"I'm Coming Out" is a song recorded by American singer

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

. It was written and produced by Chic members Bernard Edwards and

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. The co-founder of Chic, he has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 750 million albums and 1 ...

, and released on August 22, 1980 by

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

, as the second single from Ross' self-titled eleventh

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, '' Diana'' (1980). It peaked at number five on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Disco Singles chart and number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. Since its release, "I'm Coming Out" has been regarded as an anthem for the

LGBT community The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ people, LGBTQ individuals united by LGBTQ culture, a common culture and LGBTQ movements, social movements. These Community, comm ...

Background

In 1979, Ross commissioned Chic founders

and Bernard Edwards to create material for a new album after taking her daughters to see the band in concert. In 2021, Nile Rodgers confirmed in a

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

video that the song was inspired by seeing

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

s dressed as Diana Ross at a New York club, with Rodgers stating: The lyrics hold an additional meaning for Ross, as she was leaving

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

and "coming out" from under

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and i ...

's thumb. According to the BBC4 documentary ''How to Make It in the Music Business'', Ross loved the record until she put it in front of Frankie Crocker, who pointed out that "I'm coming out" is what homosexual people use to announce their homosexuality, that listeners would think Ross herself was announcing she was gay, and that it would ruin her career. She allegedly ran back to the studio in tears and demanded to know why Rodgers and Edwards would write the song knowing that it would damage her career, but was later convinced that was not the case and decided to release the song.

Legacy

The song was another hit from the album, peaking at number five on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for three weeks in November 1980. It is also notable for being the first song usually performed at Ross' performances and concerts since 1980. In 2021, it was ranked at No. 385 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''s "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2022, the magazine ranked it No. 45 in their list of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".

LGBT significance

"I'm Coming Out" has been regarded as an anthem for the

. The phrase "

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

" to describe one's

self-disclosure Self-disclosure is a process of communication by which one person reveals information about themselves to another. The information can be descriptive or evaluative, and can include thoughts, feelings, aspirations, goals, failures, successes, fears, ...

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent and consistent with the in ...

had been present in the LGBT subculture since the early 20th century. It has also been understood as "coming out of the closet" or coming out from hiding. The song is thus interpreted as a celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender identity and the encouragement of self-disclosure.

Trombone solo

Rodgers convinced his neighbor, producer Meco Monardo, to contract the horns for the album in return for a commitment by Rodgers to co-produce Monardo's then-upcoming album of music from ''

The Empire Strikes Back ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...

''. Monardo, a former first-call session player who had a string of hits in the late 1970s with

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

versions of film music, also played

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

on the album and is featured in a solo towards the end of "I'm Coming Out": Trombone solos have been rare on

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

songs in the post-

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

era and especially so since the 1960s. Notable exceptions include brief solos by James Pankow on a handful of early

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

hits and Clifford Adams' brief solo on Kool & the Gang's 1983 hit "

Joanna Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from . Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne. The earliest recorded occurrence of th ...

". The dispute with Ross led to none of the musicians being credited on the album cover and also may have had a part in Rodgers backing out of his commitment to Monardo's ''Meco Plays Music from The Empire Strikes Back'' album. However, Rodgers and Monardo later mended their professional relationship and subsequent digital releases of the album credit Monardo and the other musicians. A 2003 two-disc release of the album included the Rodgers/Edwards mix originally rejected by Ross, as a bonus track.

Music video

The accomanying music video for "I'm Coming Out" consists of Ross performing the song with studio musicians live in concert.

Track listings

* US, UK, French, and West German 7-inch and 12-inch single :A. "I'm Coming Out" :B. "Give Up" * Dutch 7-inch and 12-inch single :A. "I'm Coming Out" :B. "Never Say I Don't Love You" * Swedish 7-inch single :A. "I'm Coming Out" :B. " My Old Piano"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Amerie version

In 2002, American singer Amerie covered "I'm Coming Out" for the soundtrack to the film '' Maid in Manhattan''. Her version was released as a single in select European countries and Australia. The final single version to be released was the Loren Dawson remix. The original single version (which is similar to the original) can be found on both CD singles and the original motion picture soundtrack to ''Maid in Manhattan''. Ross' version appears on the film's soundtrack album as well.

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single.

Track listings

* German CD single #"I'm Coming Out" (Loren Dawson Remix) – 3:49 #" Talkin' to Me" (album version) – 4:00 #"Talkin' to Me" ( Trackmasters Remix) (featuring Foxy Brown) – 3:38 #"Talkin’ to Me" ( Mark Ronson Sunshine Remix) (no loop) – 3:09 #"I'm Coming Out" (video) * French CD single #"I'm Coming Out" (Loren Dawson Remix) – 3:49 #"Talkin' to Me" (album version) – 4:00 * Australian CD single #"I'm Coming Out" (Loren Dawson Remix) – 3:49 #"Talkin' to Me" (album version) – 4:00 #"Talkin' to Me" (Trackmasters Remix) (featuring Foxy Brown) – 3:38

Charts

Release history

Other samples and covers

The distinctive sound of "I'm Coming Out" and its resulting popularity has led to Ross's song often being sampled, most notably by Stevie J, who sampled the song for rapper The Notorious B.I.G.'s 1997 song " Mo Money Mo Problems" with

Mase Mason Durell Betha (born August 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Mase (often stylized as Ma$e), is an American rapper. Best known for his work with Sean Combs, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records, he signed with the label in 1996 ...

, Sean "Diddy" Combs and

Kelly Price Kelly Cherelle Price (born April 4, 1973) is an American R&B and gospel singer. Beginning her career in 1992, Price originally performed backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including Carey's ''Billboard'' Hot 100-number one sin ...

. Ross and Combs performed "I'm Coming Out / Mo Money Mo Problems" in 2019 as a mashup at Ross's 75th birthday party at the

Hollywood Palladium The Hollywood Palladium is a theater (building), theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and ...

. In 1997, German comedian Hella von Sinnen sampled "I'm Coming Out" for her single "Mein Coming Out", using the term "coming out" in the context of

coming out of the closet Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

, or revealing one's homosexuality.

References

{{authority control 1979 songs 1980 singles 2002 singles Diana Ross songs Amerie songs LGBTQ-related songs Songs written by Bernard Edwards Songs written by Nile Rodgers Song recordings produced by Nile Rodgers Song recordings produced by Bernard Edwards Songs with feminist themes Motown singles Columbia Records singles American disco songs American funk songs