And be4 I go to sleep there's amazing interview with Adam given in Sweden.
He's being honest and just being Adam.
CLICK to read
"American Idol dude Adam Lambert has a super hit right now in Whataya Want From Me. QX met him when he was in Sweden and it was an open chat about everything from coming out to what sexual experiences he's had."
You can't be stupid when you're interviewing American rockstars. Just days before his visit to Sweden, Adam twitters about all the questions he's sick of. After he's spent a whole day with German journalists I therefore know that I shouldn't ask about his relationship w/ Lady Gaga (yes, they're acquaintances but not close friends), getting asked to become Queen frontman (not true) and what kind of eyeliner he uses (MAC).
Adam, who came in second in American Idol and now has a big hit with WWFM is receiving in a big room at Berns Hotell in Stockholm. The usual buffet of Ramlösa [mineral water] and fruit is served at one table and by another table is a publicist woman who smiles at me when I ~glide in. Adam and I sit down in a couple easy chairs a bit further away.
At first I don't feel like we click at all. Adam answers my questions about American Idol quickly but briefly and I wonder if he'll be put off by all my gay-related questions that are coming up. My fears are put to shame. Adam is happy to talk about most things.
He's been in Sweden once before when he was working as entertainer on a cruise ship, but he didn't have time to see much of Stockholm. He also has a pretty good grasp of Swedish music and likes The Ark, Abba, Ace of Base, and Jonas Åkerlund's videos. And Max Martin, whom he's worked with on the debut disk. Just like most other homos he loves Martin's collabs w/ Britney (3), Pink (So What) and Kelly Clarkson (Since You've Been Gone).
"He knows how to create a song everyone will remember. Max Martin is a great guy that it was a dream to get to work with."
For those of you who aren't totally up to date on Adam I can say he quickly became the big watercooler topic during last year's round of AI. His androgynous style with lots of eyeliner and glam rock poses made him a big favourit for the tv audience who voted him to a second place. Recently he released the debut album FYE and now he's working on making a name for himself even outside the USA borders.
Adam tells me he's very proud of having the chance to be on AI and to make it so far ("I thought I would be dismissed as 'too Broadway' and 'too much')"but he's even more proud of getting to release his album internationally.
"The record company believes in me and it's a huge self-esteem kick. I love European music and really want to work in a European sound in my music."
He's also greatly inspired by other artists.
"I love Madonna, Prince, Bowie, Led Zeppelin and Queen, but contemporary stars like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Christina and Britney also influence me a lot."
Adam has, ever since receiving the silver crown (er, lol - translator's note) on Idol, been the source of several incidents that got attention in the American media. For example, when the cover of the debut album was shown for the first time. Adam's pouting lips, extremely made up mug and campy pose made people either love it or hate it.
"That debate made me a little tired. It was of course my intention to look feminine, it was part of the whole thing. If people don't want to buy the record because I look a certain way it's their problem."
He says his masculine side is as big as his feminine one. Interesting, I think, since "our" community often puts campness very low on the list of attractive qualities.
"Yes, it's interesting. You always have to be one or the other in the gay community! You're either masculine or feminine, top or bottom. There's no in between. In LA it's a little different. As a guy, you can be wearing girl jeans and high heels and still be dominant and intense. I had many people to identify with when I started going out, not everything was as black and white. I created my own identity."
Another thing Adam made headlines with was the performance of the song FYE on the AMAs last fall. The performance, where he kissed one of his male musicians and simulated oral sex on another, made big headlines in American media. A morning show cancelled his scheduled appearance and upset Christian grups protested Adam's appearances on other shows.
"That became a much bigger circus than I intended" he smiles. "I thought people would raise their eyebrows and say 'that Lambert is crazy'. Instead people got angry. It's weird considering all the murder, violence and other horrors shown at the same time on TV. What did I do that was worse than that? It's rock 'n roll and entertainment, people."
It was never confirmed that Adam was gay during his Idol time. It wasn't until a controversial cover article in Rolling Stone that he confirmed what many had already long speculated about. Adam says he was never directly asked if he was gay during Idol.
"No, it was basically just focused on music and then there's no point being all 'by the way, I'm gay.' If someone asked I would have said yes. Everybody knew I was gay and I wasn't hiding it."
For me, who asks our Swedish Idol contestants how gay they are even before the finals, it sounds crazy, but I suppose American media works in a different way. Adam continues:
"I've been out since I was 18 and I'm very flirty and open w/ my sexuality. When I was younger and not out I repressed everything that had to do with sex. Now that I'm older and more open, I may be overcompensating. But I'm a very sexual person. I like having sex, dating and talking about sex. I'm not uncomfortable with it and it shows in my art.
Adam is single since a few months. The guy he was dating didn't like the attention and broke up with him. (I understand but WAH. Also FUUUUU everyone who said he was an attn hoar - translator's note) Just now he isn't dating anyone special, he says.
