2012-05 Promo Interviews and Performances

On Top Magazine
Adam Lambert Says 'Outlaws Of Love' Deals With Anti-Gay Bias
By On Top Magazine Staff | Published: May 22, 2012
www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=11890&MediaType=1&Category=22#

Singer Adam Lambert has said the track Outlaws of Love on his sophomore album Trespassing is about the discrimination faced by gay people.

The 30-year-old Lambert discussed the album with NPR's Guy Raz.

“The last track on the record is called Outlaws of Love. And in it, you sing: 'Nowhere to grow old. We're always on the run. You say we'll rot in Hell. Well, I don't think we will. They've branded us enough. Outlaws of love.' You, of course, are gay. You're openly gay. I can't help but hear those lyrics and wonder whether you're addressing that issue or a memory of that,” Raz said during the interview.

“Yeah,” Lambert responded. “And when I wrote that song … there had been a lot going on with, you know, the gay marriage, kind of going back and forth in California,” he said, referring to the legal challenge to Proposition 8, the state's gay marriage ban. “And it just made me sad. And so I wanted to write something about that sadness, about that feeling where sometimes it's like a hopelessness that kind of comes over you when you look at the situation. How you're probably not going to change these people's minds because they're set.”

92.9 Dave FM Atlanta's Finest Rock
Roger Taylor Talks Queen Extravaganza, Adam Lambert
Liz Bradley | 92.9 dave fm | May 22 2012
929dave.radio.com/2012/05/22/roger-taylor-talks-queen-extravaganza-adam-lambert/

This summer, Brian May and Roger Taylor are reactivating Queen for a handful of dates that will feature former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert on vocals. But they’re also plotting a way to keep Queen’s music on concert stages for years to come.

New Queen Frontman [Photos]

The Queen Extravaganza is a tribute group featuring four singers and five musicians (two guitars, bass, drums and keyboards) reproducing the music of Queen. While many legendary classic rock artists have inspired tribute bands, Queen is the first who have actively recruited and produced its own. May and Taylor both are involved in the tribute, but Taylor has a more active role as the show’s producer. (Queen bassist John Deacon isn’t involved in the band’s concerts, albums or in this project).

“I got fed up with seeing Queen tribute bands. Some were good, some were bad, some were cheesy, some were not-cheesy,” Taylor says. “But I thought, ‘If people are playing our music I want it done brilliantly.’” So he cast the group through online tryouts on YouTube. He decided the group should replicate the music rather than the members of the band: the nine-person lineup is able to more closely reproduce the music on Queen’s albums than the band was actually able to in concert. And besides, Taylor notes, “I didn’t want it to be pantomime. I didn’t want a ‘Mini-Me’ or a ‘Mini-Freddie.’”

Of course, a singer replicating the vocals of the late Freddie Mercury would be a tall order, hence the decision to go with four singers. One of those singers, Marc Martel, told CBS Local, “I was so glad when I found out that they didn’t want someone to emulate Freddie Mercury,” noting that Queen’s singer was an important influence on his singing. “I never took vocal lessons, I just emulated other singers.” Those singers included Eddie Vedder, George Michael and Bono, until a bandmate gave him some prophetic advice: “He said, ‘You’ve been using other singers as a way to learn to sing. You should check out Freddie Mercury.’” He credits the Queen singer with helping him to find his own voice.

Speaking of replacing Mercury, Taylor says that he and May are looking forward to their upcoming gigs with Adam Lambert. Queen and Lambert have performed together on American Idol and the MTV Europe Music Awards, but now they have five full length concerts coming up. “The gigs with Adam are something of an experiment. We’ve done some things with Adam, he’s an extraordinary singer with great range and theatricality.”

Classic rock fans may wonder what became of the arrangement the band had with former Bad Company/Free frontman Paul Rodgers, who sang on the band’s 2008 album The Cosmos Rocks and a number of tours. Taylor says that their union wasn’t intended to last indefinitely: “Well, nothing was really planned. One TV appearance gave way to, ‘Let’s do some gigs,’ which led to a few tours, then an album and another tour. Paul’s voice wasn’t necessarily suited to all the material, but it was a nice collaboration, and we had fun playing some of his songs.”

The Queen Extravaganza, however, can last for years… long after Taylor and May have retired from performing. And that’s the idea: Taylor says, “I hope this project goes on for a long time.” The Queen Extravaganza North American tour kicks off May 26 at the Grand Theatre du Quebec in Canada. Meanwhile, Queen and Adam Lambert kick off their string of five concerts at the Moscow Sports Arena on July 3.

–Brian Ives, CBS Local

Adam Lambert Snags First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart
by Keith Caulfield, L.A. | May 23, 2012 11:00 EDT
www.billboard.com/news/adam-lambert-snags-first-no-1-album-on-billboard-1007130952.story#/news/adam-lambert-snags-first-no-1-album-on-billboard-1007130952.story

For the first time, one "American Idol" replaces another at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart as Adam Lambert's "Trespassing" debuts atop the list with 77,000 sold according to Nielsen SoundScan. His arrival bumps last week's leader, Carrie Underwood's "Blown Away," down to No. 3 (54,000; down 55%).

It's Lambert's first No. 1 album and is his second major label studio set. It follows 2009's "For Your Entertainment," which debuted and peaked at No. 3 with 198,000 sold in its first week. It was blocked from No. 1 by Susan Boyle's "I Dreamed a Dream" (a debut at No. 1 with 701,000) and Andrea Bocelli's "My Christmas" at No. 2 (218,000).

Adam Lambert Live Q&A | 'Trespassing' Track-By-Track Review

"Trespassing's" 77,000 start is the smallest sum at No. 1 on the chart since the tally dated Aug. 20, 2011, when Adele's "21" sold 76,000 in its 12th nonconsecutive week atop the list. "Trespassing" has the smallest sales week for a No. 1 debut since Amos Lee's "Mission Bell" started in the penthouse with 40,000 on the Feb. 12, 2011 chart.

Lambert is the seventh "American Idol" finalist to reach No. 1, following Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Underwood, Chris Daughtry (of Daughtry) and Scotty McCreery.

Further, as an "Idol" finalist rules the chart for the third straight week, it's the longest that "Idol" has monopolized the No. 1 slot. We've had two-week runs atop the list, but always from a singular album -- like Underwood the past two weeks with "Blown Away."

Right behind Lambert on the Billboard 200 this week is Adele's "21," which holds at No. 2 with 63,000 (down 38%).