Multi-platinum selling pop superstar and Queen’s frontman, Adam Lambert, shoots for Wonderland. In the accompanying interview, Adam speaks about his plans to release his own new music in 2018, being open about his sexuality from day one, LGBQT issues in the music industry and the hugely successful Queen + Adam Lambert partnership.
On Queen + Adam Lambert:
“At the beginning of working with Queen I was completely intimidated by the idea! I was like ‘What? Are you serious? You guys really want me to do this?’ I was intimidated by what fans would say and probably expect of me. Being in the shadow of Freddie Mercury is kind of a mind-fuck, you know? But over the years, I got comfortable with the show and the set of songs. I went from being intimidated and freaking the fuck out to feeling like it was an honour to continue carrying on a torch for the band and for a man who was so ahead of his time and who was taken from us way too soon. These songs they wrote are timeless and I feel like it’s a real treat to bring that to fans everywhere.”
On being openly gay:
“I have been gay and out of the closet - very loudly so - since I was 18 and I wasn’t in the closet on the show (American Idol) or around anyone. It wasn’t until the show was wrapping up that I realised everyone wanted me to come out, but I was already out! I’ve always been out. It was just never talked about because it had no baring of what I was doing on stage. It’s not like it was a big surprise with my outfits or my looks or my song choices, you know?” I always think to myself that if I had been in a serious relationship at the time and my partner had been in the audience then it probably would have come up. Or if Ryan Seacrest had asked me about my dream man I probably would have answered his question but it just never came up! By the time the show ended, I had all these interviews lined up and I was an open book, but it was interesting because people said ‘oh, but you didn’t come out’ and I was like ‘but I was out I was just learning the responsibility of celebrity at that point and hadn’t quite wrapped my head around the idea that if not publicly declared, it couldn’t help others!’”
On homophobia and LGBQT issues in the industry:
“I think there definitely was more of an element in the business [back in 2009] but I didn’t find that the people I was dealing with were actually homophobic but I definitely think they were a little bit worried about ‘how are we going to sell this artist to the masses?’”
“A lot of things were taboo and I got some backlash. It was interesting. But now it’s nine years later and I’m seeing different pop acts come up that are so proud about their sexuality and it doesn’t even seem like it’s a big thing anymore! We’re moving to the other side of it, where it’s the way it always should have been.”
On his new solo music:
“I think the fans have been waiting long enough, and so have I! I’ve really been trying to explore what I want the sound and subject matter to be. I want it to be authentic and real and something that felt natural for me. Because it’s such a competitive industry, it’s very easy to get lost with producers and songwriters trying to be like ‘this is the trend and this is the sound of the moment’ and all of that’s really cool but it makes you get lost in the game and you lose the heart of what you’re doing. So I’ve been really focussed on trying to stay in my own truth in everything and it’s been going really well because now I feel like everything is coming together. Things are really good. I think this year is gonna be really exciting.”
