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  • Pushing the boundaries of sexual politics, music and of course black eyeliner, singer

  • Adam Lambert has wasted no time in grabbing North America by the leash with the release

  • of his debut album "For Your Entertainment". The American Idol contestant turned solo artist

  • made headlines last year after raising a few eyebrows with a titillating tongue and cheek

  • performance at the American Music Awards and it was not long after that Barbara Walters

  • listed Lambert as one of 2009's most fascinating people. Unashamed and untarnished, the charming

  • pop star sat down with xtra at Parlour Salon in Toronto to talk about his music and where

  • he stands in 2010.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> It's 2010 now.

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> It is.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> And looking back on 2009 and looking at all the stories that were written

  • about you, what's your critique? Do you think the media was fair? Do you think you were

  • portrayed accurately?

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> For the most part yeah. I mean I think certain things are sensationalized.

  • I think certain things need to be sensationalized a little bit because there is a lack of them

  • in the media. I mean I think like being out, mainstream, visible artist in the music industry

  • isn't very common these days so of course the media is going to sensationalize it and

  • kind of talk about it a lot because I think many members of the media are gay and are

  • excited that there is someone that they can talk about. I think if there is any drawback

  • to that is that it overshadows that I am singer and musician and writer. That's what I do. You know sometimes

  • it's like "Openly gay singer Adam Lambert" yada yada yada... and I'm like "guys, the

  • openly gay part should be like a sidebar, I mean that's my personal life, that doesn't

  • define who I am." And then with everything that happened with certain performances and

  • certain awards show because of some of my decisions, it did become you know kind of

  • in your face and overt and you know in the long run I think it's good thing. I don't

  • think we have a lot of that.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> What did you think about when some of the gay organizations in the

  • States piped up and they said "Oh, his performances are going to ruin the same-sex marriage movement

  • or it's going to give us a bad name. What do you think of that?

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> It's interesting, I mean I guess I understand what they are talking about

  • but I think that there is... it's kind of old fashioned. I think that there is a generational

  • divide a little bit and it's what I'm talking about. I think we need to show the diversity

  • of what is a gay person and there are some gay people who are really conservative and

  • kind of straight-laced and don't like to see things that are overt and in your face you

  • know just like straight people. You know there's not just one type of gay person. For example,

  • in media we were dealing with a long time in the past with race relations in our world

  • and there were like two different types of black people on tv for example. And now we

  • are colourblind to it, which is beautiful. We need to become that way about sexuality.

  • That should be our goal.

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> In 2010 as we move forward, as we integrate and we become less of a gay

  • community/straight community, I think the goal is to become a human community and to

  • stop segregating and in the media I think the thing that needs to happen is that there

  • needs to show the diversity that is a gay man and a gay woman. It that there are many

  • different types of gay people. Just like there are many different types of straight people.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> Listen I could talk with you all day about gay politics but you know

  • what your a musician. So let's talk about the music for once!

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> I love it.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> What's on your playlist right now? What are you listening to?

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> Gaga of course. You know, who's not because she's amazing. BeyoncŽ of courseâ

  • the divas you know. All the divas are in there. You know Madonna, Christina, they are all

  • in there. Even a little Britney even though the singing part is a little computerized,

  • I still enjoy the music.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> Well you worked with Gaga and Pink on your album.

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> I did. Ah Pink, oh god I love Pink. I saw her concert and she was on fire.

  • She is such a rock star, I love it.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> If you were to cover a Lady Gaga song, which song would you cover?

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> It would probably have to be 'Speechless'. I just think it's so classic.

  • It's so that Elton John kind like piano, 70s rock Carole King type ballad and it's driving

  • and it's great and her voice sounds great on it. The lyrics are fantastic, the melody

  • is unbelievable. I would love to sing that. Working with here in the studio was such a

  • treat and the song that she contributed to, Fever, on the album is one of my favourite

  • tracks on the album. I think it's so much fun. Probably one of the most fun to do live.

  • Yeah.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> Talking about your album, an amazing album.

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> Thank you.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> I listen to it at the gym all the time. It's a good gym album. Gets

  • you really aggressive. You listen to the slow ones between reps.

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> To cool off.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> It's a cool off song.

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> The slow ones are for the pilates and stretching.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> What song on this album is the most personal to you?

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> Probably 'Broken Open' that was a song I wrote with Greg Wells and Evan

  • Bogart. It's basically dealing with helping someone be vulnerable enough to cry. Just

  • to fall apart. And it's a very very personal thing. There was a period in my life where

  • it just kept repeating itself. I would meet people, and they would be close friends that

  • this would happen to. But more often it was people I would have chance encounters with

  • whether it would be a lover or just a friend that I would meet that I didn't know that

  • well. Oftentimes alcohol would be involved. It was after a club or something and people

  • would come over to the house, you know, kick it afterwards. There was a one-night stand

  • in there. There was a friend that I just happen to have made that night. Some had been acquaintances

  • for years, and I was like "What are you doing? Come back and hang out." And it wasn't even

  • a hookup thing. It was like a new friend and one, or two, or three, or four, five, or six

  • of these people over the course of a couple of months were choosing me to just break open

  • to. It just kept happening. And I was like "Wow, what am I, a therapist? What's going

  • on here?" What is it that I am giving them that allows them to feel that way and it meant

  • a lot to me because it meant that I was making someone feel safe. And I was making someone

  • feel like they could be imperfect with me. And I think that's what the song is about,

  • it's what I wrote about. So imperfect is what you should be.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> What do you think of the music industry right now? Your kind of this

  • artist that came out queer right at the beginning. You know you weren't caught blowing some guy

  • in a bathroom. You weren't caught in a park. You know you didn't have a career and then

  • come out after.

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> Homo don't play that. Homo don't play.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> You've just been sort of queer from the start. Do you think we are

  • going to see any Adam Lambert knock offs this year?

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> I hope so. That would be cool. That would be really cool. It would be flattering.

  • It would be nice to see more visibility. I think that is the big step.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> Let's talk about your voice. How high can you sing?

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> Sort of high.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> What's the highest note you can hit?

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> (whisper). I don't know.

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> I'm not that singer that, and I actually hate these kinds of singers, that

  • are like "that was a B". You know, I'm like…I roll my eyes at a people like that, it doesn't

  • matter what note it was. Did it sound cool? You know what I mean. I'm not technical like

  • that these days.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> Your not like one of the characters on Glee? Where you want to see

  • how high you can sing.

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> Yeah it's just not my MO you know. I came from a world where that kind

  • of was the mentality. You know, taking voice lessons, being in theatre. Being like "Well

  • they hit the high E so… you know so there right here" I don't think that is really feeling

  • music. I don't think that is real rock and roll style. Like you just sing.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> I was wondering if you could give your fans a little teaser and sing us

  • something acapella?

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> No. It's not happening. NO. You have to buy the CD. I got two hours of

  • sleep yo. I'm going to be like 'ahhhh'.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> Well that's okay it will give us something to look forward to.

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> Put me on the spot like that. You owe me a drink

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> I owe him a drink, let's go. We are going to Woodys.

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> I've been there. I like that place.

  • MICHAEL PIHACH>> Thank you so much Adam.

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> Thank you.

  • ADAM LAMBERT>> Hi, I'm Adam Lambert and you're watching xtra.ca

Pushing the boundaries of sexual politics, music and of course black eyeliner, singer

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