American Idol's glamtastic runner-up Adam Lambert opens up in the next issue of Rolling Stone, speaking frankly about his sexuality, though he doesn't think his revelation is particularly shocking.
"I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I'm gay," Lambert says in the new issue of Rolling Stone, hitting newsstands this week. (Click here to check out exclusive video of his cover shoot).
The flamboyant Idol singer hits our cover and bares all, talking about his childhood ("I started to realize I wasn't like every other boy," he says), the drug-fueled Burning Man epiphany that led him to AI ("I realized that we all have our own power, and that whatever I wanted to do, I had to make happen," he tells RS) and his run on the show ("I was like, 'I'm going to glue rhinestones on my eyelids, bitch!' "). And yes, he talks about his sexuality. "Right after the finale, I almost started talking about it to the reporters, but I thought, 'I'm going to wait for Rolling Stone, that will be cooler,' " he tells us. "I didn't want the Clay Aiken thing and the celebrity-magazine bullshit. I need to be able to explain myself in context.
"I'm proud of my sexuality," Lambert adds. "I embrace it. It's just another part of me." Ultimately, however Lambert tells RS contributor Vanessa Grigoriadis that there are other parts of his life that he's trying to keep front and center. "I'm trying to be a singer, not a civil rights leader," he says.
It was that mission — and his Burning Man "psychedelic experience" — that lead him to Idol after years in musical theater. "I knew that it was my only shot to be taken seriously in the recording industry, because it's fast and broad," he tells RS. (See photos of Lambert's remarkable American Idol run here.)
He details his experience on Idol, his true thoughts on winner Kris Allen and how his sexuality impacted his Idol run in our cover story, "Wild Idol: The Psychedelic Transformation and Sexual Liberation of Adam Lambert," which hits newsstands this week.
In case you missed it above, here's our exclusive video from Adam Lambert's cover shoot:
Adam Lambert Fans React: Little Shock, Lots of Support
6/9/09, 6:19 pm EST
Photo: Pellegrini/Getty
When word broke this morning that Adam Lambert confirms he is gay in the new issue of Rolling Stone, the news spread fast — and the American Idol runner-up's fans were quick to react. Lambert's coming out didn't come as a shock to most, and those who were surprised by his revelation still said they'd stand behind the Idol star and his amazing talent.
According to a PopEater and Rolling Stone poll, 98 percent of respondents answered "No" to the question, "Are you surprised by Lambert's reveal?" Only 18 percent said "Yes" to the query, "Should he have come out live on the show?"
Once Adam made it official in RS, the Glambert Fan Club came out in full force, and one Rolling Stone reader even pledged to buy "five million copies" when the issue hits stands. Despite their Wild Idol's coming out, the majority of his fan base agreed that his talent — and looks — were more more important than his orientation. Greg T, VA Beach wrote, "I am a 44-year-old male, married to my wife for 23 years. I am open minded and the bottom line, gay or not, Adam Lambert is a special talent. He is original and can sing." Sharon also wasn't surprised: "It's really sad that such a big deal was made out of his sexuality in our so-called 'progressive' times. Anyway, now that he did put the issue to rest, hopefully people will stop focusing on his private life and focus on his music instead. Good luck to him."
(Check out photos of Lambert's Idol run here.)
Large numbers of women reacted to Lambert's coming out with one emotion: anguish. Frustrated Cougar posted a very emotional comment on our site: "I'm forty-five years old. I have no ovaries because they removed them when I had breast cancer. As a result I haven't felt a sexual thrill in many years — until Adam Lambert. The boy just does it for me. It's fun to feel alive again. And, Adam, if you ever have a pair of granny panties thrown on stage at one of your concerts — it'll be me." Some girls were even willing to put Lambert on the Hot Pedestal alongside Twilight star Rob Pattinson, like the appropriately named commenter Adam is HOT, who wrote, "I repeat: Adam is hot. Him being gay only makes him hotter."
One of the first people to make a public statement regarding the Lambert news was Neil. G. Giuliano, President of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), who said, "As more and more Americans get to know gay and lesbian people, it has a tremendous impact in terms of creating awareness, understanding and acceptance of our community. American Idol has become iconic in our culture, and as Adam continues to share his story during his post-Idol career, we hope his decision to live openly and honestly inspires gay people and opens the hearts and minds of his fans and others he will continue to entertain."
For much more on the Adam Lambert story, from behind-the-scene video to his bromance with Kris Allen to our entire Season Eight AI coverage, check out our Adam Lambert hub.
