Brody Ray, a transgender male contestant who was born a female, wowed the judges and audience members when he sang the inspirational song “Stand in the Light” by Jordan Smith for his audition on America’s Got Talent, which aired on June 26. The impressive performance led to all four judges giving him a “yes”, allowing him to go onto the next round of the popular competition show. Here’s everything you should know about the talented singer already making a positive impact for his courage to be himself.
1.) He was bullied as a kid. Born a female with the name, Natalie, Brody unfortunately went through difficult times as a child. He recalls once traumatic event in which he spent the night at a sleepover with other girls and they all pushed his sleeping bag over to the corner and filled it with tacks. As he got older and went through puberty, the difficulty continued. Brody calls it “the worst time ever” since it was a time when he was becoming more female when he felt like a male.
2.) His interest in becoming a musician started at a very young age. He started taking guitar and cello lessons when he was just 8-years-old and things progressed from there, according to the bio on his official website. He went on to work at getting a music business degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney but with only one semester left before graduating, he realized he had to make some serious changes in order to be happy. He left the school and started his transition to become a male. He also started to seriously work toward goals of being a performer for a living. He has since been performing all over the country at various events.
3.) His transition was filmed for a TLC show called Strange Sex. The network contacted Brody after he started taking hormones and getting the surgery he needed to become a male and he agreed to document his journey for the show on an episode called “Right Guy, Wrong Body”. The episode showed his struggles post-surgery, including the ways it affected his relationships with friends and family.
4.) Before AGT, he auditioned for American Idol and The Voice. For AI, he got through four auditions in front of high-profile celebrity judges such as Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson. He made it to the Blind Auditions on season seven of The Voice but unfortunately couldn’t make it to Los Angeles so it never went any further.
5.) He is an advocate for the LGBT community and often speaks publicly about his experiences. He’s appeared at college campuses and counseling conferences across Nebraska. He’s also done local interviews for television and newspapers to help raise awareness and give his experiences exposure.