Anyway back to the interview:
What turns you on?
Younger, cute boys...
Twinks?
"Yes, if you want to generalise. But that's not completely straightforward when you may be turned on by a look, but maybe want more experience than what these kinds of guys can offer. Of course there are exceptions to that but it's a problem. But I think the younger guys have a fresher outlook on life, and a curiosity I'm attracted to. The 27-yolds I meet in LA are incredibly bitter and have trouble accomodating to someone else. "
If you're an artist and gay it easily gets to a point where all questions are about that. As a journo from a gay mag it feels natural that we talk a lot about his orientation. And Adam has no problems talking about it. Just after AI, though, he felt that the fact that he's gay overshadowed his art, but that impression has faded.
"In a way, it shouldn't matter what my orientation is. Since I'm a musician, it should be about the music. But that's not what the world is like, right now we're living in a time when it's important to bring visibility to the LGBT community and I just have to deal with a lot being about that. That's the deal, you know?
"I'm not trying to be a role model, but I think it's fucking important to show everyone that I'm here, I'm happy to be gay and I'm open about it. I'm not apologising for my existence and I think that can mean a lot to people. "
Last fall there was a storm around Adam and the American gay mag Out Magazine. He was on the cover with a few other celebrities, among others Cyndi Lauper, and according to the magazine, it was expressed that Adam only wanted to be on the cover if there were some het people in the picture, and he wanted to see what questions were brought up in the article before it went to print. Then the Out editor in chief posted an angry open letter back to Adam where he claimed that Out had been trying to get him on the cover long before, but Adam's record company had said Out was 'too gay for him to be seen in right now'. And also suggesting that Lambert wasn't giving enough to his gay fans.
"I was so fucking angry about that," Adam says with an annoyed snort. "Out can have whatever agenda they want, but I'm not down with the editor projecting that agenda onto my career. I'm as gay as I want to be, or as discreet as I want to be. I don't owe anybody anything, it's my own choice. I am not a political leader and do not represent the gay community. Just because I'm one of the few openly gay artists does not mean I have an obligation to be this or that."
Just a few days before I meet Adam, Ricky Martin came out and the whole blogosphere and every twitter-thumb has been expressing one big 'oh, well, it's about time'. That pisses Adam off.
"Celebs who come out aren't asking to be a part of the gay community, they just want to be themselves. I get so damn annoyed with people having opinions on how and when people come out as gay. People don't understand how much strength it takes to come to terms with who you are, besides constantly being watched and photographed. I have chosen to be completely open and am happy to talk about everything, but not everyone will be as comfortable with it."
Adam has gotten a lot of shit for relying on sex too much during his performances. Some gay people say he's making the community look bad and needs to tone it down.
"That it such bullshit. We're all sexual! I am an artist, and rock n roll and music are sexy. Music is about letting go of your repressions. Everyone goes to clubs, dances and flirts to get laid."
I wonder a little about just how sexually open he is and take the chance of asking him a few sex-related questions. He has only had oral sex w/ women (you have to test it out before you say no to it), he watched a porno three nights ago (but doesn't have a favourite actor), and he has tried a threeway ("But I'm more about getting that chemistry with one person.")
He is single as we said and pretty happy with that right now. He says he's prone to changing and becoming obsessed when he's in love.
"I've noticed I get very intense when I'm really interested. It took a few guys pointing it out before I realised what I was doing. Apparently I get domineering and jealous, which are not good qualities if you want to be with someone. But I'm working on that."
He has started going to mixed clubs in LA b/c he's tired of the gay scene in town. Everyone looks the same and has slept with everyone.
"It's kind of liberating to go to a club where everything isn't just about finding someone to take home and fuck. I love sex, but if that's the only reason for going on it's not that much fun. It should be more about connecting with people and only then about sex."
Is safe sex important for you?
"Yes, always. (\o/! - translator's assistant's note) Apparently barebacking is hot right now but I just don't get it. It's not worth taking that chance, I think."
Are you sexually adventurous?
"Nah, I'm pretty vanilla. I'm very sensual and romantic, I like taking a bath, lighting candles and listening to music with the person I'm with."
Time is running out, and as I'm going for my last question, Adam says he likes my questions. Apparently I haven't been asking the same stuff as everyone else during his European promo tour. Nobody else is thinking about whether Adam's had threesomes, I think, and smile to myself. (lol speak for yourself, dude - both of us) I answer by praising him back for answering everything so openly, and end it by asking if there's something I could ask that would shock him.
"No, try it!"
Okay, how big is your dick?
"Okay, that's quite shocking! Impressive. You see, it's possible to shock me after all!
The source.
Adam' interview
And be4 I go to sleep there's amazing interview with Adam given in Sweden.
He's being honest and just being Adam.
CLICK to read
The source.
He's being honest and just being Adam.
CLICK to read
The source.