2012-05 Promo Interviews and Performances

AOL Sessions: Adam Lambert Article, Photos, Downloads, & Songs On YouTubes

SETLIST AOL Sessions
1. Never Close Our Eyes
2. Trespassing
3. Cuckoo
4. Naked Love
5. Broken English
6. Interview

Adam Lambert Sessions: Glambert's 'Dark Side,' Plans for Fatherhood & 'Trespassing'
Posted on May 22nd 2012 12:35PM by Theo Bark
blog.music.aol.com/2012/05/22/adam-lambert-sessions/

On May 15, Adam Lambert returned with Trespassing, the long-awaited followup to his 2010 debut. The album presents the "American Idol" alum as a man at odds, its first half a parade of electro-inspired party anthems, followed by a glimpse at Glambert's "dark side," a series of emotionally charged ballads, marking a collective departure from the decadent glam-rock that won fans over on "Idol."

Lambert recently visited AOL Music's Los Angeles studio, where he performed a selection of songs from the new album, showcasing his tremendous range, whilst trading jokes with his band. After his impassioned performance, we talked with Adam about his incredible journey from "Idol" contestant to pop icon, touching on everything from his relationship with boyfriend Sauli Koskinen and their plans for fatherhood, to the inspiration he's received from his loyal fan base. Lambert also opened up about the "dark side" of Trespassing ... the side he's previously kept hidden from his fans.

Tell us a bit about the album title and how you came up with it. Do you feel like a trespasser?

Yeah, the album title is Trespassing, it's the title track because, to me, the song "Trespassing," is like a mission statement. I wrote the song with Pharrell Williams, who is an amazing, great pop producer, and I felt like the lyrics of the song summed up what I'm about as an artist and as a person. I do feel like a trespasser, but not in a literal sense, because I don't think I've broken into any property recently. On a more figurative level, I feel like I'm very different than the normal dude. I'm pretty eccentric, and as far as the music industry is concerned, I feel like a bit of an outsider. There are times when I feel like I'm breaking new ground by breaking in. Hopefully this album let's people kind of see that rebel.

What was it like working with Pharrell? It's an interesting combination.

I was working with my label on this album, and when we started it was kind of going down a similar path to what I had already done, and I just wasn't feeling totally inspired by it. And I said, when I listen to these certain funk songs in my music library, it puts me in a good mood. It makes me want to dance, it makes me smile. I realized that I really wanted to make feel-good music and we started talking about some producers and knocking around some names, and Pharrell came up, and I thought, "Wow, if he'll work with me, I'd be totally thrilled." They confirmed it, I got to the studio and I thought "I'm not cool enough to be here, this guy is the coolest mothaf--ka out there." He's shaped pop and hip hop over the last decade and I was a little intimidated. What was cool was, after arriving at the studio and sitting down and talking with him, we connected on an intellectual level. He's so smart, and he's so big picture. We talked about the music industry and life and identity, and one of the main things we talked about, which kind of kicked off the song "Trespassing," was different types of discrimination, and fitting into the world and finding your own path. I think that's what "Trespassing" is really about. It's about saying "I know I may not be welcome here, I know I'm different and I know you're saying 'keep out,' but I'm not going to let that stop me. I'm going to do what my heart is telling me to do and do it proudly."

Obviously a lot of great things have happened to you over the last year, you have a loving relationship and an album coming, but you've mentioned that you have a dark side, or dark half to the album. Where does that come from?

I think everybody has ups and downs. Everybody has their good days and bad days and we all have that little voice in our head -- or maybe I'm just talking about myself! Maybe I have voices in my head and everybody else doesn't, but you have qualities and tendencies that probably are a little bit masochistic. We all do things or say things to ourselves that aren't healthy. Maybe we're hard on our body image or maybe we're self-sabotagers or maybe we're doing something wrong, and then we have our good days, or up side. So I think the album shows both sides of that. I am in a happy place right now, I'm excited to be working and making music, I'm excited to be in a relationship, but I think in the past, I dug into moments that were lonely and I didn't have a great track record when it came to dating [laughs]. I wasn't very successful. I kept going after the wrong kind of people and so I wrote about that on the album.

Interesting. So how has being in a serious relationship changed your music?

