New Beginning.

New Beginning * Stephen Gately * Polydor UK/A&M Records

With his current solo CD, New Beginning, Stephen Gately--the openly gay singer of U.K. heartthrobs Boyzone--is quietly making pop history. True, Gately's not the first boy-band member to fly solo: Bobby Brown, Robbie Williams, even Michael Jackson have done that. But while other artists faced their own obstacles as they evolved, musically, from boys to men, none had to confront the challenges facing Gately: He's the first teen idol to declare his homosexuality at the height of his career--and then follow the announcement with a solo CD. (In terms of the impact this made in the United Kingdom, imagine the uproar if George Michael had come out when he was still singing "Careless Whisper," and you'll begin to understand the justness of Gately's move.)

New Beginning could not be more appropriately titled: While rumors of Boyzone's demise are false, Gately's future certainly looks different than it did in 1999, when Gately went public with his sexual identity. That June, in the British tabloid The Sun, Gately spoke openly of his long-term relationship with Eloy de Jong (of the now-defunct Dutch boy band Caught in the Act). He said his family and friends were already aware of his orientation, and he was candid about his reason for coming out: A journalist had threatened to out him. Rather than have a scandal on his hands, Gately, then just 23, took charge of the matter and opted to come out on his own terms, a decision his bandmates publicly supported.

A year later Gately is out on his own, figuratively and literally, with New Beginning. And it sounds like he's set off on the right foot. Musically, Gately plays it safe on his solo CD, staying close to the late-'90S pop that Boyzone, 'N Sync, and the Backstreet Boys have turned into a gold mine. The title track could easily be on any one of those bands' next release. Slick production coupled with a rousing chorus is the radio-friendly formula Gately and his collaborators have chosen, and it works like a charm. "I Believe" is the anthem that earlier generations of gay teens never had, while "Judgement Day" expresses the anxieties that go hand in hand. with coming out. New Beginning's real showstopper, however, is "Wanna Be Where You Are." Thanks to Gately's syncopated delivery and its powerhouse a cappella break, it's as infectious as pop music gets.

New Beginning doesn't present a musical side of Gately--or pop music as a whole--that we haven't heard before. What it does deliver is the determination of a young man who didn't back down when confronted with adversity. With New Beginning, Gately proves he can take the punches and come out singing.