EXCLUSIVE: Ari Gold: I am Jewish. I am Gay. I am a Songwriter

Award-winning musician, Ari Gold, is most proud of the gay wedding song he’s performed at heterosexual ceremonies.

By: SL Exclusive
Published: March 6th, 2012 in Culture » Music » Interviews

Ari Gold

Shalom Life is proud to present our first Jewish LGBTQ series. We asked 10 public figures (ranging from comedians and actors to children’s book authors and musicians) to complete the following sentence:

I am Jewish. I am Gay. I am _________________

In the blank space, each participant has placed a personality trait, hobby, profession, descriptive adjective, or an interesting tidbit of information that describes an element of their being. Additionally, they have personally written a paragraph explaining their choice and how that choice defines them.

Religion and sexuality are integral to our self-identification, but they define us just as much as our interests, personality, career choices, philanthropic work, and talents.

Enjoy our series and share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Day 5- Ari Gold

I am Jewish. I am Gay. I am a Songwriter.

I’ll never forget the first songs I wrote when I was 15 called “Parental Discretion,” and then a song called “Experienced Girl” about my first girlfriend. One of the most successful songs I ever wrote is called “Where The Music Takes You” which aside from making the Billboard Top 10 Dance charts and winning the Grand Prize in all genres of the USA Songwriting Competition it’s also my motto for life. But probably the song I’m most proud of writing to date is a song called “Bashert (Meant To Be).” It is a gay wedding song which I’ve had the distinct honor of singing at 3 gay weddings, a lesbian wedding and even 4 heterosexual weddings! It’s the greatest feeling to be able to bring my gift of music to a day celebrating my friends and family’s commitments of love to one another.

SIR ARI GOLD is an Award-Winning, Billboard Top 10 Recording Artist who has been featured on VH-1, MTV, NPR, IFC, BBC, WOR, Fox News, Top of the Pops, Perez Hilton, Daily Beast, Sirius/XM, HBO, and LOGO (with six #1 videos) for pushing the boundaries of pop music.

People Magazine says his latest dance-pop album Between the Spirit & the Flesh “packs born-this-way swagger” and Clive Davis says, “he writes from the heart.” His songs have been featured on hit TV shows “Scrubs” and “Cougar Town” and he’s headlined shows with Cyndi Lauper, RuPaul & Chaka Khan in Europe, Canada and over 50 cities in the U.S including his native NYC at Summerstage Central Park, Joe’s Pub and Lincoln Center.

Sir Ari is an Independent Music Award Winner, 2x Outmusic Award Winner, Grand Prize Winner of the USA Songwriting Competition, an OUT100 and was knighted by the Imperial Court of New York. His latest singles “Make My Body Rock” and “Sparkle” (featuring Sarah Dash from Labelle) are burning up dance floors and charts across the country.

For more info, go to www.sirarigold.com or visit him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sirarigold or Twitter at www.twitter.com/sirarigold