Country music star Chely Wright comes out as lesbian

Chely Wright, a major country artist, has come out of the closet to announce that she is a lesbian.

"There had never, ever been a country music artist who had acknowledged his or her homosexuality. I wasn't going to be the first," the New York Daily News quoted Wright as telling People.com.

But the exact opposite happened, and Wright couldn't be happier.

"Nothing in my life has been more magical than the moment I decided to come out," she says.

The artist had a tough time growing up when she realised that homosexuality wasn't accepted in her community.

"I hid everything for my music," Wright says.

Her new memoir, Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer, hits book stores on Tuesday on the same day as her new album, Lifted off the Ground.