Acclaimed queer Asian American singer-songwriter Kenton has released a powerful new pop anthem, “Gift of Loneliness,” the third single from his highly anticipated debut solo album, Sweetmouth, set for release in October 2025. Produced by Eric Cannata of Young the Giant and SameSame (Portugal. The Man), the track arrives with a compelling music video and stands as a dark, synth-driven exploration of identity and self-acceptance, marking a significant moment in the artist’s journey of processing a lifetime of complex emotions.
The song’s origins are deeply personal, stemming from a childhood memory when, after a sermon on the gifts of the spirit, a young girl told a ten-year-old Kenton, “you have the gift of loneliness.” He reflects, “We were maybe 10, but we both knew what she meant. I was queer. I was never going to have a wife, children, any of the things that our church deemed the emblems of a blessed life. God had ‘blessed’ me with the gift of being alone forever.” For years, he held onto that label, believing it made him less valuable, but now sees it as a liberation. “My queerness, my loneliness, it has freed me from a lot of the expectations of society. Truth is, we’re all a bit lonely. The true gift of loneliness comes from embracing it with open arms.”
This profound project is the culmination of Kenton’s established career as a sought-after vocalist, having toured with Katy Perry during her Las Vegas residency and collaborated with renowned projects like Postmodern Jukebox and Scary Pockets, while also supporting a constellation of pop stars including Benson Boone, Billie Eilish, Kesha, Demi Lovato, Portugal. The Man, Cynthia Erivo, and Jennifer Hudson.
A graduate of USC’s celebrated Thornton School of Music where he studied jazz, Kenton first gained national attention in 2011 with The Backbeats on NBC’s The Sing-Off, which led to opening for Ben Folds on a national tour. Beyond music, he has built a robust on-camera career, appearing in over a dozen national commercials and TV shows like Superstore, Platonic, and The Rookie, while also voicing characters in Netflix and Disney animated features.
Sweetmouth is Kenton’s method of “processing the shame, guilt, grief and anger I’ve harbored over the years, of honoring the heritage of my ancestors, and of learning the art of forgiveness.” The album draws immense inspiration from a pivotal 2022 trip to Taiwan to visit his parents, Taiwanese immigrants who had moved back and whom he hadn’t seen in nearly six years. The visit brought forth difficult emotions around his queer identity and the tension with his parents’ religious beliefs; his father, a minister, had a stroke prior to the visit that left him unable to play the Chinese instruments he once taught, a loss Kenton seeks to honor by weaving those sounds into the album’s fabric. The record was produced with childhood friend Eric Cannata, with whom Kenton distilled his life’s experiences down to being a pastor’s kid and a child of immigrants, realizing that performance is one of the few times he feels truly free from constantly pushing back against that history.
The album’s narrative is already unfolding through its singles: the wrenching ballad “I’m Breaking My Father’s Heart,” the wry and jaunty “Wannabe American,” and now the fiery pop of “The Gift of Loneliness.” The upcoming final single, “Dirty Laundry,” will see him airing out familial secrets, warning “I’m bringing shame upon the family (probably).” Other notable tracks like “3 AM in Taipei” feature vivid travel imagery over a snaking bass line.
The album’s title, Sweetmouth, comes from Kenton’s childhood nickname, earned for his role in placating his mother’s feelings, a caretaker role whose emotional impact he is only now processing. It closes with “Let Light In,” a glimmer of hope and redemption that serves as a moving bookend to the opening track’s pain. Kenton shares that this journey is not just for himself: “It’s also an encouragement to all the immigrant queer children who never felt they belonged. There is life beyond being just a sweetmouth. We can choose to love with healthy boundaries… It’s not easy to let go of the painful stories we tell ourselves; but it’s the only way to take responsibility for our present, and fight for a better future.”
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