Having recently been announced as a judge on ITV’s brand-new talent show Starstruck, and continuing his work with his non-profit organisation the Feel Something Foundation in support of LGBTQ+ human rights, international superstar Adam Lambert has been unveiled as the next cover star for Gay Times’ AMPLIFY!
Last year saw Adam achieve a UK number 1 with Queen on their live album Live Around The World, as well as release his fourth solo studio album Velvet. Launching Pride Month, he speaks with Gay Times about his upcoming projects, his love for Lil Nas X, allyship, and starting out as an openly gay man over 10 years ago.
ON HIS NEXT PROJECT…
“I’m working on a musical. It had been in the works a little before the pandemic, but what I found with being at home was that I was able to really focus on it. I did a lot of writing sessions via Zoom with some amazing writers and producers. Being on Zoom isn’t quite as magical as being in the room with people, but we wrote some great songs. So the musical is well underway and I’m very excited about it. It’s something I’m not really ready to reveal exactly what it’s about yet, but at some point, sooner than later I’ll be able to talk about it.”
ON STARTING OUT IN THE INDUSTRY AS AN OPENLY GAY MAN…
“I wanted to connect with other queer people in the music industry because I know that when I started 10 years ago, it was sort of like the Wild West for me. There weren’t a lot of us on the mainstream level. It was an obstacle course. I didn’t have that many examples of how to go about things, and it was quite an adventure. Ten years later I can see there’s been so much progress, and there’s so many more queer artists out there right now. We’re now allowed in that space.”
ON ALLIES PERFORMING AT PRIDE…
“I’d like to see the majority of the line-up be queer. We all love our allies and that’s very important as well. I also think we’re at a tipping point now where you can ask yourself, ‘Are the allies taking part to be virtue signalling, or are they actually allies?’ I think it’s important to ask that. ‘Is this for publicity, or is this what they are really about?’ We have a lot of great allies in the space, so if they are truly an ally, c’mon and join us!”
ON THE NEW GENERATION OF LGBTQ+ TALENT…
“There’s so much talent! And it’s a really diverse array of talent too – across genres, philosophies, it’s a really exciting time. But I also think it’s across the board in the entertainment industry. We’re seeing a lot more queer actors come through. It’s a time where we don’t have to ask permission anymore. It’s a time where queer creatives deserve some spotlight. I also feel that more and more we’re able to stand on our own two feet, and I think that’s really important to note. We don’t need the straight saviours to come in and save us! We’re good and we’re doing really well.”
ON HIS LOVE FOR LIL NAS X…
“I am so excited about what Lil Nas X did. I just think it’s high time we had somebody out there being exactly who they are. The thing I love about what he’s doing is not just to say the statistic of a queer person having this many streams and all that, but I also love the tone of what he’s doing. It’s finally challenging the double standards. We have straight artists creating this type of entertainment and we’ve grown accustomed to it over the past 25 years, but when it came to gay artists we had to tone it down, or make sure that it wasn’t too sexualised, or aggressive, and it had to be safe and easy to digest. What Lil Nas X is doing is being a rockstar about it. He’s being subversive and it’s great.
“He’s completely saying, ‘Take it or leave it.’ To me, what it was for the longest time was ‘I can identify as gay, but I can’t show it.’ Not on a mainstream level. What Lil Nas X is doing is, ‘I’m identifying, I’m showing it, I’m talking about it as honestly as I would with my friends at a club.’ I think it’s so good and so real.”
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING A TRANS ALLY…
“When I hear stories of gay men in particular being really anti-trans, I’m like, ‘What the fuck is wrong with you?’ Yes we’re not all the same thing, but this is a community. The idea of community is more important than ever. Unfortunately we’re at the point that because we are more mainstream through social media, the concept of community is being challenged. I feel like the only way this is going to push forward is if everyone does band together. We have to use our empathy and be there for the trans community. You’re also seeing the movement in America around Black Lives Matter and it has some intersectionality with what we’re dealing with in the trans community. This is a group within our own community that are under attack and that need to be at the front of the line and need our support. That’s where our focus needs to be right now.”music-news.com
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