Falling in love with a straight boy has historically made for great artistic fodder. Sam Smith's In The Lonely Hour was one such lover's lament. Now, queer R&B artist Russell Elliot has shared that his song “Around” and its new music video were also inspired by the perils of falling for someone who can't, or maybe won't, love you back.
Elliot, who identifies as a pansexual feminist, tells The Huffington Post about how his song was inspired by falling for a guy in college who identified as straight:
“Falling for a straight boy is hard. When he likes you back, but has no accessible way to act upon those feelings without betraying his heteronormative identity, things get messy. I fell for a boy in college who wanted me behind closed doors and wanted the rest of his comfortable straight life on the other side of that door partying with the ‘normal' kids. This video is me finally saying what I should have from the jump: you can't have it both ways.”
Watch “Around”, below:
