Few American Idol contestants have ever had a voice — or look — as distinct as Adam Lambert.
In 2009, the Indiana-born, California-raised performer walked into the audition room and
blew the judges away with his powerhouse rendition of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."
Though Lambert ultimately came in second place on Season 8 to Kris Allen, a star was already born.
"I'm going to Hollywood. I'm going back home to Hollywood. I made it."
Lambert revealed his passion for the arts, at a very young age.
His mother, Leila, told People magazine,
"When he was a kid, [he enjoyed] any kind of arts and crafts, anything to do with being creative."
Soon enough, that craft became performing. The aspiring entertainer began taking acting
lessons at the age of eight and soon, he was taking voice lessons as well.
Lambert told Variety that his voice teacher taught him classics by greats like Judy Garland,
Barbra Streisand, and Cher, among others, adding,
"[My teacher] cut my teeth on [...] the quintessential gay icons, I was like,
'Oh, well, I got my education already.'"
Meanwhile, in school, Lambert was admittedly the odd kid out, telling HuffPost Live
that he didn't have many friends growing up. Fortunately, by the time he reached high school,
he was able to find his tribe. But while he hadn't yet donned his signature goth-glam look,
he had already developed those killer pipes. And along with performing at his own graduation,
The Guardian noted that Lambert came out as gay when he was 18 years old,
having been encouraged by his mom. Lambert told People,
"When we had the coming out conversation [my mom] kind of initiated it, which was hilarious.
At that point, it was great because then we could talk about everything. There was never
a point where I was made to feel bad about myself, and I was kind of an out-there kid."
After high school, he packed his bags for Los Angeles, skipping college to pursue showbiz.
As The Guardian noted, his early jobs were less than glamorous — and included a ten-month stint
on a cruise ship. But he was soon landing more serious roles, like a leading part in The Ten
Commandments: The Musical in 2004 and the Wicked national tour. But the singer soon gave into the
siren call of Hollywood, and set his sights on the biggest competition singing show in America.
In 2009, Lambert landed in San Francisco to audition for Season 8 of American Idol.
But while he blazed a path to the finale, during his first audition,
judge Simon Cowell didn't give the contestant an easy time.
"I'm gonna give you my opinion, for what it's worth. I think you are theatrical."
But while he would go on to dominate with that signature vocal style,
Lambert would hit a bump in the road with fans, during the run of the show.
When the singer lost to Kris Allen, some outlets immediately called it
out as a slight against the LGBTQ community. Meanwhile, Lambert expressed to The Guardian,
"As I started progressing in the competition […] I started to realize that my [orientation]
was becoming bigger than what I was doing, which, fundamentally, I felt was f----- up."
"I don't know how to be that role model, even though all of the sudden, people are telling
me I am. That's not why I auditioned for American Idol. I auditioned to like, I want a record deal."
While Lambert did come out publicly after the finale, the struggle continued.
His debut album got slapped with an alternative cover because his label felt the original,
more provocative artwork, would hurt sales. Lambert wrote on Instagram in 2017,
"The powers that be released a second cover for retailers who felt 'uncomfortable' [with]
the original. Seems so funny now […] but just 8 years ago it was a much different climate."
Post Idol, Lambert's racy American Music Awards performance was censored on-air,
and his 2010 single "Whataya Want From Me" felt like a lyrical representation
of the artist's career frustrations. But years later, the pop culture landscape,
and Lambert's look, had definitely evolved. The star gained critical acclaim when he
stepped into Freddy Mercury's shoes to tour with Queen. And as for his own projects,
Lambert says his 2020 album VELVET is the closest yet to matching his own vision for his art.
"I wanted to put something out that would just
sort of wipe the slate clean, new beginning, new era…"
Lambert told Entertainment Weekly of his latest work,
"I'm very much marching to the beat of my own drum,
but my hope is that I've written things in such a way where people
realize that they can all find themselves in these songs no matter who you are."
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