I think there's a certain amount of balance that comes with a stable relationship, and it feels good. When you haven't really had a lot of experience in serious, long-term relationships, you don't realize it's missing. I had a great time being single, and I found a lot of strength and courage in that, and individuality, doing my own thing and being my own person. That was really important for me to go through, but I'm in a place now where I can offer something to somebody, because of that time. So I feel like now there's this balance; I have me and all the things that I've worked out with myself and my identity, and now I can be a part of a couple, and it's a beautiful thing. I think deep down everybody kind of wants that. Maybe not all the time, maybe not for your whole life, but we all want companionship.

Do you think you'd ever like to adopt or have kids?

I don't know. I certainly feel like I should have the right to if I want to. I think kids are amazing. I wasn't around a lot of children when I was growing up -- besides my brother and I -- and I wasn't around a lot of infants until recently. I have a godson. Two good friends of mine have a baby, and he's amazing, and watching him from infancy to now -- he's still a toddler -- it's just like, it's amazing. It's amazing. Amazing to watch a child grow and to see things through their eyes, I mean it's so easy for them and it's so simple for them, and it's inspiring. It kind of makes you remember, you know what, it's really not that deep. Life can be this kind of beautiful, surreal, novel experience if you want it to be. And it's a beautiful thing to watch a child go through that.

That's awesome. So we're doing an essay contest where we're asking fans about your music and how it impacted their lives. Is there a particular artist who inspired you?

I grew up with Michael Jackson and Madonna. Those were like my king and queen when I was a kid. Those were the pop royalty, and then later I discovered Prince and I discovered Freddie Mercury, I mean those four kind of take it for me. Prince, Freddie Mercury, Michael Jackson and Madonna. It's a good round, royal court of pop music.

So then to perform with Queen, what is that like, and to what do you attribute your chemistry?

I'm really excited. I met the members of Queen at the "Idol" finale a few years back and. I've always loved Queen and when I found out about Freddie Mercury and first heard their albums in my dad's record collection, I was like "What is this?" Because I had been into musical theater and there's such a cross over, its rock, but it's so theatrical. A light bulb went off for me and I went, "Oh, so that's what rock n' roll can be." So I meet the members of Queen a couple years ago on the "Idol" finale, and then last summer they asked me to sing at the European Music Awards, and it was a beautiful experience. It felt very natural and I was just so honored that they asked me, and they thought that I could handle the duties. It's been interesting because there's some purists out there that are like, "there's only one Freddie Mercury," and I know that [laughs]. I agree. I'm just excited to pay respect to his memory and his songwriting, and hopefully we can bring this music alive again for fans of the songs.

Your Twitter fans are by far the most loyal we've come across. Every time we mention your name they retweet way more than anyone else we mention. To what do you attribute that? Do you know?

No, I don't. I have amazing fans and they are really passionate and they're very involved and I'm lucky. That's what you want when you're making art and you're a musician, you want to have people that are very into it. Making this album was definitely inspired by a lot of the desires from the fan base, you know. I saw music that they were responding to when I was on tour, which songs got them dancing, which songs touched them, and when I was putting this album together I kind of wanted to go further down that road. Having gotten to know them over the past couple of years informed the new material.

A Twitter fan would like to know how you feel about the nickname "Glambert." If you could come up with another nickname yourself, what would it be?

I like the name Glambert, I mean it fits, I suppose. Sounds like my name [laughs]. I'm into glam rock. I don't know, I don't think I would pick another nickname. I will always go by Adam, I never had a nickname growing up, so there you go.

Another fan would like to know about your ideal date night. Going out or staying in?

You know, I do love going to a nice restaurant. I love good food and the environment of a nice, romantic restaurant, but I also really have become quite a homebody. So, I think my ideal night would be going to a nice restaurant, a little wine, a little dessert, and then coming home.

Finally, a fan wants to know a bit about the song "Underneath," off the new album.

Oh, "Underneath" is probably one of the more vulnerable songs on the album. Trespassing kind of has two halves; one half is very upbeat, fun, funky with lots of attitude and swagger and fierceness, and then the other half of the album does dive into what lies under the surface. "Underneath" is the song that is the pinnacle of that. It talks about how sometimes, even if I'm putting on a game face, or seemingly happy and confident, what's going on underneath might not be so much the same. I mean we all have demons that we battle, we all have stuff and baggage, and the song kind of addresses it directly.

