Semler (musician)

Semler
Born
Grace Semler Baldridge

(1990-11-12) November 12, 1990 (age 34)
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, U.S.
EducationElon University
Occupations
  • Musician
  • Media host
Spouse
Elizabeth Baldridge
​
(m. 2018)​
Musical career
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Websitesemlermusic.com

Grace Semler Baldridge (born November 12, 1990), known by the stage name Semler, is an American host and alt-Christian singer-songwriter.[1][2][3]

Biography

Baldridge's father is a priest in the Episcopal Church.[4] They spent their early life in Delaware but their family moved to Waterloo, Belgium, when they were in third grade.[5] They returned to the US to attend Elon University.[6]

Baldridge is queer. They met their future wife Elizabeth Capel during their time at Elon University. The two married in August 2018 in an Episcopalian ceremony, and the couple's wedding was featured in an episode of the Refinery29 series World Wide Wed.[6][5][7] Their Twitter post giving coming out advice to themselves as a teenager attracted national attention.[5] As of 2021, Baldridge and Capel live in Los Angeles, California.[5][8]

Baldridge is genderqueer and non-binary, and has stated that "all pronouns are totally fine".[9][10]

Music

Baldridge writes and records music as Semler. The name was chosen because of both the name's links to their maternal family history and they prefer their music to be experienced from a gender-neutral viewpoint.[11][12]

In February 2021, they released an EP, Preacher's Kid, about being a queer Christian, which they recorded at home and promoted themselves.[13] Shortly after release, it reached the top of the iTunes Christian chart, supplanting Lauren Daigle's Look Up Child.[11][14][13][8] Michel Martin interviewed Baldridge about Preacher's Kid for NPR in March 2021, discussing their faith and music and playing the single "Jesus from Texas".[15] The album earned support from several figures in the Christian music industry, including Kevin Max, Trey Pearson, Derek Webb, and Josh Lovelace.[12]

Their second EP, titled Late Bloomer, was released on October 22, 2021. Like its predecessor, it reached first place on the iTunes Christian charts, once again displacing Lauren Daigle's Look Up Child.[16]

Their third EP, titled Stages of a Breakdown, was released on April 13, 2022.

They toured with Katie Pruitt in 2021,[17] and Relient K in 2022.[18]

Media presenting

Baldridge has been a regular guest host of The Young Turks, and co-hosted the former TYT Network show Pop Trigger.[19] They created and hosted the TYT-associated YouTube series Murder with Friends,[20] which was nominated for Best Non-Fiction Series in the 7th Streamy Awards in 2017.[21]

In 2020, Baldridge hosted a documentary series entitled State of Grace, which covered being LGBTQ and Christian, produced by Refinery29. The first episode, "The Life Threatening Dangers Of Gay Conversion Therapy", was nominated at the 31st GLAAD Media Awards for the Outstanding Digital Journalism – Multimedia award.[4]

Discography

Albums

  • Six Feet Under All the Same (2018)

EPs

  • Preacher's Kid (2021)
  • Late Bloomer (2021)
  • Stages of a Breakdown (2022)
  • Night Aches (2023)

References

  1. ^ Miller, Emily McFarlan (February 10, 2021). "LGBTQ singer-songwriter 'GameStops' Christian music with No. 1 Christian album on iTunes". Religion News Service. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  2. ^ Rude, Mey (March 23, 2022). "Chart-Topping Christian Artist, Semler, Wants You to Say 'Gay Rights'". Out. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  3. ^ Steinkopf-Frank, Hannah (June 8, 2022). "Queer Christian Artists Keep The Faith: How LGBTQ+ Musicians Are Redefining Praise Music". The Grammys. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Masters, Jeffrey (February 20, 2020). "A New Docuseries Explores What It Means to Be Queer and Christian". The Advocate.
  5. ^ a b c d Pelletiere, Nicole (August 22, 2018). "This woman's coming-out advice to her younger self will have you in tears". ABC News.
  6. ^ a b Wong, Curtis M. (October 8, 2017). "Beautiful Surprise Road Trip Proposal Has Extra Special Meaning For This Couple". HuffPost.
  7. ^ Rojas Weiss, Sabrina (December 20, 2018). "This Lesbian Couple's Wedding Revolved Around Religion". Refinery29.
  8. ^ a b McFarlan Miller, Emily (February 12, 2021). "An openly queer artist just had the No. 1 Christian album on iTunes". Washington Post.
  9. ^ Grace & Elizabeth Baldridge (November 18, 2020). "Episode 8: Pronouns & Coming Out". Under Our Roof (Podcast). Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  10. ^ "Semler (@semlerrrr)". TikTok. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Huckabee, Tyler (February 9, 2021). "Semler's 'Preacher's Kid' Has Hit The Top Spot On The ITunes Christian And Gospel Charts". Relevant.
  12. ^ a b Atencio, Mitchell (February 22, 2021). "Grace Semler Baldridge is bringing queer stories to Christian music". Sojourners.
  13. ^ a b Kuruvilla, Carol (February 11, 2021). "This Queer Christian's Album Challenges The Contemporary Christian Music Industry". HuffPost.
  14. ^ "Semler gives Queer Christianity a voice with Preacher's Kid". The Brock Press. February 9, 2021. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  15. ^ Martin, Michel; Watters, Gemma. "Semler, With 'Preacher's Kid,' Writes Music Of Faith For A Real World". NPR.
  16. ^ Semler (October 25, 2021). "WE DID IT AGAIN!..." Twitter. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  17. ^ Hudak, Joseph (October 5, 2021). "Katie Pruitt, a Gay Nashville Songwriter, Reckons With Her Catholicism in New Podcast". Yahoo. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  18. ^ Jackson, Jesse T. (January 6, 2022). "LGBTQ Artist Semler Joining Christian Band Relient K's Upcoming Tour". ChurchLeaders. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  19. ^ "Grace Baldridge". TYT Network.
  20. ^ "Murder With Friends". IMDB.
  21. ^ "7th Annual Nominees & Winners". Streamys.