When Andreas was 15, he came out as gay to his parents. A decision that was not easy to make, as he grew up in a Pentecostal family with a father who was a pastor. Within the Pentecostal church, homosexuality was – and in some cases still is – regarded as something unnatural and even morbid. During the next ten years, Andreas therefore did not dare to accept himself and live to the fullest – until now!
Andreas Wijk’s parents have now, more than a century later, completely changed their attitude, they approve of their son and follow his journey forward with love.
A couple of weeks ago, Andreas Wijk wrote the song «If I Was Gay» together with his best friend Carl-Philip Ström. The song is about the fear of coming out and in Andrea’s case – with his background in the church – what could happen and how those around him and his family would react.
In a video on TikTok, Andreas posted a clip of him playing the song to his parents, and in less than a day, the video had more than four million views worldwide. Now the video is up to over nine million views and the response has been huge.
It has been many years of personal struggle since I came out to my parents. It’s like all the songs I’ve released have been about this, without me daring to say it outright. In this song, it’s the first time I actually feel completely transparent. It is a liberation to be able to express myself for the first time with the words I have kept inside since childhood, it feels completely unreal. Now I feel at peace and can barely take in all the love I’ve received, says Andreas Wijk.
Andreas Wijk’s «If I Was Gay» has been added to our «Outed On Friday!» playlist, so the song will challenge the LGBTQ Music Chart from Monday by voting.