April 25: AOL Sessions Taping Adam Photo [ATop Info]

Terra's Wiki Page
2012-04-25 AOL Music Sessions (Released May 22, 2012)
Scroll Down For Downloads MP4s & M4As:
www.adamwiki.org/wiki/2012-04-25_AOL_Music_Sessions

Terra & Dawnmist MP3s
www.mediafire.com/?reizjp30qehjc

Arjan Writes: A Pop Star Of The Brightest Kind

Arjan Writes
A Few Words About Adam Lambert's "Trespassing"
www.arjanwrites.com/arjanwrites/2012/05/adam-lambert-trespassing.html

Much has been written about Adam Lambert and much has been said about his chart-topping new LP "Trespassing." But when all is said and done, the only words that truly matter are the stories Lambert so candidly shares on the album. Each and every song on "Trespassing" perfectly conveys his state of mind and distinct point of view that is woven throughout the effort.

"Trespassing" shows off two different sides of the singer. One part of the record features Lambert's exuberant and glamorous stage persona with tracks that are peppy, fun and clearly (and successfully) produced for mass consumption. The other part of the album emerges when Lambert steps off the stage, lifts up the brightly-lit, yellow trespassing signs to expose a much more vulnerable side of himself.

Tracks like "Cuckoo" and "Naked Love" capture the fun and flirty Lambert, while tracks such as "Underneath," Outlaws Of Love" and "Chokehold" show what really moves him as artist, performer, and most importantly, a human being. In fact, "Underneath" in particular addresses that very sentiment and intent when he sings, "Welcome to my world of truth. I don't wanna hide any part of me from you. I'm standing here with no apologies."

When the party is over and the roar of the crowd fades, Lambert has the ability to take a step back, reflect on matters and tap into a raw vulnerability that is rarely exposed in pop music today. His honest and intensely personal storytelling adds a powerful dimension to his music that connects with people in a much deeper and lasting way.

One of the album's biggest contributions is that it's not just an accomplished collection of songs, but that it showcases the power and versatility of pop music. Yes, pop music can be fun, and yes, it can be highly stylized, but behind its glossy facade, pop music can also capture powerful emotions that people far and wide can relate to with great ease and apply to their own world of experience. And even if you don't speak English, Lambert's vocal tone and inflection will tell you all you need to know.

Lambert perfectly understands the power of pop and uses the ever-evolving genre to his full advantage. While pushing the envelop creatively, artistically and personally, the singer gives people music to make their own and cherish forever, which makes him a pop star of the brightest kind.

May 22: Springleball Videoss & Downloads [ATop Info]
May 22: Springleball Photos [ATop Info]
May 22: Springleball Reviews & Recaps [ATop Info]
May 22: New Never Close Our Eyes Music Video Teaser [ATop Info]
May 22: Rolling Stone: Adam Lambert Knows Who Should Win 'American Idol' Video [ATop Info]
May 22: Just Jared: KTUphoria Photos & 2nd Teaser NCOE Music Video [ATop Info]
May 22: On Top Magazine: Adam Lambert Says 'Outlaws Of Love' Deals With Anti-Gay Bias [ATop Info]
May 22: Slash: Adam & American Idol | Howard Stern Interview | Soundcloud [ATop Info]
May 22: 92.9 Dave FM: Roger Taylor Talks Queen Extravaganza, Adam Lambert [ATop Info]
May 23: RCA Press Release: ADAM LAMBERT’S ‘TRESPASSING’ DEBUTS AT #1 ON THE BILLBOARD TOP 200 [ATop Info]
May 23: Billboard: Adam Lambert Snags First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart [ATop Info]
May 23: American Idol: Ryan Congratulates Adam [ATop Info]
May 23: Reuters WFMY News 2: Adam Lambert Tops The Billboard Chart Video [ATop Info]
May 23: Tweets Congratulating Adam Lambert For His #1 Album [ATop Info]





May: Announced May Events [ATop Info*]
*
May 22nd Q102 Springle Ball 2012 Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia PA
May 25th 98.5 KRZ F.M. Kirby Center Wilkes-Barre PA
May 26th 96.5 TIC All-Star Spring Fling 6 Flags New England Agawam MA
May 27th 94.7 FRESHTIVAL Gaylord Hotel Washington DC

SAVE
May 22: ADAM LAMBERT'S TRESPASSING DEBUTS AT # 1[/b][/color] [ATop Info]
Trespassing Box Sex & Deluxe Album (15 Tracts) Stream
www.myplaydirect.com/adam-lambert/trespassing-box-set/details/26791996


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