Ricky Rebel

Ricky Godinez, known by his stage name Ricky Rebel (born December 2, 1980), is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, musician, and recording artist.

Ricky Rebel
Background information
Birth nameRicky Godinez
Also known asRicky Godinez, Ricky G, Ricky Harlow
Born (1980-12-02) December 2, 1980
OriginUpland, California, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, recording artist, dancer
Years active1995–present
Associated actsNo Authority, Rodney Jerkins, 98 Degrees
Websiterickyrebelrocks.com

Politically, Rebel is known for being pro-Donald Trump and advocating for LGBT rights.[1]

Early life

Rebel was born in Upland, California. He began training as a gymnast at the age of 7 years old, and ranked 15th in the state of California at the age of 11. Rebel began training in classical ballet and jazz dance styles around the age of 11. Rebel immediately entered dance competitions at the regional and national level. After some years of competitive dancing Rebel then began acting, and performed in musicals like Annie (1991), Oliver! (1992) and Phantom (1994).

In Los Angeles, he began training with vocal coaches Eric Vetro, Seth Riggs, and Mara Buyugalova and choreographers like Marguerite Derricks.[2] Debbie Allen then cast Rebel in the lead role of Pepito's Story, which debuted at the Kennedy Center.[3]

Career

1995–2002

In 1995, Rebel performed for the soundtrack of the Tom Hanks film Apollo 13.[4] In 1996, Rebel started working with the band No Authority as their lead vocalist.[5] No Authority was discovered by an A&R representative from Sony Records, and subsequently was signed to Michael Jackson's label MJJ Music, a custom label at Sony.[6]

In 1997, Rebel worked on multiple films, once as an actor in the film Anywhere but Here, once as a musical performer on the soundtrack for the animated film Anastasia, and once as a dancer in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.[7][8]

In 1997, No Authority released their first album Keep On, produced by Rodney Jerkins. The single "Girlfriend" appeared on the Trippin' original soundtrack.[9] No Authority toured Europe twice during this time and opened for Aaron Carter on the Kids Go Music Festival. The group also traveled to Canada to perform on the YTV Psyko Blast concert. In 1999, Rebel was featured in the Pepsi "Joy of Cola" commercial starring Aretha Franklin.[5]

After A&R representatives obtained a copy of No Authority's second album the group was later signed to Madonna's label Maverick Records.[10] While signed to Maverick Records the group released their first single "What I Wanna Do" produced by Herbie Crichlow from their self-titled album No Authority. The next single "Can I Get Your Number (A Girl Like You)," charted at number 18 on the Billboard Charts[11] and their third single "I'm Telling You This" was used in the movie Rugrats in Paris, which became a gold certified record.[12] The group toured and performed with Britney Spears (whom he opened for in her "Oops! I Did It Again" tour), Destiny's Child,[13] 98 Degrees, Jessica Simpson,[14] and the All That! Music and More Festival,[15] after appearing in an episode of the Nickelodeon show All That!.[15]

2003–2010

During the period between leaving No Authority and the beginning of his new identity as Ricky Rebel, Rebel continued to perform on stage in shows like and Aida. Rebel became known as "Ricky Harlow" in 2004 when he assumed the role of lead vocalist for the band Harlow.[16][17] In 2004, he appeared in episodes of American Dreams and Boston Public, and later appeared at a children's charity event alongside Lindsay Lohan.[8] While working with Harlow, Rebel produced an album with Jay Baumgardner called Unstoppable.[18] After performing around Southern California with Harlow the group disbanded in 2009 when Rebel encountered strong censorship from his manager/producer, and from the recording industry in general, about Rebel's desire to be an openly gay musician, and yearning to produce his own brand of dance pop music even since his days in No Authority.[19]

In 2010, Rebel was cast in two of My Chemical Romance's official music videos "Na Na Na" and "Sing" where he played an androgynous rollerskating character named "Show Pony". He opened for My Chemical Romance for their CD release party at the House of Blues in Hollywood.[5]

2010–present

Since 2010 Rebel has been performing as a solo artist. Rebel made a guest appearance on VH1's Audrina in 2011.[20]

In 2012 Rebel won the RAWards Musician of Year Award,[21] where he debuted his first big single "Geisha Dance."[22] Also in 2012 Rebel released his first album Manipulator, which features the titular "Manipulator", "Geisha Dance", "You Need a Woman", and "Get It on".[23] Music from the album was featured on MTV's Good Vibes.[24] "Geisha Dance" was on the Mediabase Chart for 10 weeks (the chart featured on On Air with Ryan Seacrest).[25]

In 2014, Rebel collaborated with Claudio Cueni and released his second EP The Blue Album, which was preceded by the Blue EP.[6][26] Since 2014 Rebel has been a regular contributor to US Weekly's "Fashion Police" spread.[27]

