‘Exposed’ Host Joseph Shepherd Shows off His Musical Side with Debut Single

Internationally recognized queer media personality Joseph Shepherd is showing off his musical chops and taking the world by storm with his debut pop single, “Don’t Call Me.”

Written by Shepherd, the catchy track is a modern, early-2000s inspired hit that tells the story of the artist calling out a cheating ex for hitting his line late at night just for attention. The epic and campy music video, directed by Colton Trans, shows Shepherd playing Drew Barrymore’s iconic character in Scream, with Canada’s Drag Race superstar Jimbo featured as Ghostface—donning huge breasts and all, in true Jimbo fashion.

“Y’all are in for a gay fantasy ride of trying to escape a crazy killer, 90s horror movie style,” Shepherd says.

The LA-based creative is best known for creating, producing, and hosting the critically acclaimed YouTube series and podcast Exposed, where Shepherd interviews the biggest names in drag, creating a space for hilarious and vulnerable insight into queens’ lives post-Drag Race that no other interviewer has achieved.

OFM caught up with Shepherd to talk more about the new track and what we can expect from him next musically.

Let me begin by asking, how does it feel to release your debut single, “Don’t Call Me,” out into the world?

Honestly, it feels great! It’s been a totally different experience. I was talking to Priyanka the other day about it, and I was like, “It feels like when you’re a child and you have anything creative, you can branch out, do these things, and feel good about yourself. As you get older and people start telling you that you suck, this isn’t good enough, or X, Y, and Z, you kind of get down on yourself.”

I also think by being in a corporate world for so long, all my creative ideas would always be changed or shot down. So, putting this out and releasing it, I felt like a child all over again, and I could fully dive into a creative vision and not have somebody tell me no. It’s been great.

Can you tell us more about the concept and inspiration behind the track?

Of course. At the end of the day, Joseph had an edible, and he sings a lot in the shower (laughs). I started recording voice memos, and this song stems from me not wanting to talk to anybody. I’m on the spectrum, so it’s sometimes very difficult. I hate when people call me or FaceTime me, so that’s where it spawned from.

Then I was like, “Nobody wants to listen to a song where all I’m saying is, ‘Don’t call me because I don’t want to talk to you.'” So, I added in the cheating element because why not? Then people—and even my own boyfriend was like, “Is this about me?” I’m like, “No, you’ve never cheated on me. What are you talking about? This is literally music.”

I love that the music video pays homage to Scream and Drew Barrymore’s iconic opening kill. Is that your favorite horror franchise?

Yes, 100%. Horror movies in general have always been a big part of my life. I used to always go into Blockbuster, hence why we did a video rental store, but I would always check out the films like A Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th, and I would rewind and fast forward through them because they always showed girl’s boobs, but they never showed a guy’s dick or butt. I always hoped that there would be something there.

I also love that Jimbo plays a rendition of Ghostface. How much fun was it to work with her, and how did she get involved with this project?

I did an interview with Jimbo right after Canada’s Drag Race, and there was just something about Jimbo that I respect and love about his art form because I feel it’s so camp. It’s so different. It’s like every creative ounce of his being goes into it, and I love that. Jimbo and I kind of like remained in touch, and back in December or January, I hit him up and was like, “Hey, I’m not even done with this song, and I don’t know what you’re doing, but I want to shoot a music video. Is this day OK? What do we need to do?”

I told him the whole concept, and he was like, “I am so down.” It’s right up his alley. Oh, a killer? Sure! Why not? So, that happened, and literally a few weeks later, it was announced that he would be on UK vs the World. In my head, I was like, “Good thing I booked this right before, or he would have been on a tour somewhere, and this would have never happened!”

How has “Don’t Call Me” been received by audiences?

You know, I was very nervous putting this out because I think at the end of the day, people come to my content mainly for queens. They mainly come for the interviews with the drag queens, and I can always tell that in the numbers, especially when it’s how popular a queen is versus the ones who are early out. The numbers are always going to be a big difference. So, the reception is kind of right where I thought it was going to be.

