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Post by tinafea on Feb 21, 2023 23:21:01 GMT -5
Adam's excerpt:
HEAR IT: Queen’s Adam Lambert is a Drama king
Adam Lambert came to fame doing rocked-up remakes on American Idol, soon earning the nickname “Glambert,” and eventually became Queen’s new frontman. So, it’s a full-circle moment as he releases the aptly titled High Drama, a glammy covers collection with ties to his Idol and Queen eras, to his theater roots, and to one groundbreaking queer artist, Jobriath, that paved the way for proudly out artists like Lambert. There are also songs originally recorded by modern female pop stars (Sia’s “Chandelier,” Billie Eilish’s “Getting Older,” Lana Del Rey’s “West Coast,” Pink’s “My Attic”); hits by '80s New Romantic icons Duran Duran and Culture Club; soul scorchers like Ann Peebles’s “I Can't Stand the Rain”; and a glitter-rockin’ rendition of Bonnie Tyler’s Jim Steinman-penned Footloose power ballad “Holding Out for Hero.” In a recent Yahoo Entertainment interview, Lambert explained, “I think with this album, even though they're covers, we've managed to make them sound and feel original enough, so they're like my kind of records. … I think that's one of the things over the past couple years that I've gotten really clear on: I think I know what my brand is now, more than ever.” — Lyndsey Parker
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Post by DancyGeorgia on Feb 22, 2023 1:24:21 GMT -5
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Post by pi on Feb 22, 2023 3:17:09 GMT -5
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Post by pi on Feb 22, 2023 3:19:36 GMT -5
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Post by pi on Feb 22, 2023 3:25:46 GMT -5
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Post by pi on Feb 22, 2023 4:28:12 GMT -5
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Post by pi on Feb 22, 2023 4:28:49 GMT -5
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Post by pi on Feb 22, 2023 4:46:04 GMT -5
inews Adam Lambert: ‘Accusing Harry Styles of queerbaiting is underestimating gay people’s intelligence’
The touring Queen frontman and American Idol runner-up talks superstition, coming out and the 2009 furore when he kissed his male bandmate“Oh, I love a cheeky question,” says Adam Lambert, American Idol grandee and, for the past decade, Queen’s ready-made Freddie Mercury replacement.
We’ve been talking about allyship in the queer community, and I’ve just asked him where he stands on Harry Styles and the accusation of so-called “queerbaiting” – that he is adopting markers of queerness in a cynical attempt to attract a queer fanbase. “I can kind of see both sides of it,” he says. “Like, I get the concern. But OK, so if you’re a gay man and you like Harry Styles, do you like him because he has a rainbow flag on stage or because you like his songs? Is the rainbow flag not just icing on the cake? It’s almost underestimating the intelligence of gay people to claim queerbaiting. We’re not that gullible, are we? I think people just like to find things to bitch about.”
Not for the first time, he lets out a hearty, slightly manic chuckle. Lambert is sitting in a round booth at his record label office in west London, primarily to talk about his new album of covers, High Drama. But he’s so chatty – with the sort of personality that makes him such a watchable judge on ITV’s Starstruck – he ends up wandering off on all sorts of tangents.
“I’m Mr. Birdwalk,” he says, laughing. “The bird that walks. I’m pretty open and I like talking about shit.” He’s dressed for the stage: it’s a freezing cold December day outside, yet here he is in long checked shorts and knee-high beige boots with oversized matching jacket, adorned with a Gucci beetle broach. “I just love clothes. I have a problem!”
Lambert came to prominence on 2009’s eighth season of American Idol, where his scene-stealing flamboyant charisma and spectacular voice – powerful and searing – clearly destined him for bigger things. Somewhat prophetically, he auditioned by singing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. “I’m not a superstitious person, but it makes you kind of wonder about the way the universe works,” he says now. He’s since joined Queen as vocalist (“It’s a f***ing dream”) on huge world tours – their 2022 UK tour included 10 nights at the O2 Arena – and has made the position his own after admitting to getting a mixed reaction to his first gig. “I’ve grown a lot within the role and put my stamp on it. It was definitely intimidating when it started.” Well, people are very protective of Freddie. “I’m protective of Freddie. Freddie is great.”
He has also had a successful solo career, particularly in America, releasing four albums variously incorporating pop, rock, electro and disco. His second, 2012’s Trespassing, gave him the barely believable honour of being the first openly gay male singer to reach the top of the US Billboard charts; his last, Velvet, was released just as the pandemic took hold in March 2020. “Did [the pandemic] kill it?” he asks rhetorically. “It shot it in the face!”
Lambert’s always been a great interpreter of others’ work. His ballad makeover of Cher’s “Believe” was so touching, it brought Cher herself to tears. But for High Drama, he’s gone full maximalist. “It’s real on the nose,” he says of the album’s title. “I’m not known for being subtle. If you described me as an artist, you wouldn’t be like, ‘He’s nuanced.”
He thought his success on American Idol gave him licence to test boundaries, but he realises now he hadn’t paid his dues. His label was unimpressed. “I was put in the corner. I didn’t get, like, dropped or anything, but they weren’t gonna listen to my ideas at that point. My credibility was shot. I was a liability. Which was fun!”
Even today, he bristles at what he calls “a full double standard”, citing the rather less outraged reaction to the infamous Madonna/Britney/Christina kiss at the 2003 MTV VMAs. “That was not considered shocking or lewd. The fact that it was two men was the issue. That was interesting to realise.”
He says he’s “thankful the industry is not as nervous about queer artists” today, giving the example of Lil Nas X, a young black rapper whose boundary pushing has gone mainstream. “But it cracks me up that it took over 10 years for someone to go for that sort of approach.” Does he think he blazed a trail for queer artists? “I would never take credit for anything, but I was part of a wave. I think I was one of a few people from that time period”.
More.. inews.co.uk/culture/music/adam-lambert-harry-styles-queerbaiting-underestimating-gay-people-2163570
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Post by pi on Feb 22, 2023 4:51:14 GMT -5
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Post by pi on Feb 22, 2023 5:05:56 GMT -5
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