Ty Herndon and Billy Gilman made headlines in November 2014 by revealing they were gay within hours of each other ... but they weren't the first country artists to make such an announcement, nor the last.

From Chely Wright -- the first well-known country star to come out, in 2010 -- to songwriter Shane McAnally, there have been a few others helping pave the way in the country music industry. On Feb. 3, Brothers Osborne member TJ Osborne came out publicly, in a feature in Time. That makes him one of the very few out country artists signed to a major or large independent record label, along with Brooke Eden, who recently got engaged to her longtime girlfriend, Hilary Hoover.

"I want to get to the height of my career being completely who I am," says the singer, who's now released three major-label albums with his brother John. "I mean, I am who I am, but I've kept a part of me muted, and it's been stifling."

Click through the gallery below to learn more about country's LGBTQ+ artists:

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