Jordy, pop star from Northbrook, gives 2000 hit a queer update with ‘Story of a Boy’

Jordy (pictured earlier this month at Chicago’s House of Blues) says the songs on his new album “Boy” resulted from his experiences as a kid. (Pat Nabong/Sun-Times)

At the heart of Jordy’s new album “Boy” is an artist reframing his childhood through song. Over the course of 12 tracks, the local native unravels the layers of his formative years that shape the successful pop star he is today, premiering a video on RollingStone.com, appearing on the “Today” show and getting love from the iHeart Radio Music Awards.

But back when he was growing up in Northbrook, he was just a gifted theater kid in primary school and Glenbrook North, surrounded by classmates including K-pop phenom Johnny Suh of NCT 127 fame and Broadway star Nathan Salstone. And though he praises GBN theater teacher Julie Ann Robinson and choir directors Chad Davidson and Andy Wallace for leading him down the right path, Jordy also carries memories of being bullied and trying to understand his own identity and sexuality.