Singer-actor Alex Newell will perform at a national LGBT conference in Philadelphia this month.
Newell will show off his vocals at the National LGBTQ Task Force’s 29th-annual Creating Change Conference, a traveling conference dedicated to promoting LGBT equality. The out performer will conclude the five-day program during the closing plenary Jan. 22 at the Philadelphia Downtown Marriott.
“We’re thrilled to have the very talented Alex Newell join us at this year’s Creating Change Conference in Philadelphia, the city of queerly love,” said Rea Carey, National LGBTQ Task Force executive director, in a statement. “Newell’s radiant energy and inspiring voice will be the perfect finale to a week packed with trainings and workshops geared to mobilize thousands of LGBTQ activists working to create positive and lasting social change.”
Newell was a runner-up on Oxygen’s reality competition series “The Glee Project,” through which he received a two-episode role on the FOX television series “Glee” as the male-to-female transgender teenager, Wade “Unique” Adams. He made his first appearance in a third season episode, “Saturday Night Glee-ver.”
As his character grew in popularity, Newell became a recurring character on “Glee” until the show’s sixth and final season. Additionally he appeared in other feature-length films, shorts and TV series.
When it comes to music, Newell toured with Adam Lambert earlier this year and performed alongside 23 other artists for the charity song, “Hands.” Interscope Records, with support from GLAAD, released the single in July as a sign of solidarity for the victims of the June 12 shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. Proceeds from the single went toward Equality Florida Pulse Victims Fund, the LGBT Community Center of Central Florida and GLAAD.
Newell also helped commemorate the National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Start Talking. Stop HIV. campaign released a music video of The Knocks’ “Collect My Love,” which featured Newell. The video aimed to educate gay men about HIV prevention.
Additionally, Newell released his debut six-song EP, “Power,” on Feb. 19, which featured the single, “This Ain’t Over.”
To register for the Creating Change Conference and to see Newell perform at the closing plenary, visit www.creatingchange.org/registration.