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Rolling Stone's story "Wild Idol: The Psychedelic Transformation and Sexual Liberation of Adam Lambert" is on newsstands now. Check out our Lambert Hub for photos, video and more. |
It was the conversation he could only have with us.
"Right after the finale, I almost started talking about it to the reporters, but I thought, 'I'm going to wait for Rolling Stone, that will be cooler,' " Lambert said. His patience paid off with a cover story in our latest issue (check out exclusive video of his cover shoot), and here, in his own words, more from Vanessa Grigoriadis' conversation with Lambert — his true thoughts on his Idol experience, his future in music and why he refuses to hide his sexuality.
On why he
auditioned for American Idol:
I looked at the music business, and realized it is nearly
impossible to make it with the way it is right now. No one is going
to take a chance with an artist who is somewhat out there. The only
way you have a chance being looked at by a label right now is if
you are what everyone else is. So I realized that I wouldn't be
taken seriously as a recording artist unless I had a huge platform.
I saw that and I knew that Idol was the only thing that
would do it — if it worked.
On Kris Allen and
Allison Iraheta:
[Kris Allen] has a good heart and a good spirit. He's so mellow,
he's so kick-back. He and I have a lot of love with Allison
Iraheta: It felt like this kind of sibling thing. Just good energy,
the three of us together. Kris and I both got very protective of
her. We encouraged her to pick up the guitar and take risks
musically. It always felt very positive ... good karma, you know?
Kris doesn't need any advice, clearly. Even though he's really
kick-back, he's got a very strong sense of self in a
non-aggressive, non-intense way. It's cool.
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On his early
attempts at songwriting:
My songs were like campy, sexy electro, like Peaches and
Goldfrapp.
I can look back now and realize I wasn't very good at it. I was
trying to put in way too many words. I was trying to be way too
melodramatic and serious, you know? It's like what a junior high
student does with poetry. But over the course of a couple years, I
started really trying to listen to what worked out there in music,
like hooks — and realized that less is more. The simple idea
is better in a song.
On life after
Idol:
I'm hopeful. I have a great opportunity right now. There are a lot
of people who want to work with me that I really respect. And
hopefully it works. I'm not cocky because I've seen a lot of guys
come off this show and bomb, so I recognize that I could crash and
burn. But if I play it safe, it's not going to work, so I might as
well go for it with the same intention that I had on the show.
On where he wants
to go musically:
I want to do something that has theatricality, a nod to the glam
rockers that I love, but is also contemporary. It's not all going
to be happy-go-lucky because I think it's important to explore
other emotional parts of yourself as an artist, but there's a time
and place for it. I would love to work with Madonna. I'm
a big fan. I just want to play dress up and be fabulous. When
you're a kid, you do the make-believe thing — you play
dress-up and pretend. That's the child mentality, and I feel like
if you're an adult and you can adopt the child mentality to
something cool, that's what being a "rock star" is. It's just
playing. It's Halloween. It's make-believe. It's fun. And who
doesn't want to do that? That's the kind of music that I want to
make — music that encourages people to play make-believe,
escape and have fun.
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On experiencing
discrimination:
A few years ago, I did a musical with Val Kilmer, The Ten
Commandments at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. I was
finally personally awakened, wearing nail-polish, feeling
attractive and comfortable in my own skin for the first time. We'd
go out sometimes with Val, and it was the first time I'd ever been
around a celebrity — it felt really fabulous. One night, we
hung out at his house and Sean Lennon came over to jam with us. I
was like, John Lennon's son? This is the coolest thing I've done in
my life. But I had a lot of problems with the people putting on the
show. One day, the director pulled me aside and said, "Can you turn
it down? The producers are a little uncomfortable. It's a little
too ... gay." I was like, "Um, are we doing a musical here? I'm
sorry, there are fags all over the place, dude." It was very
upsetting.
On making his
sexuality public:
There are so many old-fashioned ways of looking at things, and if
we want to be a progressive society, we have to start thinking in a
different way. There's the old industry idea that you should just
make sexuality a non-issue, just say your private life's your
private life, and not talk about it. But that's bullshit, because
private lives don't exist anymore for celebrities: they just don't.
I don't want to be looking over my shoulder all the time, thinking
I have to hide, being scared of being found out, putting on a
front, having a beard, going down the red carpet with some chick
who is posing as my girlfriend. That's not cool, that's not being a
rock star. I can't do that.
"Wild Idol: The Psychedelic Transformation and Sexual Liberation of Adam Lambert" is on newsstands now.
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