Tim Be Told

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Tim Be Told Releases an Album Every Gay Christian Needs To Hear

Industry: Entertainment & Games

Tim Be Told, releases an emotional album that offers a heart wrenching peek behind the queer experience in American Evangelical Christianity.

San Francisco, CA (PRUnderground) October 2nd, 2020

On June 19, 2020, Tim Be Told released his 5th full length album “Love and Happiness”. As of September 12, 2020, the independent album has garnered a remarkable 411,000 streams on Spotify.

It isn’t often that the Christian music industry offers anything of real substance. Most of the songs coming out of the genre focus on generic religious platitudes and vague sentiments about God’s love. Gone are the days of early Christian artists that dared to address difficult subject matters in culture and religion. Today the rush to appeal to the least common denominator in Christian music has yielded songs that fail to address real pain and struggle but instead offer watered down versions of real life.

Tim Be Told’s “Love and Happiness” is a triumph in songwriting through story-telling. It fearlessly tackles the uncomfortable topic of queer people in Christianity. With nuance and skill, Tim peels back the layers of his experiences as a gay man growing up in a conservative religious background, unveiling the humanity behind an issue that is often addressed very clinically in the church.

After publicly coming out in 2017 on his blog and in an article for Inheritance Magazine, Tim watched his music career and personal life collapse. Shortly after the story broke, the denomination of his church forced him to step down from leading worship. The pastor who tried to defend him was eventually fired. A couple months later, the denomination shut down the entire church. The backlash to his music career was swift. Opportunities to play at the usual venues quickly dried up. Invitations to perform were rescinded.

In an attempt to escape the humiliation and trauma, Tim decided to take a break from his career. He even contemplated quitting music altogether. But in time, he began writing music again. Over the next 3 years he penned the songs for what would be arguably his most poignant album to date, “Love and Happiness.”

The 12 song album takes the listener on an emotional journey right from the first a cappella track “Conquer the World.” Tim sings, “One voice in the silence / one step in a revolution,” foreshadowing the radical vulnerability to come. Songs like “Robe and Chalice” and “Words You Mean” are scathing critiques of corruption and hypocrisy in the church. “Time Stopped” tackles the loneliness that seems to plague so many people in modern culture. The first single, “Again,” takes a boring subject like personal responsibility and turns it into a moving rock ballad with sweeping orchestral strings.

Perhaps, the crown jewel and emotional climax of the album happens on track 7 with “Like This”. The hymn-like ballad details in brutal sadness the experience of being raised in the church and coming out to his parents. As a son of Chinese/Taiwanese immigrants, Tim not only faced religious stigma but also bore the cultural baggage of a traditional Asian upbringing. The third verse of the song talks about the first time he fell in love with a straight guy who didn’t love him back. Definitely not something one hears typically in the context of Christian music.

In an instagram post talking about the song “Like This”, Tim writes:

“Queer people are often painted as enemies of the church. If they are tolerated, they are rarely ever celebrated. Many church leaders preach that there’s an “agenda” that they must wage a righteous war against. They wield the pulpit like a weapon to obliterate their perceived enemy. But the casualties of that war are not agendas or aberrant doctrines. Instead, it’s usually a young boy or girl cowering in a pew thinking that God hates them.”

“I wrote this song about my own experiences as a believer who has journeyed through the minefield of orientation and identity . This issue is divisive for many church communities and people often have very strong opinions. But my hope for this song is that it might help people see beyond the theological debate and offer a glimpse into the lonely path that so many queer Christians have to walk.”

Find his new album “Love and Happiness” on Spotify here.

For more information be sure to visit https://timbetold.com Stay part of the conversation on social media on Instagram, Facebook, and Twiiter.

About Tim Be Told

Tim Be Told (AKA Tim Ouyang) is a recording artist, producer and songwriter who originated in Charlottesville, VA. His band developed a strong grassroots following in 2007 after releasing a self produced album recorded in his college apartment. Shortly after winning UVA’s Battle of the Bands in 2008, they signed with the William Morris Agency and toured nationwide. Today, Tim Be Told resides in the California Bay Area and has amassed a devoted fan base and a large catalogue of music. Tim has had the honor of performing the national anthem for NBA champions, The Golden State Warriors. He produced and wrote for legendary 106 and Park rapper and actor, MC Jin. He has also performed in famed venues such as The Beverly Hilton and the Walt Disney Concert Hall. He wrote the song ”Secrets” for Grammy award winning gospel artist, Israel Houghton. The performance of the song was nominated for an Emmy in 2019. Tim Be Told’s original music has been streamed over 8 million times on Spotify, with 1.3 million listeners in 79 different countries.

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