American Idol Runner-Up Adam Lambert on Doing Broadway, Hitting it Big and Being...Theatrical!
“Sometimes you have to live your dreams, and his is to be a rock star. And he is,” theater alum Alisan Porter told Broadway.com back in March of longtime pal and former castmate Adam Lambert. At the time, Lambert was an unknown, a rock-styled former chorus boy from the LA cast of Wicked who had suddenly landed himself and a shredding rock tenor voice in the finals of top rated, hotly debated talent competition American Idol. Today, just over two months later, Lambert couldn’t be farther from unknown. Since his arrival on the Idol stage Lambert has become on of the most talked about contestants in years, appearing on the cover of Entertainment Weekly before the finals even aired and remaining one of the top blogged and twittered names on the web even after news came that the “glam rocker” with the three octave range lost the title to finalist Kris Allen on May 20 a result many, judges included, considered an upset. It’s not surprising—nearly 100 million votes poured in after Idol’s top two took each other on, meaning that while he may not have won, most of America has a whole lotta love for Lambert. In his first broad address to the media since the final results show aired, Lambert got down to business with Broadway.com and other press outlets, answering those lingering questions though not the one everyone has been asking. So, will Lambert return to the stage? How does he feel about the show’s outcome? And what can we expect next from the talented California boy fans dubbed Glambert? Read on.
The Broadway community rallied behind you during competition. You’ve said you want to focus on recording right now, but would you consider coming to Broadway eventually?
Of course I could see myself going there eventually. Right now, I’m focused on doing the recording thing, but [the theater community] is my family, you know what I mean? That was my community for years and years and I’m not turning my back on it. I have so many friends that are in shows in New York. Whenever I’m in New York, I plan on coming to see shows, sitting right in the front row and cheering them on! In no way will ever forget my roots, so to speak. I learned so much with theater. Now I’m just on a new journey.
Do you think all the talk about your sexual orientation had any impact on the voting?
Um, you know, probably. [laughs]
What would you say to people who are disappointed that you didn’t win?
I know it sounds cliché, but I really feel like I won by getting to the final. I felt like, to me, it’s not about the title of American Idol, it was the experience. I made music and I got to do a different performance every week, and was able to use American Idol as a platform to get myself out there and now I have a career. So there’s no need to dwell on the negative. We should look forward and be excited about an album and the rest of my career. I’m totally okay with [not winning]. I couldn’t be happier for Kris. He’s a good friend of mine and I think he’s immensely talented.
What it was like right after the final episode aired?
It was crazy. The whole evening was overwhelming; you can imagine the party, trying to interact with as many people as I could. But it was so exciting. I got to speak with Paula and Kara. It was really nice being able to kind of be off the record, you know what I mean? Off camera and just interacting. I was really thankful for that experience.
You’ve been in LA a while. Why do you think you weren’t discovered earlier?
I might not have gone to the proper channels, to be honest with you. The concept of being “discovered” is kind of a dying art. I don’t think anybody “gets discovered,” I think you have to put yourself out there. When I started, I was doing the theater thing and had a band on the side for awhile. Then I started writing music. I was just getting to the point where I was probably ready to start submitting music to labels, but then [the Idol] opportunity came along and I jumped at it. I think things happened when they were supposed to happen.
Was there a time when you were thinking, “Maybe I’ll give up on this?”
Yeah, I definitely had moments of that. And I think that’s one of the reasons why I decided to audition for the show.I got to the point where I was in the ensemble of Wicked here in LA, and it was a great job and I had a lot of friends in the cast. It was paying the bills, but I just wasn’t satisfied artistically. It was about a year and a half ago, and I kind of was sitting alone in my room one day, you know, “Is this it? Is this my life?” I had just turned 26. I said, “I want more, there’s more that I’m supposed to be doing, I have this feeling.” So this was the thing that presented itself to me and I think the timing was right. I hadn’t auditioned before because I don’t think I was ready. Everything just lined up and I’m really, really fortunate that it worked out the way that it did.
You got to sing with KISS! What celebrities were you most excited to meet this season?
