Orville Peck is no stranger to a thirst trap, but in a new photoshoot, he’s taking it further than ever before.
As part of his current two-album project Stampede, Peck’s signature fringed mask has lost its fringe — a symbolic representation of him becoming more vulnerable, as he told RuPaul’s Drag Race star Gottmik in a new cover story for PAPER Magazine.
“I’m sort of revealing a little more and more each time,” Peck said. “Not to get too deep about it, but it’s sort of a parallel with my songwriting and with just who I want to be as an artist and a person, which is to always be more vulnerable and reveal a bit more of myself through my music and everything. So it’s kind of just an evolution.”
But for the story’s accompanying photoshoot, he took that vulnerability to next level, wearing nothing but cowboy accessories and his mask — and, in one photo, a generous helping of whipped cream.
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Needless to say, Peck’s photos are breaking the gay internet. Warning: the pics aren’t exactly safe for work.
Having a throng of thirsty fans is fun, but Peck said what’s really making him excited about music is his two new albums, Stampede: Vol. 1 and its second half, Vol. 2, which is coming later this summer. The albums feature collaborations with superstars like Kylie Minogue, Elton John, Willie Nelson, and Diplo (who Peck revealed he calls his “good-for-nothing on-and-off-again boyfriend”).
“I think doing an album like this has made music feel fun again for me,” Peck said. “I feel like I’m being more creative than I’ve ever been by doing this album because it’s taken me so much out of my comfort zone. Now, I’m so excited to get back to my regular solo project, but this has just been such a fun adventure to do this album. I mean, doing a disco song with Kylie Minogue? I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined that.”
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Peck is referring to his latest single, “Midnight Ride,” which he and Minogue performed earlier this month at WeHo Pride. The track has strong disco influences, but Peck is still staying true to his country roots, and he said he’s excited at how diverse the country music scene is becoming.
“Country is a blend of African instruments, Hawaiian instruments, European settlers, Mexican culture — it’s such a blended genre,” he said. “It’s like the most American genre, so it should be enjoyed by everyone, and it should also be interpreted and performed by anybody who wants to do it. So it’s lovely to not only see more queer representation now, but just more diverse representation in general — because country is all about storytelling, so all I want to do is hear new stories. There’s nothing wrong with being a straight white man making country music. But like, babe, we’ve heard it. We’ve heard about the truck!”