Singer-songwriter and musical storyteller Michael Maimone is out now with “Forever Again,” the fifth single from his forthcoming album Guess What? I Love You. A deeply emotional and romantic ballad, the single was written for Maimone’s late husband, famed publicist and LGBTQ+ advocate Howard Bragman, as a celebration of their engagement and the love they shared.

With its message of resilience and emotional truth, “Forever Again” stands as a beacon for anyone who has lost a partner, whether due to separation or death. Maimone hopes the song offers solace and permission to heal, while still honouring the love that came before. 

You have said previously that recording your latest single, “Forever Again”, was gut-wrenching.

Michael Maimone:  The past five years have been so tumultuous.  I’ve had to learn to believe that life walks us down each road for a reason. In 2021 I was diagnosed with a heart condition called pericarditis and finally had to stop drinking – something that was a long time coming, spending much of my adult life in bars. In February 2023, my husband Howard passed away and I spent most of the next two years alone, working on the upcoming album. I could’ve slowly killed myself with alcohol. Thankfully I put all of the pain and depression into the music instead. I frequently stopped to melt down. There were a lot of breaks to just lay on the floor in my studio sobbing. But then I’d think about how proud Howard would be of having an entire record for him, and I knew it had to be good. So, I’d pull myself together and pour all of that emotion into the writing or the recording or the mixing, whatever stage of production I was in.

Side A of your upcoming album chronicles the joyful beginnings of your relationship, while Side B dives into grief and healing. How did you decide on this structure, and what does it reveal about your journey?

While producing Guess What? I Love You, I was also writing a book about our time together. Howard was such a remarkable person, I initially wanted to make a documentary on him. A producer friend advised me to write about my experience first, before the memories started to fade. So, I set about describing Howard’s contributions to the world through the lens of our love story. When I outlined my book, I realized I wanted the album to match. It starts with a song about when we first met. The end of Side A is “Forever Again,” when we got married. I didn’t want the album to end with Howard’s death, because that’s not the end of the story.

Is it true that you rewrote the second verse of “Forever Again”?

Finding love again after loss is scary; there can be guilt associated with moving forward and fear about things ending up the way they did before. I wanted to change the song to ease those fears.

You’ve spoken about the idea of “moving forward” rather than “moving on.” How has that distinction shaped the way you live with Howard’s memory while remaining open to future love?

Every morning I symbolically pour Howard a cup of coffee. I’ve got his handwriting tattooed on my arm. I wear a locket with his picture in it. That’s going to be a lot for someone new to live with, but I want to be open about the fact that I’ll always love Howard. He changed my life, and he’ll be with me forever. 

Howard was a beloved figure in the LGBTQ+ community.

Whenever someone shares a new “Howard story” with me, I’m so proud that I got to be his husband. It’s been two and a half years and I’m still hearing from new people. The initial goal of this album and the book was to keep Howard’s legacy alive and to bring his story to a new generation. Howard’s contribution as a publicist was to amplify queer voices – fighting against discrimination with organizations like GLAAD and APLA, and increasing our visibility by helping to guide celebrities out of the closet. Personally, although I was out, he helped me get more comfortable with my sexuality, and have more fun being my authentic self in public. I knew that he wouldn’t want me to subvert my own story to tell his, so the album and book became a way to tell the world about Howard through our story.

The themes in “Forever Again” are universal for anyone who has experienced loss.

Everyone has their own timeline for grieving. Eventually the grief journey encompasses healing. Whether moving forward or moving on, you have to take your time and feel all of the feelings. Explore them fully and really live in them. I feel like any kind of creative outlet can help with this, like making music, journaling, or painting. I know what it feels like to love and lose, both through death and separation. Either way it’s terrifying to put your heart back out there after it’s been shattered. But I still believe it’s better to try again than to close off your heart, and I hope my music will help comfort and inspire people to take that journey. 

By Kevin Wirth

“Forever Again” is available on Spotify and Apple Music.  Guess What? I Love You is slated for release later this year and promises to be Maimone’s most personal and moving project to date.  Visit https://linktr.ee/mikemaimonemusic