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Adam Lambert on Facing Homophobia, Mental Health Struggles Since 'American Idol' : 'I've Proven a Lot to Myself'

In this week's issue of PEOPLE, the rocker gets candid about the ups and downs he's faced in the 14 years since his American Idol run



Adam Lambert has always had a flair for spectacle.

While posing for the cover art of his upcoming new album High Drama dropping this Friday, the rocker, who developed the visual concept — his face surrounded by cascading shards of glass — got cut across his nose during the first take.

"It wasn't deep, but it was definitely a bit of blood," he tells PEOPLE in this week's issue, on newsstands Friday. "I thought, 'Well, this is high drama.'"

Who would expect anything less from the man whose titanic voice made him famous 14 years ago as a contestant on American Idol? The resulting album cover (completed with a little help from Photoshop) is a striking representation of all the barriers Lambert, 41, has had to break through as a gay man in the industry.

After being outed during his Idol season, in which he placed second, he faced homophobic comments from viewers across the country. Still, Lambert kept moving forward, and three years after Idol, his second album, 2012's Trespassing, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. (Hewas the first openly gay artistto do so.)

In 2011, he scaled even bigger heights when he became lead vocalist for the legendary British rock band Queen, joining them for world tours and performances at major events, including the late Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

"I'm proud to say that I was part of a wave of people who were pushing the conversation," he says. "I've proven a lot to myself."

Beyond the outer forces that have tried to bring him down, some of his toughest battles have been with himself. After struggling with his self-image and mental health for years, he finally fully appreciates the person he sees in the mirror.

"Self-love is an ever-evolving journey," Lambert says. "But I feel more sure of myself than I've ever been."

Says his close friend, TV host Karamo Brown: "Adam is a trailblazer and visionary. I'm honored to be his friend."

In a sense, he's recaptured a feeling he had when he was younger. He grew up in San Diego with "very cool parents"— mom Leila, a dental hygienist, and dad Eber, a program manager for a broadband wireless company — and always felt free to be himself.

"I looked to people who were really bold," says Lambert, whose inspirations growing up included Boy George, Melissa Etheridge, George Michael and Elton John.

By the time he auditioned for Idol in 2008 with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," he had been out as a gay man to his friends and family for eight years.

"I was very comfortable and secure with who I was," he recalls.




While Lambert never openly stated that he was gay as he breezed through the competition each week, he wasn't hiding his sexuality.

"It was never a secret," he says. "During the live broadcast, there was no one asking me what my sexual preference was, and we weren't allowed to do interviews during the show back then because they wanted to keep everyone on a level playing field."

Two months before the May finale, photos of Lambert kissing a man leaked online, spurring negative comments. Though bruised by the negativity, Lambert says, "It made me stronger and informed the kind of art that I wanted to make."

His empowerment anthem "Whataya Want from Me" hit the Top 10, and hours before the November 2009 release of his debut album, For Your Entertainment, he stirred the pot by kissing his male bassist onstage during the American Music Awards. ABC received 1,500 telephoned complaints, and the network canceled his scheduled appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.

"I remember doing an interview shortly after the show and them blurring my mouth as they replayed the clip," he recalls. "But they showed Madonna and Britney Spears kissing [on the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards] without any censor. It was such a double standard."


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