www.nextmagazine.com/content/reimagining-adamReimagining AdamFeature Article
Adam Lambert tones down the glam rock theatrics on his third album, 'The Original High,' but he’s still the same power-vocal queen we love.
June 05, 2015 By Benjamin Lindsay
Adam Lambert is a force to be reckoned with—and it’s not just apparent in his stunning vocal prowess. Simply by being himself since auditioning for Simon Cowell and co. in 2009, Lambert has helped pave the way for LGBT artists and entertainers the world over. And his seamless transition from the eighth season American Idol runner-up to the chart-topping solo artist he is today—who happens to play part-time frontman for Queen, no less—is equally impressive. In fact, since he first landed in our living rooms six years ago, there’s been no denying the man’s a star.
Three years since his last full-length release, Lambert called in from Los Angeles to chat about his anticipated new album, The Original High, plus summer love and the fruits of collaboration.
I’ve been really enjoying The Original High. It marks a change in direction for you.I think it’s a different sound, for sure. It reflects a lot of what I’m listening to right now—what my life sounds like. I wanted the production to be what I was into. As far as the lyrical and the melodic sensibilities in it, I wanted to do something super honest. I wanted to take away a lot of the theatrics that I’m known for and just be a little bit more real—not so much of a character. Coming off of a show like Idol, I ended up being put in the category of the “rock ’n’ roll” guy, so I was doing a lot of rock music. Then the second album I did kind of reflected this funk pop thing I was feeling at the time. I got to work with people like Pharrell [Williams] and Nile [Rodgers] on that, which was amazing. I spent some time in Europe working on this one and a lot of time in the U.K. this year, and I heard a lot of house throwback stuff. Going out to the clubs, you hear house music and you hear a little bit of that trap style. I wanted it to feel authentic to my social life. It’s also nostalgic, in a way, for the ’90s. There’s a lot of ’90s influence. You hear it in the dance music. You hear it in some of the more alternative moments. The song that Brian May is on kind of has a throwback hip-hop/rock thing. It definitely takes me back to when I first fell in love with contemporary music.
Did changing record labels affect your sound?It definitely wiped the slate clean, yeah. That was helpful just kind of starting over and starting fresh and coming up with something new. I also have a new management team. The people around you are the ones that make all these ideas come to life.
You must have loved working with producer Max Martin again.
Yeah, he’s incredible, and Shellback as well. The two of them just have a sixth sense for knowing what people are going to love.
They’ve worked with some of the biggest names in the industry. Have they ever spoken about how working with you is different—or how your queer perspective enhances the final product?I think that’s one of the things that we did that was so different for me this time. They didn’t get hung up on how I came onto the scene or who my fans were. They didn’t think about any of that. They just went, “This is you. This is what you’re able to do with your voice. Let’s make a cool album.” They kind of tuned out all the other statistics. I think that’s why the album sounds the way it does: Because it’s not trying to cater to one thing or live up to anything.
What were you going for thematically with The Original High? I wouldn’t necessarily call it a “breakup” album, but you definitely have a few of those tracks on there.It’s hard to sum it up, but I think it kind of explores the exploring. No matter who we are, we’re looking for certain things in our lives. We all hit walls where all of a sudden we feel unsatisfied, or we long for something but sometimes we don’t even know what it is we’re longing for. It just kind of talks about that search—that chase—of desire and longing and how we deal with it and how we push it forward. I think, deep down, everybody just wants companionship and love. The album also talks about where we’re at in a timely way. Like, 2015: What’s going on right now? How are we connecting? How are we satisfying that need?
Where does the title, The Original High, come from?That’s one of the songs on the album, and it was the first song that I had created for this project that felt like it was actually really saying something and really talking about some real shit. I love the way it turned out, and it was kind of the seed that started this whole thing.
I read that song as you talking about that original spark—the honeymoon phase—that comes with any sort of venture or relationship.That’s one interpretation, for sure. The reason why I love that song so much is because it can mean so many different things for different people. The whole album is filled with songs like that where, like, if this is your background and this is your life, you may hear “Original High” and be like, “Oh yeah, it’s about this” and the next person is gonna be like, “Oh, shit, it’s about this!” We weren’t literal with anything.
Tove Lo explores similar themes in her work, and you actually worked with her on “Rumours.” What was that like?She’s so cool. She’s the most down-to-earth, chill, fun-loving girl next door. We wrote this song before “Habits” became a big hit, so getting to watch it climb the charts and her become a star is really exciting. That was one of the things that I really respected about her: the way she wrote her lyrics so matter-of-factly. She just says it, and she doesn’t make any apologies. She’s not trying to be P.C. about it. She’s just being honest and forthright. I really clicked with her on that.
Speaking of collaborations, what’s the future look like with you and Queen?We have six more shows that we’re gonna do down in South America, which is exciting because I’ve never been there! I’m really looking forward to that.
Do you have plans to take The Original High on the road?I would love to. Hopefully people like it as much as I hope they will, and that’ll give me the fuel to go and put a tour together.
You’ve spoken fondly of the title track. Do you have a favorite track on the album?That’s definitely one of them—“The Original High” is pretty amazing. The very last track on the standard release is called “Heavy Fire,” and that’s a very experimental, strange little song. I always say that it’s Led Zeppelin meets Massive Attack.
I have to ask about the cancellation of American Idol. Were you surprised?No. [Laughs] But they had an amazing run. I’m very thankful for that show. It obviously put me on the map. I’ve gone back on the show every year since I was on it. It’s always like a little homecoming.
What are your plans for this summer? Looking for any summer love?I’m dating my album. I don’t think I’m gonna be in one place long enough to fall in love, but you never know! Stranger things have happened.
