Hot on the high heels of Bathhouse Betty, meet Karaoke Kelly King
By Brandon Voss, HX

A breakout talent from last year’s XL Star competition at xl, Kelly King continues rocketing toward mainstream success. The Atlanta-born, Nashville-bred chanteuse, who cut her teeth playing Opryland and singing back-up for country music greats such as Vince Gill and Brenda Lee, returns to her Friday-night cabaret stint at Suite in Harlem following a brief tour as the lone female in Our Sinatra.
We caught up with the budding pop diva to discuss her very gay career path - plus the perks of becoming an honorary "Jersey Girl."

HX: How did you get started singing in gay clubs?
Kelly King: The first guy that I lived with in New York and the only person I knew in the city was my gay best friend. Anytime I'd go out for fun, it was always to gay bars with him. I was sitting there one night at a live karaoke-type show and I thought, I could probably do this. I thought it was a brilliant idea to have this young, long-haired, thin girl in a gown come up and belt out big songs at a gay bar - like it had never been done before. [Laughs] But obviously that was not an original idea. I'm just following in the footsteps of Bette Midler, Barbra and Cher.
Any homo haunt highlights?
I won the karaoke contest at Splash so many times that they eliminated me from the competition! My sole income for awhile was the gay karaoke shows around town - winning 100 bucks here and 100 bucks there. Knock on wood, to this day I have stayed afloat just by singing at gay bars. I was discovered at therapy by the owner of Suite in Harlem, and he gave me a shot at my own weekly cabaret show. I'm so proud to have been a part of the beginnings over there. It's so cool, very welcoming and not too in-your-face gay. We attract all walks of life - a very laidback, mixed crowd.
Have you ever gone hetero?
I sang at my first straight bar recently and felt like a fish out of water. They don't appreciate the talent the way the gay community does. Later in the night, I went uptown to Suite. I walked in and thought, Oh, I'm home again! I can put on my fake eyelashes and my jewels and feel good about it. Gay people show a lot of respect for someone who really has talent. On top of that, they're loyal. They've absolutely given their hearts to me.
Why don’t you have a CD yet, girl?
I actually start recording my first album in May! I opened for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and after the show, Frankie, Joe Pesci and the whole Italian crew were like, We gotta take this girl to dinner! Let's talk about her career. Some of their biggest investors were ready to sign checks immediately. Charlie Calello’s going to be my head arranger and producer. He did many of Frankie Valli's biggest hits - they talk about him in the Broadway show Jersey Boys. I can't believe I'm going to be working with somebody who worked with Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond and all of those fantastic people.
Were you disappointed when you didn't take the XL Star title?
I was pleased as punch to come in third. I'm not big on competitions, because I feel everyone is talented in their own right, but XL Star really opened some big doors for me in terms of meeting the right people and building a fan base. Plus, it gave me the chance to dive into the performance side of things, like costuming and dance moves, because each week you had to come up with something different. I was like, If I'm going to do “Vogue,” I'm going to do it all the way - I'm going to wear a Madonna-esque outfit and have two drag queens on stage with me dancing their butts off!
What advice do you have for the current batch of contestants?
Just go for it. Leave your comfort zone and push your limitations to build your chops and your courage. I learned that from the drag queens!

Starting again April 14, Kelly King performs midnight, Fridays at Suite, 992 Amsterdam Ave (109th St), 212-222-4600, free.