I didn’t expect anything crazy and big, but I wanted people to see the creative vision and respect the camp for what it is. Be like, “This dude put in everything.” If you’re laughing that Jimbo’s boobs are out or laughing because I’m getting chased, that’s great and wonderful. I would say the reception on the comments have been beautiful and much better than I expected, but Reddit is a piece of crap, and they go in on everything (laughs). Like, are we just all negative Nancies?

Ultimately, what do you hope listeners take away from the track?

I think what I want listeners to take away is that music is a visual art. Whether the song goes with the theme or not, there’s so much camp that has been lost over the past 20-plus years when it comes to the drag community. John Waters has always been an inspiration to me, and those types of films and how all of that was is so iconic, and I want people to respect the camp again. Let’s be campy again. I want those stupid little movies. I want people to listen and be like, “What’s next? What can we expect next?”

As you mentioned, people mainly come for your interviews with drag queens, which are featured on your YouTube series and podcast Exposed. What made you want to take the leap into music?

When I was younger, I was obsessed with Britney Spears, and I wanted to be a pop star. I was like, one day, I just want to make a video. The first video that I ever made, I was probably 9 years old, and it was when Pink’s “Get the Party Started” came out. I had my dad hold a camera and film me pretend driving his car, doing all this stuff. I slammed my finger in the door, and I think from that moment, I wanted to redeem myself. I don’t want my family to laugh at me anymore for smashing my finger in a door. I want to make a great music video and live that pop fantasy.

How did Exposed initially begin?

Exposed really began when I cast Willam on a show. I used to produce reality television, and there was a TV show that we did that was like a spinoff of The Bachelor. It was with two twins, and reality TV is always fake, so they were like, we need a drag queen landlord. I suggested Willam, but my executive producer really wanted Jackie Beat. I eventually won him over, and on set while we were filming, Willam had all these stories about Drag Race.

We were chatting, and I said, “I feel like you’ve tweeted about these things, but you’ve never said them out loud.” After our friendship kind of developed, I hit him up and was like, “I want to interview you Barbara Walters-style and see what happens.” He agreed, and it literally started from there. I thank Willam so much for allowing me to be able to sit in his place and be amongst the craziness.

Would you like to musically collaborate with more Drag Race stars, or drag queens in general?

I thought about it quite a bit because the thing is, I wanted to incorporate Jimbo in a way that didn’t make it look like I was utilizing a drag queen just to utilize a drag queen. I respect everybody’s art, and I don’t want to put somebody on something just for the fact that they’re a drag queen or their name. I want it to be a fully creative and visual thing. So, yes, I’m totally down for creating and crafting with other queens.

What are some future goals you would like to achieve as a musical artist?

Oh, that’s a good question. I would honestly love to keep going visual wise and keep putting out very campy things. The trajectory in doing this and doing all the creative behind the music video led me into being like, maybe if I don’t keep singing, I can help other people be creative with their videos. At the end of the day, that’s kind of what I hope opens up.

I assume “Don’t Call Me” is the first single from a bigger collection?

Yes. I’m dibbling and dabbling with the whole process. The next single I really want to go after is incorporating John Waters and Divine, and it’s going to be called “Pink Flamingo.” My head is always going to what’s different and what’s fun.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?

I produce some MOM podcasts and The Chop is one of them, and I would just like to say that we’re covering España now. The thing about Drag Race España is that there’s so many things that are lost in translation, and we’ve had the pleasure of bringing on Marta Mamma who does a lot of YouTube videos and translates, and the show completely changed for me by hearing how she talks about it and what each reference is. So, if you want to watch a new Drag Race franchise, and you want to understand all this stuff, head over and listen to The Chop.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Shepherd by following him on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube @josephashepherd.

Photos courtesy of Gabriel Gastelum