Chely Wright Comes Out Of The Closet – Country singer Chely Wright recently revealed that she is country’s first openly gay singer, according to a statement that she made in this week’s People Magazine. Her announcement comes just weeks after Ricky Martin announced to the world that he was homosexual. Previously, stars like George Michael and Clay Aiken had come out of the closet and still been able to go on to hugely successful careers.

Coming out of the closet doesn’t seem to have the negative career affect that it once did. However, making a proclamation such as this has never been attempted before in the country music industry. The fans of the genre reside mostly in the South, and according to some studies country music has the largest collection of Christian supporters. Country listeners have always been known to feature more conservatives than liberals. This makes coming out of the closet especially difficult for country singers.

Chely Wright doesn’t seem to be all that concerned with the affect the announcement could potentially have on her career. Wright will be releasing a number of different works this week, including her memoirs, entitled “Like Me,” and her first album in more than five years titled “Lifted off the Ground.” It is believed that she was planning on declaring her homosexuality in her memoirs, but elected to make a statement herself so the focus will remain on the other contents of the book.