By Denny Patterson
“Somebody’s Daughter,” the latest music video from out artist and social media personality John Duff, is about a phenomenon many young people, gay and straight, face today. They want love, but then devote all their energy on heated one-night stands instead of relationships with substance.
In the visual, directed by Shawn Adeli, Duff pokes fun at artists who are supposedly “queer-baiting” by turning the tables and doing some “straight-baiting” of his own. He stars opposite Nellie Salisbury, who appears to be the object of his desire throughout the video, but makes it clear that he is a gay man simply pretending to be straight for the sake of baiting audiences into desiring him.
Duff was inspired to take this direction for the video when the respectability of his work was once questioned by another gay music artist.
“I felt judged for my overt sexuality,” Duff explains. “He said, ‘audiences want a spiritual connection, not sex.’ I told him that’s code for: ‘no one wants to see you naked.’ My spirit is wild, fun, and free, and as a performer, I am shameless. As far as I’m concerned, shamelessness in your body and sexuality is a step toward enlightenment. Not away.”
OutClique had the opportunity to catch up with Duff and talk more about “Somebody’s Daughter,” as well as the issues of gay-baiting, the passion behind his artistry, and more.
Denny Patterson: John, can you begin by telling us how the concept and idea for “Somebody’s Daughter” came to fruition?
John Duff: It’s kind of crazy. I did an album in 2020 that never came out, and I worked on it for years, and that led us into this sort of Kroener classic throwback thing. We were supposed to shoot a video for one of the songs from that record, and there were supposed to be eight costumes made, four for me and four for the girl in the video. However, the costume designer ghosted three days before the shoot. In a panic, I called my friends and said we need to write another song based on a video concept that I had just come up with. There were no clothes, so it was basically a porn (laughs). But that’s how “Somebody’s Daughter” was written. I knew what the location was, I knew who was going to be in the video, and I knew what we had to work with. We wrote a new song based on the video.
Denny Patterson: And what was your ultimate vision for the visual?
John Duff: My ultimate vision is exactly what you see. We were having fun. I’m obviously playing straight in the video, and that was a choice because my music prior was doing very well, but a lot of people in the industry were saying it wasn’t for everyone. So, I wanted to make a song that was for everyone, and I figured that would just be something borderline misogynistic.
Denny Patterson: How has “Somebody’s Daughter,” both the song and music video, been received by audiences?
John Duff: It’s been great. We aren’t able to run the ads for it because it does look like porn, so Google won’t let us do that, but it’s been spreading around and being shared organically. The song is closer in line with the direction that I intend on heading. It’s classic and has a suggestive, fun manner, but it is a little classier and more coded. So, I’m excited. It’s made me excited to move forward, which is all that matters.
Denny Patterson: What do you ultimately hope they take away from “Somebody’s Daughter?”
John Duff: I hope they enjoy it. I would just like to offer two minutes and 45 seconds of escapism for someone. If this song makes them feel good, that’s great. If the video entertains them, makes them laugh, or turns them on, that’s great. When we talk about performers and artists calling into question the respectability of other people, at the end of the day, my job is to help someone through their day.
Denny Patterson: Why do you think LGBTQ+ media eats up gay baiting so much?
John Duff: If you really want me to tell you the truth of why they do it, it’s because it’s already trending on Twitter, and today’s media doesn’t report anything original. They just look at what’s already trending and jump on it as fast as they can. The media doesn’t have the power that it had, and they’re partially giving it away. They aren’t choosing to influence and use their large platform. They’re choosing to see that this is already hot and this is going to get us clicks, and it sucks. I am a gay artist and I can release something like my song “High Heels,” which has gotten millions of streams, and they’ll put it on their website, but they don’t put a story click or a grid post. But Maluma shows his belly button, and there’s a grid post for it. You think, okay, you got millions of followers. Would it hurt to feature or showcase at least one of the nine gay artists that live within a four block radius? Like, what are we doing?
Denny Patterson: Have you always had a passion and desire to pursue music?
John Duff: I have. I’m not new to this, I’m true to this. I was eight years old when I did my first talent show, and that became my thing. Then I got into musical theater. I went to a conservatory for musical theater, then after I graduated, I lived in New York for years working as a musical theater actor. I was writing all along and did a musical with Perez Hilton in Toronto, Canada, and he told me I should move to LA and pursue songwriting. I said, I’m going to go be a star.
Denny Patterson: Do you believe that when you start out gay in the industry, you could possibly be reduced to being a niche artist or comedy act?
John Duff: I could look around the room and see many gay artists that’s happened to. Todrick Hall is having a huge moment with “Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels,” and it’s receiving 40 million streams and being heard all over the globe, but where’s his record deal? He has a proven thing that works, so where are the people banging on his doors to put him at the VMAs? So, I think when you go the inherently queer route and you start there, you’re limited. Now, if I started straight and then came out as gay, they would throw a parade for me and say I’m the hottest person that ever lived. Most gay people are like, this is cringe, but then they complain because there’s no representation in media. Every time they get representation, it’s not the right one.
Denny Patterson: How would you say “Somebody’s Daughter” showcases your evolution as a musical artist?
John Duff: It shows a lot of vocal restraint, and as a song, if you take it away from the production, it’s a fantastic song that could have existed at any time in history. It’s all about the polish for me. I can be a very unkempt human being, but my taste in music is pretty refined and very broad. I hope this is the gateway into the direction that I’m going, and you’ll see that we’re going even more dramatic!
Denny Patterson: What are some future goals you hope to accomplish with your music career?
John Duff: This is always such a hard question, but I really hope for the work to be entirely self-sustaining. I read that Lady Gaga was basically bankrupt going into Artpop because she was reinvesting everything she made into her career, which I think is incredible. I would love the opportunity to do that. So, just to do something that sustains itself and allows you to keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger. At this point, I can’t have a music video with 50 backup dancers that cost $1,000 a day. I’m working with what I got, and I’m doing the best I can. I don’t have access to stylists that can pull whatever. I’m working with what I have, and I’ll be creative forever. That is my true arms above everything else. I’m a creative person.