I was star struck every time. I mean, Smokey Robinson was amazing, Jamie Foxx is amazing, I met Lady GaGa backstage when she came on the show and that was amazing. Every single celebrity was coming up to me and knew who I was, and that to me was the weirdest part. I was like “Wait a minute, I’m a fan of yours. You can’t be a fan of mine!” It was so strange. Obviously, Brian May [of Queen] and KISS the other night? What an honor. Everyone I met blew my mind.
Lady GaGa was actually pictured wearing the same wings you wore with KISS. Did you borrow them from her?
The shoulder pads? Ha! No, they were actually from the Bob Mackie showroom.
What was it like seeing guest Idol performer Katy Perry wear a cape onstage with your name on it?
I was shocked! And I was completely honored and I had a huge smile on my face the minute I saw it—I wasn’t prepared for that. I didn’t know she was going to do that, so you can imagine my surprise. Afterwards I gave her a big hug. She’s really, really cool, very down to earth, she had some good advice for me. She [said], “just make sure that you keep your friends that you had before all this started around you, and keep them close.” She’s super talented and has a really good head on her shoulders.
People are going to expect you to really bring it for the [American Idol summer] tour. How do you plan on delivering?
You know, my thing is when I get up on stage and the music starts playing, I just go. I think that will just take care of itself on the tour.
Of all the mentors, are there any you could see working with in the future?
You know, I’d really love to work with Slash. When we did the mentor shoot at the Roxy, I felt so at home with him on stage, I was just like, “This guy is so rad!” Who knows, maybe we’ll be able to record something in the future, I would love that. [Brian May] wasn’t a mentor, but he was on stage and I was so honored to be onstage with him. Queen is one of my all-time favorite bands. I would love to work with him as well.
Randy Jackson said in an interview that you were amazingly talented, but he didn’t know what kind of record you would make because you are so broad. What kind of album would you like to make?
We’re at the drawing board right now, trying to figure that out. My view of the record industry is that it’s a little too specific lately. The labels tend to try to put one box around every artist and keep them in one genre. To me, I’m so fortunate because I got to use this show to get myself out there, we don’t really have to go about it that way. Obviously we want the album to have a cohesive sound, but I think it can be a collection of different styles with me at the center of it. Everybody knows who I am singing it, so that’s the common thread.
You could resurrect the glam rock genre. Is that something you might try to tackle on this record, that sort of late 80s, early 90s hair rock sound?
Maybe little bits of it. My thing is I don’t want to do one specific genre or… I’m more about fusion. I kind of like adding little elements of things into the final mix. If anything, I’m more fond of the 70s glam feel than the 80s, even though I have that style of vocal. But we’ll see what happens. I’m kind of experimenting with that and there are a lot of pop artists that are using the “glam” kind of vibe in their music currently. I think I’m actually part of a wave, there just happens to not be many guys doing it right now.
You took criticism for being so “theatrical” [on Idol]. Are you going to tone it down for your album?
I mean, I never really listen to what people say! [laughs] My favorite artists are artists who are theatrical. Obviously when you are doing a recording, things aren’t going to translate as “over the top.” I really enjoy the recording process. Anybody that bought an iTunes version of what I did on the show could see, “Ok, I get how he sounds in a recorded session now versus how he is live.” It’s different. Doing a live performance of something, it takes on another life. I think people are in store for a treat. It’s going to be a really cool album and I’m excited to start working on it.
Can theatricality help rock sometimes?
I think it’s all in the name of good entertainment. First and foremost it’s about the music, but it packages it in a little bit more of a flashy, interesting, dynamic way, in my opinion. Bowie’s a great example of somebody that did it. Michael Jackson is a good example of someone who used theatricality and drama. Madonna! There’s a slew of artists out there that do it. I was really lucky American Idol embraced it, because I think that was something a little bit new for them. Theatricality is just one way of performing, and I don’t think it’s a better way or the way. But it is my way.
So when can we expect to see your CD?
I don’t know, but I think we’re shooting for sometime within the year.
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