Steve Grand (born February 28, 1990)[1] is an American singer, songwriter and model from Lemont, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.

[2] He became an overnight internet celebrity and the music video of his first hit "All-American Boy" went viral on YouTube in less than a week in July 2013.

[9][10][11] He released his debut album titled All American Boy financed by a successful Kickstarter public funding campaign.

After graduating from Lemont High School, Grand attended Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, for a year.

[3][13] Grand cites a wide range of musical influences, including: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Billy Joel, Blink-182, Green Day, Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, Lady Gaga and Fall Out Boy.

He made me realize the lasting power of music -- how a great song can take you back to the moment you first heard it.

[13] He also performed cover songs, including hits by Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, One Direction and Journey, and uploaded these to YouTube under the name Steve [Starchild].

[21][22] On July 18, 2013, Grand made his television debut, performing "All-American Boy" on WLS-TV produced program Windy City Live.

Other openly gay or bisexual male vocalists who have had successful careers in the country music industry as songwriters or musicians have included Jimbeau Hinson, Drake Jensen, Mark Weigle, Brian Glenn,[27] and Shane Stevens.

[28] Openly gay country star Chely Wright lauded Grand as "brave" in remarks to Michael Musto of Out.com, saying: "This is uncharted territory, as you know.

[32] He announced plans to release his debut album financed by a successful Kickstarter public funding campaign.

In June 2015, Grand made his first trip to Europe as an Arts Envoy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for the U.S. State Department.

[41] Grand made his acting debut in December 2017 on the web series "Falling for Angels" (a Here TV/Pride Media project).

[44] The music on this album reflects Grand's development as an artist and performer with a wide array of songs capturing his moods and personal experience.

[46] By age 13, Grand had come to the realization that he was gay[47] and struggled to gain acceptance of his sexuality within his Catholic family and faith.

In an interview with Michael Musto of Out.com, Grand said: "I want to make it clear that it's been misrepresented that I went through what most people know as conversion therapy.

[citation needed] In addition to being a singer-songwriter and performer, Grand has performed at Pride events – and has partnered with The Human Rights Campaign[clarification needed] The Anti-Violence Project, Bailey House, the GLSEN Respect Awards, Out & Equal Workplace Advocates and the March on Springfield for Marriage Equality.

[50] In June 2015, Steve Grand visited Riga, Latvia, to teach a master's class and to take part in the Europride festival that was held in the country's capital city.