Editing Melissa Etheridge (section)

===1993–1995: ''Yes I Am'' and ''Your Little Secret''===
In January 1993, Etheridge came out publicly as a lesbian. On September 21, 1993, she released ''[[Yes I Am (Melissa Etheridge album)|Yes I Am]]'', which became her mainstream breakthrough album.<ref name="Jeremy Bonfiglio">{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldpalladium.com/features/melissa-etheridge-taps-into-her-memphis-soul/article_c752b815-c556-5f33-b6e2-e87a9e9a763b.html|title= Melissa Etheridge taps into her Memphis soul|publisher=HeraldPalladium.com|author=Jeremy Bonfiglio|date=June 15, 2017|access-date=July 1, 2018}}</ref> Co-produced with [[Hugh Padgham]], ''Yes I Am'' spent 138 weeks on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] charts and peaked at No. 15. It scored two mainstream hits: "[[Come to My Window]]" and her only ''Billboard'' Top 10 single,  "[[I'm the Only One]]", which also hit #1 on ''Billboard''{{'}}s Adult Contemporary chart. ''Yes I Am'' earned a [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]] certification of 6× platinum.<ref name="riaa"/>

Etheridge earned her second Grammy for [[Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance|Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female]] for her single "Come to My Window". She also garnered two additional nominations in the Best Rock Song category for "I'm the Only One" and "Come to My Window", losing to [[Bruce Springsteen]]'s "[[Streets of Philadelphia]]".<ref>{{cite news |title=THE 37TH GRAMMY NOMINATIONS |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-06-ca-17089-story.html |access-date=January 12, 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 6, 1995}}</ref>

In 1993, Etheridge boycotted playing shows in Colorado over its passage of [[Romer v. Evans|Amendment 2]].<ref name="Biography.com">{{cite news |url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/504284821.html?dids=504284821:504284821&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+10,+1993&author=&pub=The+Record&desc=Station+spurns+Etheridge&pqatl=google9 |title= Station spurs Etheridge |access-date= May 23, 2010 |date= September 10, 1993 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121102194558/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/504284821.html?dids=504284821:504284821&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+10,+1993&author=&pub=The+Record&desc=Station+spurns+Etheridge&pqatl=google9 |archive-date= November 2, 2012 |url-status= dead |df= mdy-all }}</ref>

Also in 1994, she was honored by VH-1 for her work with the AIDS organization L.A. Shanti. During the televised occasion, she highlighted the appearance with a performance of "I'm the Only One" and a duet with [[Sammy Hagar]] covering [[The Rolling Stones]]' song, "[[Honky Tonk Women]]."<ref name="pg 166">{{cite book|title=Melissa Etheridge: Our Little Secret |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kN03ue54jmIC&pg=PA166|author=Joyce Luck|year = 1997|page=166| publisher=ECW Press |isbn = 9781550222982}}</ref>
[[File:Melissa Etheridge concert ticket - 1995 - Stierch.jpg|thumbnail|Melissa Etheridge concert ticket, 1995]]
The album's fifth single, "[[If I Wanted To]]", debuted on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] at No. 25 in February 1995 and peaked at No. 16 later that March.<ref name=billboard200 /><ref name=billboardfeb1995>{{cite news|author=Fred Bronson|title="Bow" Wows at No. 2; Hot Shot Melissa (page 122) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wgsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA122|work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] ([[Google Books]])|date=February 18, 1995|access-date=September 7, 2017}}</ref>

The success of ''Yes I Am'' helped increase sales of Etheridge's earlier albums. In 1995, ''Melissa Etheridge'' earned a [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]] certification of 2× platinum, while ''Never Enough'' earned a [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]] certification of platinum.<ref name="riaa"/>

Etheridge's follow-up to ''Yes I Am'' was the successful ''[[Your Little Secret]]'' (1995). The album was not as well received by critics as Etheridge's prior recordings. Featuring a lead single of the same name, ''[[Your Little Secret]]'' is the highest-charting album of Etheridge's career, having reached No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' album charts; however, the album spent only 41 weeks on the chart. The album produced two Top 40 singles "[[I Want to Come Over]]" (''Billboard'' #22, ''RPM'' #1) and "Nowhere to Go" (''Billboard'' #40) and earned a [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]] certification of 2× platinum.<ref name="riaa"/>