It was the conversation he could only have with us.
"Right after the finale, I almost started talking about it to the reporters, but I thought, 'I'm going to wait for Rolling Stone, that will be cooler,' " Lambert said. His patience paid off with a cover story in our latest issue (check out exclusive video of his cover shoot), and here, in his own words, more from Vanessa Grigoriadis' conversation with Lambert — his true thoughts on his Idol experience, his future in music and why he refuses to hide his sexuality.
On why he auditioned for American Idol:
I looked at the music business, and realized it is nearly impossible to make it with the way it is right now. No one is going to take a chance with an artist who is somewhat out there. The only way you have a chance being looked at by a label right now is if you are what everyone else is. So I realized that I wouldn't be taken seriously as a recording artist unless I had a huge platform. I saw that and I knew that Idol was the only thing that would do it — if it worked.
On Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta:
[Kris Allen] has a good heart and a good spirit. He's so mellow, he's so kick-back. He and I have a lot of love with Allison Iraheta: It felt like this kind of sibling thing. Just good energy, the three of us together. Kris and I both got very protective of her. We encouraged her to pick up the guitar and take risks musically. It always felt very positive ... good karma, you know? Kris doesn't need any advice, clearly. Even though he's really kick-back, he's got a very strong sense of self in a non-aggressive, non-intense way. It's cool.
On his early attempts at songwriting:
My songs were like campy, sexy electro, like Peaches and Goldfrapp. I can look back now and realize I wasn't very good at it. I was trying to put in way too many words. I was trying to be way too melodramatic and serious, you know? It's like what a junior high student does with poetry. But over the course of a couple years, I started really trying to listen to what worked out there in music, like hooks — and realized that less is more. The simple idea is better in a song.
On life after Idol:
I'm hopeful. I have a great opportunity right now. There are a lot of people who want to work with me that I really respect. And hopefully it works. I'm not cocky because I've seen a lot of guys come off this show and bomb, so I recognize that I could crash and burn. But if I play it safe, it's not going to work, so I might as well go for it with the same intention that I had on the show.
On where he wants to go musically:
I want to do something that has theatricality, a nod to the glam rockers that I love, but is also contemporary. It's not all going to be happy-go-lucky because I think it's important to explore other emotional parts of yourself as an artist, but there's a time and place for it. I would love to work with Madonna. I'm a big fan. I just want to play dress up and be fabulous. When you're a kid, you do the make-believe thing — you play dress-up and pretend. That's the child mentality, and I feel like if you're an adult and you can adopt the child mentality to something cool, that's what being a "rock star" is. It's just playing. It's Halloween. It's make-believe. It's fun. And who doesn't want to do that? That's the kind of music that I want to make — music that encourages people to play make-believe, escape and have fun.
On experiencing discrimination:
A few years ago, I did a musical with Val Kilmer, The Ten Commandments at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. I was finally personally awakened, wearing nail-polish, feeling attractive and comfortable in my own skin for the first time. We'd go out sometimes with Val, and it was the first time I'd ever been around a celebrity — it felt really fabulous. One night, we hung out at his house and Sean Lennon came over to jam with us. I was like, John Lennon's son? This is the coolest thing I've done in my life. But I had a lot of problems with the people putting on the show. One day, the director pulled me aside and said, "Can you turn it down? The producers are a little uncomfortable. It's a little too ... gay." I was like, "Um, are we doing a musical here? I'm sorry, there are fags all over the place, dude." It was very upsetting.
On making his sexuality public:
There are so many old-fashioned ways of looking at things, and if we want to be a progressive society, we have to start thinking in a different way. There's the old industry idea that you should just make sexuality a non-issue, just say your private life's your private life, and not talk about it. But that's bullshit, because private lives don't exist anymore for celebrities: they just don't. I don't want to be looking over my shoulder all the time, thinking I have to hide, being scared of being found out, putting on a front, having a beard, going down the red carpet with some chick who is posing as my girlfriend. That's not cool, that's not being a rock star. I can't do that.
"Wild Idol: The Psychedelic Transformation and Sexual Liberation of Adam Lambert" is on newsstands now.
More Adam Lambert:
- Adam Lambert's Early Years: Family Photos
- Adam Lambert's Idol Run: Photos
- Video: Lambert's Cover Shoot
- Adam Lambert and the Story That Started It All
More:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/28577050/adam_lambert_in_his_own_words_sexuality_kris_allen_and_life_after_idol/3
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Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
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Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
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