It’s been a big year for openly gay Israeli pop star Ivri Lider. His first U.S. single, "Jesse," was released, exposing the singer to an entirely new fanbase and the music video has been in constant rotation on Logo (AfterElton.com’s parent company) ever since. He also performed a song in The Bubble, for which the singer also composed the score. If that weren’t enough, he was also selected as one of Out Magazine’s "Out 100" last month.

Gay blog Hunk du Jour scored an interview with the singer, in which he talks a bit about his upcoming Hebrew and English language albums and his ongoing professional relationship with director Eytan Fox. The singer addresses the fairly liberal attitude towards LGBT people in his native country and how things have changed since he first publicly came out in 2002:

I can definitely say there has been a shift. I think famous people coming out is an extremely important thing that helps to change lots of peoples' views. It also helps a lot of young people who are dealing with their sexuality and the feelings of being isolated and alone in the world. With regard to Israel, or at least Tel Aviv, you could probably call it one of the gayest cities in the world. For most people here, it's just not an issue.

The singer has also apparently found love since the last time we mentioned him on this blog:

I have a boyfriend for over a year now. His name is Mike Phifer and we met in New York. He moved to Israel nine months ago and now we live together here in Tel Aviv. I suppose I want the same thing everyone else wants in a man, someone who's smart, kind, cuddly, and really great in bed.

It’s definitely nice to see someone who’s managed to find worldwide success while making no apologies for being an out and proud gay man. Here’s hoping that Lider’s success continues when his new albums drop later this year. A U.S. tour is planned to begin sometime in March, before the album’s release.

You can watch the video for "Jesse" right over here.

The gay-related news out of Israel of late has been dominated by their fundie wingnuts rioting in the street over gay pride events held this month in Jerusalem. Fortunately, that isn't the only news of gay interest to come out of the strife-torn country. Just this week, the Israeli paper Haaretz did a very in depth interview with Israeli pop star Ivri Lider. If that name is unfamiliar to you, Lider, a huge star in his home country, came out publicly five years ago and has nonetheless remained a wildly popular even among his girl groupie fans.

In the interview, Lider talks about breaking up with his long term partner, how and why he stayed in the closet for so long (he knew he was gay from a young age, but only came out at twenty-seven after having his first same-sex experience three years earlier), and why he came out publicly despite the risks. On that matter, he says:

I also did it for my own mental health, to be a free person, and also for my audience. I have a social commitment. It's the commitment of an artist. I think it's a right I have and I'm glad I acted on it. A lot of famous people have this right and don't use it. For me, the desire to be a better and braver person exceeded the concern about whether it would make me lose fans. If I hadn't done it, I'd have disappointed myself.

Hmmm, for some reason I find myself thinking about a Lebanese born pop star who now resides in the U.K.

Lider has just put out his first U.S. single titled "Jesse", about a teenage boy in love with another boy. Kudos to Lider for not only not playing coy, but for putting out a song like this. Lider also has a song in Eytan Fox's new movie The Bubble (which we reviewed just last week). It's a version of George Gershwin's "The Man I Love" and both are worth a couple of minutes of your time.