In 2015, he appeared on the Fox 5 San Diego to perform his new single "Star" from his album The Blue Album.[28][29] He appeared as a celebrity model during the Los Angeles Fashion Week.[30] Over 2015, he performed with multiple artists on tours, including Colbie Caillat and Blood On The Dance Floor.[31] In late 2015 Rebel secured a sponsorship agreement with the cosmetics company Mustaev USA,[32] and subsequently produced the music video for his single "Boys and Sometimes Girls" directed by Rock Jacobs.[33][34]

As part of his commitment to advancing gay rights in the United States Rebel performed at the 2014, 2015, and 2016 "Out at the Fair" festivals at The San Diego County Fair.[35] Rebel also performed at Gay Pride festivals in major cities like Phoenix, Long Beach, Orange County,[6] Palm Springs, San Diego,[35] and Las Vegas. Also, in 2015 Rebel performed at Matinee festivals in Las Vegas[29] and San Diego. He was signed to Revry TV, an LGBTQ streaming platform.

He performed at the 2016 "Get Out! Awards" in New York City.[36] Later in 2016 Rebel toured with boy-band O-Town.[37] Since 2015 Rebel has been working with DJ's Hector Fonseca, Casey Alva, and Tommy Love[29] to remix his songs "Star" and "Boys and Sometimes Girls."

In 2017, "Boys & Sometimes Girls" spent 9 weeks on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and peaked at No. 28.[38] Rebel performed at the 2017 SXSW (South by Southwest) Festival in Austin, Texas.[32] Rebel also performed at a charity event at the Cannes Film Festival.[7] Rebel released The New Alpha in 2017 on Audio4Play Records.[39] This album features the single "If You Were My Baby".[7] In 2019, "The New Alpha" music video was selected for best music video by the New Renaissance Film Festival. It was considered in 2017 by the Grammy Foundation for a Grammy nomination and was ranked 67 on Louder Than War's top 75 albums of 2017 list.[40] He headlined “The Artist One Tour” along with other singers, and also appeared at the American Influencer Awards.[41] He received support from MAC Cosmetics, and his documentary on Revry was nominated for Best Music Documentary at the Out Web Fest Awards.[42]

In 2018, he performed in the New York Pride parade, representing Univision TV Network. He later started working on a custom jewelry line called the “Ricky Rebel Renaissance” collection.[43]

In 2019, Rebel toured Japan as part of the “Champion” concert series. A tea ceremony was held in Rebel’s honor with Master Watanabe Tsutomu, a top tea master.

Political views

At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards Rebel wore a pro-Donald Trump jacket. He stated, "I'm reflecting millions of Americans out there who voted for Trump. Keep America great. That's right, baby. We are here. We're here all around the world, 50 million of us. My name is Ricky Rebel and I'm a reflection of America."[44] He appeared on Fox & Friends following this event.[45] Elle regarded his appearance at the 2019 Grammy Awards as one of the most "outrageous" in its history.[46][47][48] He has done performances reflecting his politics, such as a performance during the #DemandFreeSpeech Rally in front of the White House and a performance at the American Priority Festival at the Trump Doral.[49]

Discography
Album NameRelease DateSingles
Manipulator2012Manipulator, Geisha Dance
The Blue Album2014Star, Boys & Sometimes Girls
Star (Remixes)2015Star (Remixes)
Boys & Sometimes Girls (Remixes)2016Boys & Sometimes Girls (Remixes)
The New Alpha2017Time, If You Were My Baby
Magic Carpet (Remixes)2019Magic Carpet (Remixes)
gollark: My laptop spends something like 5 to 10 seconds in UEFI when booting. It *ruins* my boot times. I have to wait 25 seconds, it's ridiculous.
gollark: Also, glacially slow boots.
gollark: Instead you get Microsoft not allowing approved stuff to boot. Unless you disable that setting.
gollark: UEFI at least removes the booting-in-16-bit mode thing!
gollark: We could make a page for it presenting it as one.

