2011–2014: Glee Newell was among 34,000 to submit an audition video in 2011 for the first season of
Oxygen's
The Glee Project. Eventually, they became the series’ first runner-up. Nevertheless, the producers were so impressed that they decided to bring them on
Glee for two episodes. Newell first appeared on
Glee in the
third season episode "
Saturday Night Glee-ver". They were cast in the role of
Wade "Unique" Adams, a
transgender teenager who was assigned male at birth. The shy, outcast Wade expressed their female identity through music as the bold, brave alter ego, Unique. Wade broke ground by being one of the most visible transgender characters on television and one of the first on a network
prime time show. Newell's performance was described as "bold", with "remarkable restraint and powerful vocals." On his nightly show ''
The O'Reilly Factor'',
Bill O'Reilly expressed concern that children watching the show unsupervised might be encouraged to experiment with what he termed "alternative lifestyles," which he said the show glorified. Newell commented, "My mother said, 'If Bill O'Reilly said something about you, you are doing something right.' He just showed the public and conservative viewers me. There are more people seeing me now... There are people like Wade and Unique, and [they're] being themselves. If kids want to go and do that, that is them expressing who they are." In the
sixth and final season, Newell was not a part of the regular cast, but did appear as a recurring guest star. A highlight of the sixth season was Newell singing "
I Know Where I've Been" from
Hairspray with the Transpersons Choir of 200 performers in the episode "
Transitioning".
2014–2016: Music career and Power EP Over the years, Newell sang at numerous events, such as the
Coachella Festival, but also at many
LGBT events and pride festivals. They also performed at the
Governors Ball Music Festival and
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend. Newell announced in October 2013 that they had been signed by
Big Beat Records and that they were going to release Newell's debut album. It was also revealed that it was going to be produced by
Adam Anders. Their debut single, a cover of
Sigma's "
Nobody to Love", was released on June 3, 2014. In 2015, Newell embarked on a series of cover songs and collaborations. In March, they alongside Sean Bass provided feature vocals for the re-issued version of "
Stronger", a song by
Clean Bandit for their re-release of their album
New Eyes. Later in the same month, they produced a
disco-
house stylization of
Robin S.'s single "
Show Me Love" together with Russian DJ Matvey Emerson. Over the summer, they worked with the British
electro duo
Blonde by featuring vocals in their single "
All Cried Out". They then began to collaborate with the US electro duo
the Knocks on the song "Collect My Love", "a soaring disco standout" where they reached "staggering heights." "This Ain't Over" was announced as the first track off their debut
extended play called
Power, featuring production from the pop artists
Diane Warren,
Nile Rodgers,
MNEK and
DJ Cassidy. Newell supported fellow
Glee alum
Adam Lambert on
The Original High Tour from February 23 until the April 2 finale at
Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theatre in 2016. In 2019, Newell was cast in
NBC's musical dramedy ''
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist'' in the role of Mo, a
genderfluid DJ and the protagonist Zoey Clarke (
Jane Levy)'s next-door neighbor. In June 2021, the series was canceled by NBC after two seasons. In December 2021,
The Roku Channel released a two-hour holiday film, ''Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas'', concluding the story of the NBC series. Newell reprised their role of Mo for the film. In 2023, Newell premiered in the role of Lulu in the musical comedy
Shucked on Broadway in the
Nederlander Theatre. The show opened April 4, 2023, and ran through January 14, 2024. In June 2023, they won a
Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for their performance in the role at the
76th Tony Awards. They and
J. Harrison Ghee for
Some Like It Hot were the
first openly non-binary actors to be nominated for and win a
Tony Award. These concerts featured a guest appearance from
Marisha Wallace.
Other work and awards Newell played the title role in NBC's comedy pilot
Imaginary Friend, which was expected to air in 2016. It was passed on and no other network picked it up so it did not air. They contributed with music to the HBO TV series
Vinyl on a track also featuring DJ Cassidy and Jess Glynne. They are committed to helping other LGBT youth and regularly performs at benefit concerts, most notably for
The Trevor Project, == Personal life ==