When Adam Lambert was just starting out in his career, his record company asked him to record an album of 1980s new-wave cover songs.
Not a bad idea, really. Anyone who listened to Lambert perform Tears For Fears' "Mad World" cover on American Idol knew how well he fit that era of depressing synth-pop.
A covers album, however, seemed like capitulation at that time, when his career had only produced two albums. The singer left the label out of concern for his reputation.
He wrote to fans in an open letter, "My heart is simply not in doing a covers album, but this is the only kind of release they are prepared to support.".
His position has changed ten years later. Lambert's new album, High Drama, is entirely made up of covers, and he is arguably more well-known as Queen's new frontman than as a solo performer.
He objects, saying "Well, look, I mean, timing is integral.". They wanted me to do that at the time, but I wasn't interested, so that was that.
"I've reached the point where the thought occurred to me and I said, 'That sounds like a fun challenge.'. Finding some songs and turning them completely around to make them sound like brand-new songs was the plan. ".
Those people have had their heads completely turned.
On his latest album, Culture Club's Do You Really Want To Hurt Me and Holding Out For A Hero by Bonnie Tyler are given grungy blues makesovers and a creeping paranoid injection, respectively. Lana Del Rey's West Coast also receives a grungy blues makeover.
I learned from Queen that the best way to make a song your own is to take a break from listening to the original version and figure out what the song means to you, the singer claims.
The song by Duran Duran, Ordinary World, is the most intimate on the album. Lambert was drawn to the lyrical theme of "being an outsider and trying to make your way through everyday normal life.".
His interpretation of the atmosphere aches with the sense of isolation he experienced as a child growing up in California.
Because I was gay, he claims, he didn't think he would have a chance in the music business when he was a teenager coming to terms with his sexuality.
"Elton John and George Michael were two artists who came out after they became successful, but I had no one to compare myself to. ".
Although Lambert was open about his sexuality to his family and friends during his time on American Idol in 2009, the program only made subtle allusions to it. Even then, the tone was ambiguous: In one episode, Simon Cowell subtly voiced his disapproval of the singer's "theatricality.".
Pictures of him kissing his ex-boyfriend at a US music festival while dressed as a woman made headlines there. The pictures were described as "embarrassing" by Fox News, and commentators claimed the backlash cost him the American Idol title.
Lambert previously told the BBC that it was confusing and stressful. "What am I supposed to do?" I wondered.
Even after receiving a major label record deal after leaving the TV show, there were still concerns about his commercial viability.
Even though they were happy for me and wanted to see me, many people in the industry were full of doubt, he claims.
"It was a really fascinating time. If I take a look at the headlines or the inquiries I received then, you wouldn't dare to do that now. ".
In support of his claim, Lambert's debut album, For Your Entertainment, reached the top spot and sold twice as many copies as Kris Allen, the Idol winner.
Discrimination, however, doesn't go away quickly. The TV network ABC threatened to sue Lambert after he unexpectedly kissed his male bassist during a 2009 Awards performance.
"The network said, "How dare you.' They temporarily banned me. They declared that they would sue me. He recalled this in his acceptance speech at this year's Sundance film festival. "It was like, 'Oh, okay, that's where we're at,'" he said.
Since then, "more and more young people" have informed him that his "flamboyant" TV appearances gave them the confidence to come out to their parents, he continued.
He is concerned, though, about the rising number of violent attacks on gay bars and drag shows as well as the evangelical right's increasingly anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.
He paid tribute to the victims of the Colorado Springs tragedy, in which a gunman opened fire on an LGBTQ club, killing five people and injuring at least 17 others, when he performed Ordinary World for the first time on US television.
The performance was captured on camera mostly in black and white as Lambert moved through an eerie, abstract space full of faceless mannequins, framing the song as a reverent, melancholy reflection on loss.
He says, "We simply wanted to hold their memory in our hearts and not forget what happened.".
Processing these things is not always simple. Even though I'm not personally familiar with any of the victims of that tragedy, I'm still affected by it.
"I remember having a conversation with a friend shortly after it happened, and we were asking, 'What would you do in that situation?' It's terrifying to imagine because it's awful, but you do now have to think, what would be my plan of action be?
"Both inside and outside the queer community, it has an impact on all of us. ".
Despite Lambert's initial reservations, his covers album has received primarily favorable reviews. It was described as "an impressive journey through Lambert's skillset" by Billboard magazine, and the star's versatility was praised by Riff magazine.
The way Lambert's voice changes from track to track is fascinating, noted critic Mike DeWald. It's a powerful demonstration of his dynamic range, more than anything else. ".
I'm a Man, one of the album's less well-known covers, is emphasized in many reviews.
The first openly gay rock star, US glam rocker Jobriath, is widely credited with releasing it. His career, which had begun with much fanfare in 1973, came to an unseemly end when, following a record-breaking $80,000 publicity campaign, the general public almost entirely avoided purchasing his debut album.
While on tour, he frequently heard homophobic slurs. His record company dropped him after his second album failed, and he later made a comeback as a popular cabaret performer before passing away from AIDS in 1983.
In the intervening years, his music has received renewed acclaim, with artists like Pet Shop Boys, Joe Elliot of Def Leppard, and Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters expressing their admiration.
Marc Almond stated in The Guardian in 2012 that "He was a sexual hero.". Jobriath did touch lives despite the ridicule and marginalization he endured. ".
"It's an interesting story about somebody who shot really far for stardom and success, didn't get it, but then found a different version of success later on," enthuses Lambert, who learned about the singer from the 2012 film Jobriath AD.
Lambert discovered his calling in the musical Hair, just like Jobriath, and he recognized numerous other similarities in their biographies.
In the end, he understood that despite the challenges he had to overcome, he was fortunate to be singing in a time that was more accepting and liberal.
The fact that you can be queer and a successful mainstream hitmaker has been demonstrated, he claims.
It's no longer regarded as a niche phenomenon. And I consider that to be really inspiring for young people.
. "
