Press Play: Billy Porter Showcases His Immaculate Vocals In Politically Charged ‘For What It’s Worth’
If you didn’t know Billy Porter had vocals on him, please see his Grammy, Emmy AND Tony Award wins for further reference.
The talented actor, singer, director and all-around talent has been recording music since the ’90s and now he’s making a return with a Buffalo Springfield cover song “For What It’s Worth”. Porter fills the lyric video with politically charged imagery, including protestors from the Black Lives Matter movement and clear text on his forehead simply reading, “vote.”
On Tuesday, Porter brought the song to Good Morning America with an intimate performance at his home as states across the U.S. are still on lockdown.
Porter hopes his song can be carried into the 2020 election cycle as a way to inspire folks to vote and be politically active.
“I decided to record ‘For What It’s Worth’ because I wanted to have my art and my music matter, make a difference,” he explained. “I’ve always been a political person. I come from the generation where the music reflected what was going on in the world, in the day. The song was written and performed sort of during the Civil Rights Era, the Vietnam War, it was protest music and I wanted to have a hand in bringing that back and speaking truth directly to power.”
He continued, “I hope people are inspired to not give up, to continue to have hope, and to understand that the only way change comes is for the people to come together and demand it.”
“For What It’s Worth” comes after his hit record “Love Yourself”, which hit #1 on the Billboard Club Play Songs Chart in 2019.
In the T.V. world, Porter is best known for playing Pray Tell in the award-winning FX T.V. series Pose. The entertainer has had a long history in various artistic mediums, however. In 2013, he won the Tony award for Lead Actor in a Musical thanks to his role as Lola in Kinky Boots. He also won a Grammy in 2014 for his work on Kinky Boots, winning Best Musical Theater album. He’s released multiple albums as a solo artist as well and eventually, he took home an Emmy for his role in Pose, becoming the first openly gay man to win best Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
If he doesn’t sound busy enough, the 50-year-old artist also has directing on his agenda, including for an upcoming episode of Pose.
