Of course it’s sad that this is a news headline, that it took this long, that this is reality. But hey, let’s be happy about it instead — someone had to break the ice! M.K. Nobilette, 20, is officially the first openly gay contestant on American Idol. It’s really just a crazy technicality: Gay contestants in the past had never spoken of their sexuality on camera, seemingly by the show’s design.

“I’m very obviously gay, and there are always gonna be people in America and everywhere else who will definitely hate me,” said Nobilette while waiting to hear her Hollywood Week fate before the judges. “But I think that in the last two years there have been a lot of things that have really changed that, and have made it a positive thing.”

“Thank goodness,” murmured Harry Connick Jr.

The lack of openly gay contestants on Idol started to become a particularly glaring omission after NBC rival The Voice featured several openly gay contestants. Nobilette is part of season 13’s Top 30, along with….

WOMEN

Andrina Brogden

Bria Anai

Emily Piriz

Jessica Meuse

Jillian Jensen

Kristen O’Connor

M.K. Nobilette

Malaya Watson

MEN

Alex Preston

Dexter Roberts

Emmanuel Zidor

George Lovett

Jordan Brisbane

Malcolm Allen

Maurice Townsend

Sam Woolf

Spencer Lloyd

And EITHER Casey Thrasher or C.J. Harris, who were called in together for tonight’s “To Be Continued….” cliffhanger.

Cut: Madelyn Patterson, Michael Simeon, Keri Lynn Roche, Jessie Roach, Nica Nishae, Leah Guerrero

Agh, the agony!

Don’t worry, the judges assured the contestants — this was just as difficult of an experience for them.

It’s only a partial reveal — we’ll find out the rest of the Top 30 on Thursday’s show.

Stay tuned for my full recap of Wednesday’s INTENSE BALLROOM DRAMA!

Now here it is, your moment of Zen: