly resonates with heart and soul.
You can find more of Sunflower Kid at:
You can listen to ‘How Do I Be Gay??’ below:
Karen Harding is a Melbourne, Australia based singer/songwriter, founder of Sounds On The Couch, and founder and operator of boutique music PR service for emerging and independent artists, Rise Indie.