Christmas Countdown: Ferras Sings 'White Christmas'

Counting down until Christmas Day, the Gay Almanac will be highlighting an LGBTQ artist with a holiday performance.

Today's singer is Ferras, who is the Jordan-born, Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and pianist. This version of "White Christmas" was recorded in 2009.

From the Ferras'sbio on his Website:

For as long as he can remember, Ferras has used songwriting as a way to express his emotions. He was born in Jordan’s capital of Amman to an American mother and Jordanian father who split when he was five. Although this was a traumatic experience, it was the catalyst for channeling his emotions into a creative outlet – singing, playing the piano, and eventually, writing songs.

At 17, Ferras, his mother, and his sister moved to Santa Barbara, CA, where he spent two years hanging out with an eclectic group of “strange hippies, drag queens, poets, and druggies, just a bizarre mix of people,” he says. “I spent a lot of time going to clubs and, for the first time, was able to see a new world of coming into my own sexual identity and artistic humanness. Everything was suddenly open to me.” He eventually moved to Los Angeles, but when things didn’t proceed quickly, Ferras decided to enroll at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. “It was miserable,” Ferras says. “I got there and I was literally failing everything. I just didn’t care.”

While Ferras was at school, a meeting was set up with EMI, which led to Ferras’ first recording deal. But when a new team arrived at Capitol, Ferras was dropped from the label. “That was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me,” he says. “In retrospect, it wasn’t, but at the time, I was devastated. I didn’t know what to do.”

Ferras didn’t give up on music. He continued to perform live and wrote songs for international superstars, including Adam Lambert and Ricky Martin. During these sessions, renowned songwriter, Desmond Child, introduced Ferras to fellow artist, Sarah Hudson, now his main collaborator. They became instant friends, and their deep connection forged a creative bond that led to the songs that appear on his new EP.

It was during a visit to Paris with Perry when she told him of her plan to launch a label and that she wanted him as her first signing. “With Katy and our friendship, it felt organic and in the family,” he says of his second go-round with Capitol. “I’m very thankful for this opportunity. A lot of people don’t get a second chance. I’m like a cat. I have nine lives. I’m a firm believer in a divine plan to everything. Had I not been where I’ve been, I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s very simple, but it’s something that I deeply understand now.”

Ferras is also looking forward to hitting the road with Perry in June as an opener on the North American leg of her Prismatic World Tour. “Being on stage is pure bliss. There’s no greater high than experiencing that exchange of energy,” Ferras says. “I can’t wait to feel that charge.”