POPULAR chart-topper Pablo Alborán has come out as gay after years of public speculation partially fuelled by his hot denial in 2014 of being romantically linked to Puerto Rican star Ricky Martín.
Málaga-born Pablo, famous for his romantic ballads and thought-provoking lyrics, uploaded a video of himself on Instagram making a speech.
“I'm here to tell you that I'm homosexual,” he said, getting straight to the point.
“It doesn't matter, life goes on as usual. I just need to be a little bit happier than I was before.”
Alborán, who recently pledged, jointly with fellow Costa del Sol-born actor Antonio Banderas, to donate €200,000 to an Andalucía regional ventilator fund to help treat serious cases of Covid-19, added that he was 'totally against any expression' which 'goes against freedom' or which 'speaks of hatred'.
“For this reason, I want my cries to be heard louder and to carry more courage and weight,” the singer said.
He recognised, also, that many of his fans 'already knew or believed it' anyway, but adds that he has 'never felt discriminated against' either by his family or his record company.
“But not everyone is this fortunate,” Alborán adds.
“So I hope that this message will make the path smoother for them – although, mainly, I'm doing this for me.
“At home, with my family, I've always felt free to love whoever I've loved. I've always written songs that speak of you, of me, and of what happens around me. I've always believed music is about being free, and I want to feel equally free. I want to be consistent, and as responsible as possible.
“I'll carry on with my work in the best way I know how, right from my insides and with a total respect for the profession and its public.”
He signed off the clip with a 'thank you' to his fans for their 'affection' he had 'always received' from them, and for their 'eternal unconditional support'.
Alborán's most recent single, released just before the pandemic hit Spain, hogged the top end of the international charts for weeks – Tabú ('Taboo'), a duet in Spanish and in English with Wisconsin-born Ava Max, who has also been a regular on the radio for months with her hit Sweet but Psycho.
Before that, Alborán's anti-romantic, dramatic hit Quién ('Who') featured a video with two female ballerinas and a male instructor, with an ambiguous message that makes more sense in light of his opening up about his homosexuality.
Back in March 2014, Pablo slammed media rumours about how he had 'found love' with Ricky Martín – another pop sensation whose declaration of his homosexuality came years after his fans had already figured it out and after constantly denying it in public – saying the claims made him 'uncomfortable', were 'an intrusion on his private life' and that such comments 'should not happen in this century', summing them up as 'pathetic'.
At the time, Martín had just split up from his long-term boyfriend Carlos González, with whom he has twin sons, but is now married to Jwan Yosef, a Kurdish Syrian painter who grew up in Sweden and then lived in London, but is now in Los Angeles with his singer husband.
Yosef and Martín have since had two children together – Lucía, born on New Year's Eve 2018, and Renn, born in late October last year.
