Multi-platinum selling pop superstar Adam Lambert features in the latest edition of Wonderland Magazine.
In addition to taking part in a striking photoshoot, Adam also spoke to Wonderland about touring with Queen, being openly gay since he was 18, homophobia and LGBQT issues in the industry and his highly anticipated new solo material.
Alongside being a successful solo artist, Adam has regularly toured with legendary band Queen since 2011 as their frontman (although they first performed together during American Idol in 2009). They will be heading out on another European tour this summer, and Adam spoke to Wonderland about the collaboration and how it feels to be following in the footsteps and celebrating the late Freddie Mercury.
“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?” he said.
“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.”
Photography: Paley Fairman
Another topic discussed in detail was sexuality, with Adam speaking about being openly gay since he was 18 in addition to the homophobia and LGBTQ issues which exist within the industry.
“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?” Adam said.
“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!’”
Adam also acknowledged how things have changed in the industry since he made his musical breakthrough. “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.”
Photography: Paley Fairman
During the interview, Adam also had some great news for his loyal Glamberts – new music is on the horizon. Acknowledging the wait for new material, he said: “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 focused 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.”
2018 looks set to be a thrilling year for Adam Lambert and we can’t wait to see what he has in store for us.
Read Adam’s full interview with Wonderland here.