Tyler Glenn on coming out: ‘Mormon church was supportive’
By Josh Haggis
Tyler Glenn has said the Mormon Church has been supportive of his recent decision to come out.
The Neon Trees frontman, 30, who has been a Mormon his entire life, spoke candidly about his sexuality in an interview with US music magazine Rolling Stone last month (March), saying: “I’ve always felt like I’m an open book, and yet obviously I haven’t been completely.”
Now he has spoken about the reaction to his coming out in an interview with the Associated Press.
“I was surprised at how many Mormon church leaders wrote me messages saying, ‘This is great that you’re doing this’. That really was cool,” Glenn said.
He then added: “On the level of being a role model for kids or LGBT Mormon youth, I’m totally down because I come from that background and I would be able to speak to them honestly.”
During the interview, the singer also discussed his distaste for gay apps like Grindr, saying: “I’m like, ‘What do I do?’ I hate gay apps. I don’t know if I should embrace them or not. I just don’t want to hook up, I want to find someone. I also want to have love.”
Glenn has fronted Neon Trees, an alternative rock four-piece from Provo, Utah, since the band’s formation in 2005. The band released their second and most recent album, Picture Show, in 2012 and are best known for the singles Animal, a US top 20 hit in 2009, and Everybody Talks, a US top ten hit in 2011.