Out at the Fair :: London Calling

If you ever wondered what became of Keith London, the adorable crooner who confounded Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. when he chose to sing Beyonc�'s "If I Were a Boy" during the Hollywood Week round of American Idol's 13th season, you're in luck.

London will be one of many LGBT acts (including "RuPaul's Drag Race" contestant Chad Michaels and former boy bander Ricky Rebel) featured on the 2016 San Diego County Fair stage as part of Out at the Fair (OATF), a full day of LGBT-themed entertainment and activities now in its fifth year. The Rage Monthly touched base with the Detroit native (and soon to be Angeleno) to dish
on his Idol journey, being a queer role model and finding his own sound.

What's life been like for you since American Idol, and in what way has that changed life for you?

It's definitely a platform where I was exposed to thousands of people at the same time, which is kind of a priceless opportunity. Since then, I'm Keith London from "Idol ,"and it's a credible show, so people kind of have higher expectations, which is scary. (Laughs.) But overall it's been pretty good.

When you look back on the show, are you happy with the way it all played out?

I wish I would have stayed longer for sure, but I didn't want to just be a person that just randomly got cut and was never shown. Half my friends were on the show and weren't even featured at all. You need to take a chance with every round. I might have waited a little longer to do something like that if I was doing it again, but it is what it is and I got to be seen.

What did you learn from "Idol" that has supported you in the time since then?

I learned that you have to be prepared for anything, because anything can hit you at any time. You have to learn new songs and work with people that you don't really want to work with and you just gotta be ready for whatever they throw at you. It's a sneak peak of what it's actually really like. It's really an overwhelming experience.

Do you feel like you've been pegged as a role model?

A little bit in the gay community, sure. I came out on the show because growing up, the only gay that I had on TV that I could remember was Kurt from "Glee." But he was kind of stereotypical of what the world thinks of gay people, and my goal was just to be like, "That's why we have the rainbow flag, because we come in all different colors." I wanted to take that opportunity to show that the boy next door could like guys, too.

You've released one E.P. of covers so far. Are you working on anything else and what might it sound like?

I'm getting ready to move to L.A., where I'm going to be working with some writers to get some original stuff out there. It'll definitely be more acoustic, because I gravitate toward people like Meghan Trainor and Ed Sheeran. Whatever the sound is, it's going to be what I want it to sound like, so I guess you could say, it's going to be the Keith London style, but I'm still trying to figure out exactly what that is.

Keith London will perform Saturday, June 11 at 5 p.m. on the Coors Light Rock On Stage at the San Diego County Fair. For more information on Out at the Fair, also on Saturday, June 11, go to sdfair.com/out