References
  1. "Pro-Trump Fashion at 2019 Grammys: From Border Wall Dress to 'Keep America Great' Jacket". Variety. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  2. "Ricky Rebel: an S-T-A-R doing it his way". Rock at Night. April 17, 2015.
  3. "Get Your Dance on with Ricky Rebel's "Star"". SpaceGypsies. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  4. ""THE BLUE ALBUM" RICKY REBEL-Discovered by Michael Jackson,Toured with Britney Spears and Signed to Madonna's Maverick label". Soundlooks.com.
  5. Bain, Katie (February 22, 2016). "How Ricky Rebel Went From Closeted Boy Band Singer to Glammed-Up Gay Pop Star". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  6. Paul, George (June 26, 2016). "'Be out, brave and proud,' crowd hears at pride fest". Orange County Register. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  7. "Glam Rocker Ricky Rebel Performs His New Single 'If You Were My Baby' At Cannes Film Festival". Patch.com. April 28, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  8. "West Coast glam rocker Ricky Rebel to perform Wildwood beach concert". The Press of Atlantic City.
  9. "Trippin' [Original Soundtrack]". AllMusic.
  10. ""THE BLUE ALBUM" and Other Stories – An Interview with RICKY REBEL".
  11. (2000). Billboard's Heatseekers Album Chart. White, T. (Ed). Billboard, 112, (32)
  12. Pesselnick, J. (2001). AC/DC Ranks No.5 in Certifications; Garth Has Best-Selling Live Set. Billboard, 113 (6)
  13. (1997). Industry Caught on Film at the Billboard Music Video Awards. White, T. (Ed). Billboard, 109 (51)
  14. "Jessica Simpson, No Authority To Take "Tour for a Cure"". MTV.
  15. "98 Degrees Ready To Get Big With 'All That' Tour". MTV.
  16. Hammel, Sara (July 24, 2009). "INSIDE STORY: Michael Jackson's Young Protegé". People. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  17. "'Little Michael' – 'love child' was like son, but not blood, says pal". Daily News. New York. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  18. "Billboard Glam Rock Superstar Ricky Rebel To Guest On The Debbie Scott Radio Network Saturday 2/13/18". Jimmy Star's World. January 21, 2018.
  19. Nichols, Larry. "Rebellious: Ricky Rebel to rock anti-bullying pop tour". Philadelphia Gay News. Philadelphia Gay New. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  20. Dawson, Mark (December 9, 2016). "Glam Rocker Ricky Rebel Performs His Sexual Liberation Anthem in Miami". Patch.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  21. Cassell, Jacqueline. "Rising Artist: Ricky Rebel". Entertwine. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  22. "Ricky Rebel's "Geisha Dance"". Fourculture Magazine. March 19, 2013.
  23. "Gay Pro-Trump Recording Artist Blacklisted by Music Industry Influencers". PJ Media. November 11, 2019.
  24. "Music from Good Vibes Episode 2". MTV.
  25. "Billboard Dance/Pop Recording Artist Ricky Rebel's "The New Alpha" UK Tour December 16-19, 2017". Indie Source.
  26. "Ricky Rebel Is Here To, Um, Make America Great Again On The Grammys Red Carpet". Romper.
  27. Shapiro, Eileen. "Ricky Rebel's Debut NYC Appearance". Get Out! Magazine. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  28. "Ricky Rebel". Fox 5 San Diego. June 12, 2015.
  29. "RICKY REBEL SINGS". Rage Monthly Magazine.
  30. "Ricky Rebel explains his social commentary on gender roles and PC culture through his quirky music videos". MEAWW.
  31. "Ricky Rebel Hits Billboard Dance Club Chart Top #40 With New Single "If You Were My Baby"". The Indie Source.
  32. Podell, Michael (February 15, 2017). "The Evolution of Ricky Rebel: From 90's Boy Band Star to Bisexual Glam Rocker".
  33. Papadatos, Markos (October 25, 2016). "Review: Ricky Rebel back with new 'Boys and Sometimes Girls' music video". Digital Journal. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  34. Robertson, Julia Diana (September 21, 2017). "A Bisexual Awareness Week Dish: Ricky Rebel à la Mode". HuffPost. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  35. Rawles, Timothy (June 9, 2017). "Ricky Rebel back in San Diego for two shows". San Diego Gay and Lesbian News. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  36. Shapiro, Eileen. "Ricky Rebel: "All the Way From LA to Perform at The Get Out Awards"". Get Out! Magazine. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  37. "O-Town and Ricky Rebel". San Diego Reader. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  38. "Dance Songs: Top Dance Music Chart". Billboard.
  39. Shapiro, Eileen (October 31, 2017). "Review: Ricky Rebel: "The New Alpha"". HuffPost.
  40. Shapiro, Eileen (December 18, 2017). "Review: Ricky Rebel: "The New Alpha"". Louder Than War.
  41. "Billboard Dance/Pop Recording Artist Ricky Rebel's "The New Alpha" UK Tour December 16-19, 2017". Indie Source.
  42. "YouTube Will Honor Tyler Oakley, Gigi Gorgeous at OUT Web Fest 2017". Too Fab.
  43. "Watch Ricky Rebel's Queer Video for 'Life Is A Runway'". Out Magazine. September 25, 2018.
  44. "Ricky Rebel Wears Pro-Trump Jacket at 2019 GRAMMYs". ET Online. February 10, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  45. "Ricky Rebel Explains Pro-Trump Outfit from Grammys' Red Carpet: 'Their Jaws Dropped'". LifeZette. February 12, 2019.
  46. Michelle Ewing, Cox Media Group National Content Desk. "Grammy Awards 2019: Joy Villa, Ricky Rebel wear pro-Trump fashion on red carpet". Dayton Daily News.
  47. "2019 Grammys: Joy Villa Wears Barbed Wire 'Build the Wall' Dress, Ricky Rebel Dons Trump Jacket". Billboard.
  48. Blair, Chad (September 19, 2019). "What's Right-Wing Provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos Doing In Honolulu?". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  49. Doerer, Kristen. "At American Priority Conference: Nationalism, Trump Worship, More Crude Videos—and Roger Stone!". Right Wing Watch.
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