This month the LGBT Community Center of the Desert will hold its sixth annual Center Stage Gala at the Riviera Resort and Spa, with singer and actor Alex Newell headlining the event. Best known for his time on The Glee Project and his subsequent role on the Fox hit Glee, Newell, 23, is thrilled to be singing at one of the Coachella Valley’s largest LGBT events.
“I’m very familiar with Palm Springs. I love it,” says the Massachusetts native. As far as his set goes, Newell isn’t sure what he will perform just yet, though he’s aiming for diversity and wants to work in some of his more popular Glee numbers.
“I want to do some original covers, some stuff from TV, and definitely some new music,” he says. “I want to make it very colorful.”
Newell came to prominence while he was still in high school when he auditioned via YouTube for The Glee Project. With his outspoken and affable presence, he quickly became a fan favorite. He was chosen to guest star on Glee, and his character, Wade “Unique” Adams, broke ground by being one of the most visible transgender characters on television (and one of the first on a network primetime show).
While Unique was only supposed to be a guest role, and his contract with the Fox show only stipulated he would appear in two episodes, Unique became an integral part of the musical comedy series, and Newell went on to become a main cast member of the show in its fifth season. Unique’s debut, while mostly well-received, famously drew the ire of Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly, who claimed the presence of a transgender character on a network show aimed at teenagers set a bad precedent. He feared that kids might be tempted to emulate what he called “alternative lifestyles.”
Still, the breakout success of Unique meant Newell knew he could make it as a performer, and that there was an audience for his gender-nonconforming persona and spirited take on pop. Instead of heading to the Berklee College of Music, as he had intended to do before his success on Glee, Newell moved to Los Angeles to continue working.
Looking back at his sudden success on television and newly minted music career, Newell is shocked by the speed of events and fortune he’s experienced. “I never thought I’d be on TV,” he says. “It was all so quick!”
Aside from work as a performer, Newell has becoming a burgeoning fashion icon, known for his elegant and attention-grabbing choices. His androgynous style, a mix of haute menswear and women’s accessories, is both striking and well-received—last month, he was named one of the 20 “Best Dressed Gays” by this magazine, which noted his “affinity for statement pieces—tiaras, capes and look-at-me jewelry.”
After Glee ended, Newell kept busy with a string of shows at gay Pride festivals, debuting new music and working on the repertoire he’d developed on television. He’s worked on several collaborations, including a song with British electro duo The Knocks called “Collect My Love” that came out in March. He also debuted his first solo single—a cover of Sigma’s “Nobody to Love”—which itself was a reworking of the Kanye West song “Bound 2.”
Newell, who signed with Atlantic Records in 2013, is currently working on an EP, which he expects to come out later this year. “I’m not exactly sure when it’ll be done, but once it is, I want to get started on an album,” he says.
The Center Stage Gala will feature a silent auction as well as a reception and dinner. Comedienne Kate Clinton will return for a second stint as emcee of the event. A three-decade veteran of the stand-up scene, her comedy mixes quick-wit observations and social commentary drawn from her experience as a gay woman. The event benefits the The Center, located in Downtown Palm Springs, an organization that supports the needs of the Coachella Valley’s LGBT community.