Formerly Senior Editor of music content, she's also covered crime, human interest and television news throughout her many years with the brand. The man who famously posed the question, "Can we talk for a minute? Discovered by famed talent manager Benny Medina at age 12, the Waxahachie, Texas, native was thrust onto the music scene a year later by mentor Quincy Jones — and instantly dubbed "the next Michael Jackson " for his smooth, savant-like vocals and impressive range.
The comparison was a "big compliment" that came with a lot of pressure, says Campbell. Signed to Warner Brothers Music, he released his debut album T. Campbell admits, "I don't think the sex symbol thing worked, but the love songs last.
For instance, "Can We Talk," a song that was almost given to Usher , his contemporary at the time, earned Campbell a Grammy nomination and has seen a resurgence in recent years thanks to a popular TikTok singing challenge. I didn't try to act a certain way or anything," says Campbell. But also, he notes of that era in the industry, "You just couldn't be [gay] back then.
Partly due to changes at the record label, Campbell and his music got put on the back burner after his third album, released in , didn't perform well. Around the same time, his personal journey began. And then I went on the road of discovering myself. I didn't know who I was," says Campbell, who stepped away from the music industry and credits much of his growth to the six years he spent performing in the Broadway musical Hairspray beginning in I had never seen that," he says.
Despite years of speculation, Campbell has largely kept his private life private. Earlier this year, he responded to a Twitter user's question about famous singers who are rumored to be gay.
