Jim Verraros dishes on his hot new track, his ‘American Idol’ hook-up, and ‘Eating Out’ memories
American Idol, performer Jim Verraros is ready to “take his bow” with a hot new single that proves he’s ready for an encore.Back in the summer of 2002, the country was enamored with the then brand-new singing competition show, which aimed to turn everyday people into superstars.
Season one gave us our first winner Kelly Clarkson—still America’s sweetheart to this day—and among her fellow contestants was Verraros, who would go on to be recognized as the show’s first gay finalist.While out in his personal life, it wasn’t until the first American Idol LIVE!
tour that he went public. He’s previously said that the show’s network didn’t want him discussing his sexuality lest it give him an unfair advantage in the competition (okay, sure FOX!), but there’s no denying he paved the way for others like Adam Lambert, David Archuleta, and Clay Aiken.Of course, Idol was just the first act for this multi-hyphenate, who released his debut solo album Rollercoaster in ’05 and also racked up a number of acting credits—most notably the boundary-breaking gay sex comedy Eating Out and its sequel Sloppy Seconds, as well as a cameo in the campy Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild!, all of which were formative viewing experiences for gays of a certain age.Though Verraros eventually made the move into a career out of the spotlight—and settled down with his hunky husband in ’21—he returns this week with his first new song in 12 years, “Take My Bow,” a high-energy bop produced by Laev and co-written by Jayce Green.In celebration of the song’s debut, we connected with Verraros and invited him to be the latest guest of our rapid-fire Q&A series, Dishin’ It.
In our charming back-and-forth, the performer shares some relationship advice, why he’s proud of his super-gay film career, and even reveals a sexy secret rendezvous with one of his Idol co-stars.Is there a piece of media—whether a movie, TV series, book, album, video game, etc…—that you consider a big part of your own coming-out journey, or.
