Artist:The Cliks
Song:Oh Yeah
Album:Snakehouse
Supposedly The Cliks leader Lucas Silveira is the first openly transgender man to sign with a major record label. Well, it's one thing to sign with a major label. Promoting a transgender man is a different matter. The Cliks are from Toronto led by lead singer and songwriter Lucas Silveira. He is of Portuguese descent. He has been aware of his gender identity issues since he was a child. He started performing at age 18 and self released a couple of solo albums. Then he formed The Cliks in 2004 and self released an album. The album got enough attention locally that Warner Bros. Records Canada came calling and offered Silveira a record deal. They also told him they could get him a US record deal. But the problem was The Cliks split up in 2005. So for the 2007 album Snakehouse, Silveira brought in bassist Jordan B. Wright and drummer Morgan Doctor. Plus as promised he got a US record deal with Tommy Boy. Of course in the 80s Tommy Boy was a successful rap label. They weren't the same label in 2007. They brought in The Pursuit of Happiness leader Moe Berg to produce. Of course Silveira wrote all the songs and sang lead. Oh Yeah was the lead single. It's a great pop song. But as I said, signing and promoting a transgender man are different things. And it doesn't surprise me that a major label would be reluctant to promote a transgender man and radio stations would be reluctant to play him. Plus this version of The Cliks split up in 2009. Silveira has released a couple of solo albums under The Cliks name, most recently in 2013. Silveira releases occasional videos on YouTube. And he's a prominent LGBT activist. So he still has a following in Toronto. But with proper promotion, The Cliks could have been much more than they were. Here's the video for Oh Yeah by The Cliks.
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