Singer-Songwriter Ryan Lill on New Music and Pride Month

On Tuesday, singer-songwriter Ryan Lill released his newest single, “Ocean,” just in time for Pride Month.

A true, born-and-bred gentleman from Charleston, SC, Lill is an artist worth watching out for. Starting in the acoustic realm but quickly crossing over to mainstream pop in the early 2010s, his 2014 singles, including “Kerosene,” put him on the music world map and an MTV Artist spot. Lill has performed alongside and opened for chart-topping artists like Meghan Trainor and Todrick Hall and has also made a name for himself in the music comedy arena.

Constantly gaining a new audience of listeners, they cannot resist Lill’s southern charm or tongue-in-cheek humor. In April, he released a catchy, pop single called “Adore Me.” The single is accompanied with a video which features Lill in full drag in an 80s workout throwback. This is his first song to hit syndicated radio.

In addition to music, Lill is a fierce LGBTQ advocate who has spoken openly about his experience and loyalty to the community.

Lill took some time to chat more about his music and LGBTQ Pride with OFM.

Can you begin by telling us the concept and inspiration behind your new single, “Ocean?”
“Ocean” is kind of a different vibe for me. I am very pop-oriented, and I wrote this song on piano about a year ago, and it was inspired by watching Outer Banks on Netflix. It is filmed here in my hometown, and I am actually good friends with Madison Bailey, who plays Kiara on the show. I just felt this need to write something that was kind of symbolic of the ocean in myself, and I think I equate my life with the changing of the tides all the time. Like, the ocean is beautiful, but it can also kill you. So, just riding that wave and staying above the undertow. Trying to be who you are, be authentic, and letting life take you whichever way it takes you.

Did you want to release “Ocean” on June 1 in honor of Pride Month?
Pride Month has always been super important to me. I try to represent Pride every day just because I feel like you have to be proud of yourself before you can spread it to other people. June 1, it is the first day of Pride Month, but it is starting to feel like summer. I know it’s not the first day of summer, but Pride Month kicks off summer, for me. I have always enjoyed that. June 1 just feels good. The first day of Pride; everyone is going to be talking about the LGBTQ community. So, why not put out a song that not only represents people struggling with their own personal identity, but do it on a day that is meaningful to myself?

What does Pride personally mean to you?
That is such a good question. I think that Pride, for me, is not just specifically about LGBTQ Pride in my own life, but I feel like you have to take pride in your own skin. You have got to be comfortable, learn to love your body, love yourself, and love the flaws that people call out about you every day. If someone is saying you are overweight, hello, been there, done that. You dress too feminine; your makeup doesn’t look good. I think pride comes from keeping yourself in this bubble of your own thoughts saying, ‘Whatever I am doing is my Pride. It’s my skin; it’s my comfort zone.’

Pride is more of a personal walk with myself. Being OK with myself and starting to accept the fact that I am not going to make everyone happy. I am never going to be able to be everyone’s idea of what the perfect gay human being is. There are so many things out there, even in our community, which I dislike, where you want this inclusivity, but there are all these little niches of, I’m sorry, you don’t fit into that gay mold. So, pride is knowing that there is no such thing as a mold.

Do you have any plans or live performances scheduled for Pride?
I am playing our Pride festival here in Charleston, which had over 15,000 people in 2019. It was insane, but it was awesome. I got to open for Todrick Hall. So, I am playing that, and that is October 3. I have been asked to sing at Atlanta Pride, but with all my other booking going on, I am not sure what I am going to be able to do on actual Pride Month.

I know that I am doing the Gay Night Out here in Charleston, and I am doing Takeover in Charleston, where you basically find a business that does not really have an LGBTQ affiliation, and you all go there. I am also releasing two songs, and I have two videos coming out during Pride Month. I want to do something; I haven’t decided what I want to do, but I want to do something big here in town that really represents my own Pride community here.

