Adam Lambert Played The Industry Game — Now He's Rewriting The Rules With New EP: 'It's My Turn'

For most of his career, Adam Lambert he played characters. Whether in his musical theater roots, his touring role as Queen's frontman, or even beyond American Idolthe 42-year-old singer says much of his career has been about performance.

But he's ready to change that. “I've watched other artists express this very real, authentic part of themselves over the last few years,” he says. Advertising sign. “Now it's my turn.”

Lambert's new solo EP After (due July 17) sees the singer embrace a new, dance-focused sound to talk about sex, desire and romance more candidly than ever before. The first pair of singles from the project, “Lube” and “Wet Dream” (both out Friday, May 31), give audiences a taste of what the singer has in store with his rock-inspired sound Lambert alternating between club beats and uncensored lyrics.

“I wanted to make a project that felt like the kind of music I listened to with my friends, talking about the things I talk about with my friends,” explains Lambert. “Sometimes, things get a little messy and I wanted to get that energy out.”

Below, Lambert discusses the inspirations behind his new project, what it means to reinvent himself 15 years into his career, and how developments for LGBTQ artists in the music industry have fundamentally changed the way he approaches music.

Let's talk about your new project, After. This is a very different direction that you're going in — can you tell me a little bit about where the idea for this project came from?

I've experimented with so many different kinds of directions and genres and sounds over the years. I've done a lot, so I said, “Okay, what haven't I really done?” I wanted everything I did next to feel as authentic as possible — I wanted it to feel true to my life. I started my career on stage playing different characters and then moved on American Idol, and then you enter with the Queen. I get to sing the most amazing music and tour the world with them. But they all cater to specific audiences, you know what I mean? And I wanted to do something similar to my social life.

Here in West Hollywood, I like to go out, I like to have after parties at my house, I like the nightlife. I love dressing up and interacting with people and feeling charged and flirty with people. So I just said, “I want to capture that energy of sexuality and wanting to connect and release.” And this is the after party.

That's an interesting point about playing 'roles' in your earlier music career — was there any fear in doing this project about fan or industry reactions to this very raw sound?

Yeah, there might be some fans out there who might be like, “Wow, what's all this about” and not get it. But it's the most honest I've been in a long time because there's no filter. When I first came on the scene in 2009, the scene was very different. The music industry was very different, and being gay in the music industry was uncharted territory in a way. We had other greats before us in other genres, but doing contemporary pop, I felt like I had no one else to look up to in this world.

It was a trial and error experience. I had the first single which was kind of sexy, and then the show where I kissed a guy and got a big slap on the wrist for it. I had so much support from the industry coming through Idol, and I think there was this collective gasping and clutching of pearls at that show. They didn't turn their backs on me, but I felt like the audience took a collective step back.

I had to play the game at that point, because I wasn't going to miss my chance. So I just kept going and doing my thing. And obviously there's a lot more to me than my sexuality, but that's a big part of who I am. Romance, sex and heartbreak, we see all our favorite straight artists singing about it all the time. So I was always a little bit frustrated with the double standard early on, because I was like, “Well, why can't I?” The game, for a while, had me asking how I could push things.

I feel like 1716903086 it's 2024 and the rules have been completely thrown out the window. It's a completely different playing field. Now, the way people get music and find music is completely different. I think the fact that we can go straight to the listener as an artist changes the politics of everything. Back in the day, radio was that gatekeeper — and it was like, and if you really wanted to be successful, you had to play the radio game. Now that too is completely different. So there are fewer hurdles to jump.

In terms of “playing the game” and the rules changing, do you think the industry has reached a point where the old playbook in terms of artist authenticity is completely outdated, or are we still in a transitional phase?

I mean, it's still a bit of a game — you still have to strategize and you still have to figure out what people like and how they're going to respond to things and marketing and all that. But I think identity politics has become such an important part of an artist's whole package. People are not stupid: They know when someone is who they are and when they are not. If anything, with this next project, people who know me will say, “Oh, yeah.” The other is that in today's world, where we show so much more of ourselves with social media, the public wants into our lives. So, in a way, this is a glimpse. This is my experience.

I was listening to “Lube” right before we started, and even as a queer person who's been following you for a long time, I was like, “Wow, okay, we're going there!”

Yes, I actually sang the words “I'll drive you crazy.” [Laughs.] I actually wrote that song Vincent and Parson James, and we originally had a different chorus. I walked away with the song and said, “This choir doesn't really do it for me.” So I had the producer remove the vocal chorus, leaving it as an instrumental, and I kept listening to it. I opened the program and just started running the track and recording ideas. When I thought of the rhyme and I was like, “Oh, that's crazy, I can't say that.” And then I said “…should I say it? Just say it! Why am I editing myself?”

I recognize that this is literally a dance song about lubrication. it's ridiculous, i know. But there was a part of me that was like, “I want to make music that's like the way I dress.” Sonically, like the aesthetics, I want it to sound like I like it to look. Because I've been very inspired by fashion lately and I keep finding things that are really weird. And I'm inspired by that too.

I also like that you let the fans in early I hear of “Liquid Dream”. How closely did you monitor the fans' reaction to it? How much did you let that dictate the rest of your release strategy?

I definitely noticed it and I think the overall impression was very strong. People were surprised by it, because it's different. It's a different sound for me, and it really sounded in a way that the audience seemed to like. It was so much fun playing live in Australia — and that's why we posted it. I really wanted to perform it on stage, especially for Pride Month. That was why I said, “Let's about Take it out. If you want to check it out, you can on SoundCloud, let's have it.”

Part of what I like about the songs is that you really lean towards the gay club aesthetic — because often, that house, dance-pop sound tends, especially when it comes from queer artists, to be written off as “gay music.” and are taken less seriously. That seems to have changed a lot in recent years, where this brand of music has become much more popular — why do you think that is?

That's a very good point, and I hadn't really given it much thought. Even before American Idol, the music I listened to in my 20s was a lot of electronic music. It was all dance electronic stuff. To be honest, I don't really listen to classic rock in my spare time, but when I auditioned Idol, was a lane I saw opening for me. And I said, “I can do that. I like classic rock.”

I think when I started wearing makeup and heels and all that, the “rock star version” of it all was like a way to justify looking like that and wanting to express myself that way. He passed me by some people. I think even artists of those genres – like Freddie Mercury, first and foremost, and Bowie – gave me permission to express myself in that way. It made sense for me to go and sing glam rock and classic rock, because at that time it was such a beautiful expression of men being able to be feminine and mess with gender. It made me feel safer going there.

As you get older, you become much more comfortable in your own skin and accept everything about yourself. Now I say, “That's what I am – I'm basically a blouse, a feminine top.” It's amazing how society has changed because you go online and see a lot of guys doing makeup tutorials. The idea of ​​expressing yourself in any way or form—whether it's your feminine side, your masculine side, the queer umbrella— [has] passed through this prism and expanded. There is much more visibility in all corners of it right now than there ever has been. That's one reason why I feel like it's completely open, especially when it comes to music.

These songs will be released at the same time you headline WeHo Pride. What does that mean for you to top this event and what can fans expect to see?

The lineup over the weekend is insane. When I saw that I was on the bill with Kesha, it made me smile so hard, because we go way back – when I first signed to RCA, she was on RCA, right after “TiK ToK” came out. We've been to a lot of these industry events together and we just clicked, and so it's a pretty complete moment. I mean, the fact that Kylie's playing on Saturday, it's just… it's going to be a really amazing weekend.