Watch: R&B Star Tevin Campbell Comes Out

Tevin Campbell has been a recording star in the R&B world since the age of 12. Now, at 45, he's decided it's time to leave the closet behind and come out publicly.

Billboard reported that during an appearance on the Aug. 18 episode of the PEOPLE Every Day podcast, "Campbell confirmed that he identifies as a gay man, and took a look back on what led him to officially open up to his fans."

The singer-songwriter told the podcast, "What makes me happiest right now is how far I've come in life," specifically, "the fact that I've embraced me." He also took note of the fact that "there are a lot of child stars that don't make it."

And Campbell certainly was a child star. "Discovered by famed talent manager Benny Medina at age 12, the Waxahachie, Texas, native was thrust onto the music scene a year later by mentor Quincy Jones – and instantly dubbed 'the next Michael Jackson' for his smooth, savant-like vocals and impressive range," People Magazine detailed.

"I just kind of wanted to be me, you know?" Campbell told the podcast.

"Instead, he was packaged as a young, heterosexual heartthrob," People recalled.

Campbell was 14 when his first album was released in 1991, with the Prince-written song "Round and Round" scoring high on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Campbell's performance on the track brought him a Grammy nomination for best R&B vocal performance, male – his first of five Grammy nods," Billboard said.

Campbell's second album was released in 1993 and went double platinum, according to Wikipedia. That release saw two songs, both written by Babyface, take the No. 9 spot on the Hot 100 list, with one of the tracks – "Can We Talk" – reaching No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts.

The article noted that the subject of whether Campbell might be gay was a longtime question for his fans. "But that speculation came to a head earlier this year when Campbell tweeted (and later deleted) the phrase "Tevin is..." followed by a rainbow flag emoji," the article recalled.

"I didn't hide anything about me," Campbell said on the podcast, talking about his early career. "I didn't try to act a certain way or anything." But, he added, "You just couldn't be [gay] back then."

But then, in 2005, Campbell headed to Broadway for a part in the stage musical adaptation of "Hairspray," and he got a glimpse of how life could be.

"Being around people who were like me, LGBTQ+ people that were living normal lives and had partners..." Campbell said before continuing, "I had never seen that." The experience was, he said, "a great time in my life."

To watch a clip from the podcast, follow this link.