A couple weeks ago, you released your catchy, pop single, “Adore Me.” How has it been received by listeners?
To be honest, I am getting goosebumps thinking about it; this has been the first single that I have put out that not only hit radio, but I did a video where I was finally like, ‘Screw it. I am going to do a video that I want to do. I want to do something fun with my friends.’ Since putting it out, I do not want to jinx myself, I am knocking on whatever is around me, but I have not had one negative comment. I haven’t had one bad review or anybody on my Twitter blowing me up with hate messages. It has all been so positive, which is kind of unusual, but I am riding on the fact that people are just coming around.

Have you always had a passion for singing and songwriting?
I don’t think songwriting, honestly [laughs]. I hate to say that because I do it now, but definitely singing. Middle school vibes. I was in band, and I dealt with a lot of anxiety and depression. I feel like it was my comfort zone. Going home, and instead of having all these friends that my siblings would go out and see, I was the kid that was like, I’m going to practice my trumpet in the bedroom. It just kind of blossomed into writing stuff down and finally putting the thoughts in my head onto paper. It just kind of took off.

With music, I definitely have this strong relationship. With music of any kind. Songwriting, it feels like it has taken off more as an adult because I felt like I have more to say. It took me 32 years to feel comfortable in my own skin. I am still learning who I am, what I am, why I am, but I definitely have more to write about now.

I heard you can create a song about anything in less than 10 minutes. Is that true?
It is true, and I can probably do it in about three to five minutes! On the radio, they tested me. I did it on The Bert Show, which is syndicated radio, top 40, and I have done a few local stations here in town where somebody calls and gives me a topic. While they are talking, I am just writing. I don’t know why, but in my head, I keep this iambic pentameter beat to words. My sister was an English major and used me like a thesaurus. Now, I have these rhymes that are just there. So, yes, I would say about five minutes tops, I can write a song about almost anything.

Can you talk more about your musical aesthetic?
It is forever changing, like myself. I feel like I stay true to these 80s roots. I always have strong 80s vibes going on. Then recently, jumping into piano, which I never played growing up, I always played guitar, bass instruments, and strings. I picked up the piano and started to realize that I can write so much better on a piano. So, I feel like I have gone more singer-songwriter vibe on that, but my aesthetic, I would say is 80s. I just have this 80s inspiration behind everything that I do. If you listen back to my songs before “Adore Me,” they all have these 80s-beat sounds. That is kind of where my vibe stays in, but it is shifting between this 80s-pop, Boy George feeling to this new, singer-songwriter but intertwining more pop lyrics in it where I can talk about things that are more pop-friendly on a piano song.

What do you hope audiences take away from your music?
I have never been asked this question before. I really want people to take away that I am seriously preaching authenticity. I want people to feel like themselves. I want people to stop saying, this person said this about me, so what they say is my reality. I hope I am empowering people to bring out their inner badass. I want someone to feel like, ‘You know what, that girl made fun of me at the gym. So, tomorrow, I am going to go back to the gym, wear what I want, and work out. I am going to do whatever I want, and she can look at me all she wants because that is her problem, not mine.’ That is what I hope people are taking away from it.

What more do you hope to accomplish with your platform?
I would love to be more involved with philanthropic, LGBTQ-oriented stuff. All my merch, I usually go through a company called Bonfire, and I always donate to the Trevor Project, only because I feel that really holds true to where I came from. I wish I had this phone number I could have called to talk to somebody who was older than me that was experiencing what I was experiencing. I grew up in a time when, when you came out, it wasn’t, like, cool. So, I would love to get more into promoting things like that. Organizations that mean something, not just to me, but that help other people. I try my best to do as much good as I possibly can.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?
Sure. I am actually working on my second Pride Month song, which will come out at the end of the month, called “Ice Cream.” It is a Pride anthem, so I hope everyone is excited about it. It is definitely different for me. It’s not “Adore Me” or “Ocean.” I am keeping the genres flipping. Jumping back and forth. I do not want to do this thing where I am stuck in one little bubble.

Connect and stay up-to-date with Lill by following him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or visit his official website. His music is available on Spotify and all other music streaming platforms.

Photos Courtesy of Ryan Lill