Ben Plattis no stranger when it comes to sharing emotions.
From his beloved portrayal of a misfit magician in thePitch Perfectmovies to an anxiety-ridden teen in Broadway’sDear Evan Hansenmusical, Platt, 25, routinely pulls out all the stops to connect with his audience.
Now as he’s set to releasehis first solo album,Sing to Me Instead, the Tony-winner admits “it’s scary,” he tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s issue. “It’s completely me. I’m getting to share without any filter of character or writing. But I really am loving that feeling.”
Sing It to Me Instead.
From the start, the actor was resolved to be candid. “If I was going to write about people I loved, I wasn’t going to pretend they weren’t men just because I hadn’t talked about that before.”
The album gave Platt, who came out as gay when he was 12 years old, his “first opportunity to represent my relationships and the men that I’ve loved,” he says. “I only wanted to take this leap if I was going to present every part of myself.”
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For more of Platt’s exclusive interview, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE on newsstands Friday
The actor spent the last year sinceleavingDear Evan Hansenwriting songs and worked with a team of songwriters to whittle it down to the perfect arc for the album: From his experiences with relationships to “a grander perspective about bigger questions about family and mortality and things like that,” he adds.
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As he prepares forhis album tour— which kicks off May 3 in Chicago with dates to follow in 11 more cities around the country and Canada — Platt will next be seen in the upcoming Netflix seriesThe Politician, which he also co-exec produces.
For now, he’s focused on the future. “As a kid, I wanted to do an original musical and get a Tony, and so the fact that that happened is such a freeing thing,” he says. “Now I can sort of go down another path and see where that leads.”
Sing to Me Insteadisavailable now for pre-order. Fans will receive exclusive access to tour tickets beginning Feb. 15.
For more on Platt’s new music, pick up the latest issue ofPEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
source: people.com
