Country Music Star to Come Out

Country music will experience its biggest coming out to date when singer Chely Wright announces that she is a lesbian inThe Advocate this week.

TMZ.com reported Sunday that Wright, 39, would come out in the May 5th issue of People to coincide with her new album, Lifted Off the Ground, and her memoir, Like Me, both set for release on May 4.

The report capped a weekend of speculation fueled by gossip about a celebrity soon to come out in People.

Wright will be the first major country music artist to come out. She topped the charts in 1999 with the song "Single White Female," and was named the Academy of Country Music's Top New Female Vocalist that same year. She previously dated country music star Brad Paisley.

High-profile publicist Howard Bragman, who handled the recent announcement about Chaz Bono's transition, is orchestrating Wright's coming out.