By: Daniel P’Lopez
Photos by: Thomas Mundell & Mia Isabellann Brian Falduto’s journey started in New Jersey, where he was born and raised. He started acting and dancing at the age of two. Brian was always a kid who loved attention and loved to perform, at church and at home. He even asked his mother to take him to voice lessons, dance classes, and acting classes.
Brian has always had a knack for being on TV. Wanting to be in showbiz as a dancer and actor, Brian went to a talent manager on vacation with his family, who later ended up representing him. This was basically how he got his first role.
His first professional audition was for School of Rock with Jack Black. Although he was depicted as a gay, flamboyant kid in School or Rock, it came with many challenges. Brian explained he didn’t come out until his senior year in college. Back in 2003 (when the film came out), it was a different time for being gay, and gays on the screen were treated differently. If you were called gay, it was looked at as an insult back then, Brian says.
After the movie, everyone kept calling him gay, and it all had a negative effect on him. He felt afraid and ashamed, which was why he went into the closet and came out later in life. Now, he wears it on his sleeve, and everything has come full circle for Brian. Brian is putting on a project called Gay Country.
Brian took a break from acting during his teenage years but got a theater degree in college. Brian’s first job was in college country music radio, which is what helped him get into country singing. Brain says he was always a country fan, and his first album was Faith Hill. After Carrie Underwood won American Idol, Brian says he started watching country award shows and fell in love with all of the other 90s country artists.
Many of them have influenced and inspired him in his own life, what they have led and done, and having to stand out and go against the grind since it is a male-dominated industry—Brian explained. Brian is trying his best to revisit the sounds and artists he grew up listening to like Rascal Flats, Faith Hill, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, and current artists on the radio. Brian loves what he does and thinks, “It’s really cool that country lanes are emerging with sounds familiar to people, and that sounds hot.”
Brian writes his own music but was fortunate to cover a Dolly Parton song, ‘Why’d you come in here looking like that.’ Dolly’s legacy has been a long career, she has been loved and has given back to the gay community, which is why Brian chose to cover her song.
For Brian, being openly gay has been fun in country, a far distance from his youth; there is definitely a lane with it now, especially with all the streaming platforms. Of course, there are still issues with country and the haters; there will always be haters, as we all know, but Brian doesn’t need permission to make country music because of the format in the industry right now. He is glad to be part of this movement and sounds like he is here to stay.
When Brian is not working on music, he works on mental health challenges for other LGBTQ+ communities; spending time with friends and his partner and spending as much time outside as possible. Brian hopes and dreams to continue to perform in the future with his music.
Brian has new material and original music coming out. To learn more, visit www.BrianFulduto.com
You can also follow Brian on all social media platforms @BrianFalduto
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