8.4.14 Adam News and Info

This takes some quotes from the Huffington Post article.

Lambert understands why Mercury never came out



Adam Lambert, who shot to fame as an American Idol runner up, is nearing the end of the US leg of the Once In A Lifetime tour with Queen and has spoken out in defense of the bands original front man Freddie Mercury for never actually coming out publicly.

When Adam Lambert, still bracketed as a reality TV contestant despite the success that was followed, was announced as the front man of Queen’s latest – and last, if their assertions are to be believed – tour, it’s safe to say that his appointment was met with it’s fair share of widespread apprehension – Mercury is, after all, one of pop music’s undoubted icons, alone for his talents, but forever cemented . But Lambert’s charisma, stage presence and insane vocal ability has not just won the public over, it’s left them in utter awe.

As the American leg of their joint tour is coming to an end, now to be followed up by additional international dates due to its unprecedented critical and commercial success – which makes that aforementoned assertion of this being their “last ever” somewhat more difficult to believe – Lambert has sympathised with Mercury, defending the original front man’s decision to keep his sexuality private.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Lambert said “From what I understand, it took Freddie a bit of time to come to terms with his sexuality, and once he did … he was living in a time when, as a celebrity or a rock star, it was something that was kind of off-limits”.

Lambert also spout his own decision to stay in the closet – of sorts – during his stint on American Idol “I was out when I was on the show; I’ve been out since I was 18. If they had been profiling my dating life at the time, it would’ve come up. But we were in a bubble and very protected. We couldn’t do interviews and, at that time, we didn’t have any social media access. So there was really no opportunity for me to do it, unless I finished one of my songs and stepped over the line for the judges’ comments and said, ‘Hey guys, I’m gay’”. True as that might be, Lambert’s unashamed style, flamboyance and even his song choices – he sang Cher’s Believe during the show’s boot camp audition stage… – were never in the closet.

However, Lambert is honest about his reluctance to actually declare anything while the competition was still in play: “I also wanted to win the f**king show. I wanted to do well, [and] at that time, in that arena … it would’ve been really, really tough and it would have gotten in the way. I really wanted my singing to be the thing that people were listening to”.

But much has changed since Lambert’s time on the 2008 edition of American Idol, both on TV and the music indurstry, and Lambert has been part of that shift: “I want to be able to exist in an entertainment community that doesn’t care one way or the other what your sexuality is. We’re seeing the results of all the work that we’ve done, and it’s very exciting.”

Despite the fact that Mercury never announced his sexuality in the way which is now becoming frequent among public individuals, Lambert is nothing but full of praise for the music icon’s pioneering way, who much like him never held back on his true self on stage: “Freddie might not have been out, but he certainly was an original. He was bold, he was risky, he got onstage and did whatever the f**k he wanted, and had a very cool approach to being an individual”. Amen to that.

See below for another look at Lambert on stage with Queen, this time singing – and killing it, we’re sure you’ll agree – We Will Rock You/We Are the Champion. And as an added bonus, just because, a reminder of Lambert’s American Idol audition where he sang – and, yes, killed it – Bohemian Rhapsody. If you were in any doubt that this boy is fit to fill those big old Mercury shoes, then prepare to eat humble pie, ‘cos our boy Adam is more than up to the challenge.

Link: www.winq.com/2014/08/lambert-understands-mercury-never-cam/#.U9-7UvfDoz8.twitter

I loved it as well, but I was familiar with the "Now I'm Here/Now I'm There" opening from watching past Queen concerts.
I can't remember which of their tour/s they opened with it but I do remember reading that a time or two they even had a guy dressed up as "fake Freddie" to serve as one of the quickly flashed silhouettes "here/there" in the days before video screens.
I thought this was a great homage to those old shows.