Adam Lambert: "I am definitely using a strategy"

Adam Lambert is not your typical Idol contestant. And guess what? That’s exactly how he planned it.

Here’s some of what Adam had to say…

On Simon saying parts of his performance were terrible: “Well I responded on air, and I just kind of said well I guess that’s kind of music in general—you either love it or you don’t love it. Obviously I’m a risk taker. I kind of feel like I’m not easy listening. You know what I mean? I’m not going to be always the most digestible thing for everybody across the board; I’m specific, and I like to kind of blow it out the box and either you like it or you don’t.”

On taking he judges’ advice: “Yes, of course I take what they say. They’re obviously professionals, and I take everything that they say and I listen. I think that it’s important to maintain a balance between your own integrity and what you want to do, and then what the audience wants, and what the judges want to hear. So kind of mix that all together and come up with something. My plan is that I’m not planning on wailing at the top of my lungs every week; I think the audience would grow tired of that. I intend on making it interesting by varying up the mood and the style of the song that I’m singing week-to-week.”

On getting the “pimp” spot on the show: “Yes. I was honored. I was excited, because I knew that meant that I was closing the show and that I’d be fresh in everybody’s minds when they started voting. I was really, really happy.”

On getting a lot of exposure in the early rounds: “Of course it has helped. It has exposed me to people more and more times, and so they get the feeling like they know me, and that’s really exciting. And they get to hear me talk and hear my opinions, which are many. Yes, of course it has helped, and I’m really, really thankful to the producers for featuring me in such a way.”

So does a heartfelt backstory make a difference?: “I think it does make a difference. I think it allows the audience to empathize with that person, with that artist, especially when you go on stage and sing a certain number. If they can relate to the song, if they feel like you’re relating to the song based on your own personal experiences, I think that that really evokes quite a reaction from the audience.”

On standing alone with Nick at the end of the results show: “You know, I did, I got a little nervous. I thought Nick was brilliant the other night, so I didn’t really know which way it was going to go. I thought, ‘Well here it goes; it’s a toss up.’

On Simon calling him theatrical: “I think that I take the theatrical comment as a compliment as opposed to a derogatory statement. Simon kind of makes it seems derogatory, but when you think about it in the pop music scene right now a lot of the big artists are going a very theatrical route. There’s lots of camp and costumes—that’s kind of an angle right now in the scene. So I kind of think it’s time for something like that.”

On being a different kind of contestant: “Yes. I’ve been watching the show for years and I hadn’t really seen anybody. They’ve asked me well whom would you compare yourself to, and I’ve always kind of been like, ‘I don’t know.’ Yes, I think I do have an advantage, because it’s something different than some of the other contestants. I think the more individual we all are the better chance we have at garnering a fan base.


What themes would he have trouble with? “Country week would obviously be a slight stretch for me if that comes up. I’m kind of up for the challenge; I like all different types of music and I feel like I could probably try to sing all different types of music. But we’ll see what the judges think.”

On how theater has prepared him for “Idol”: “Obviously you have to like be on your game with the theater world. You have to be ready to go at any moment. This machine it’s turning real fast, so it’s kind of like you either hop on and hold on and you know how to own your stuff or you fall off. So I think with theater it’s definitely trained me to be able to sing under any condition and be able to just go with the drop of a hat…I think in certain ways there are certain elements of the theater training that could be detrimental to the Idol experience, because that’s not really the sound I’m going for. I’m not going for a Broadway sound. But the cool thing is that this is finally allowing me to be myself, I mean I don’t listen to show tunes on my spare time I can assure you. The show tune thing, the musical theater thing, was just kind of they way that I was paying the bills. I mean we all have to have a job. Right? So now I get to finally sing the kind of music that I like to listen to.”

Adam later said he hoped the show didn’t do a Broadway week: “I mean not because I have anything against it; I just don’t see myself doing that as a recording artist anyway.”


Does he read the blogs and other Internet chatter about the show?: “Yes, here and there. I try not to dwell on it too much; I need to kind of keep my head in the game. But I have seen things here or there, and it does help. I don’t take anything personally good or bad; I try to remain as objective as possible. But it’s like market research in a way; it really helps you find out what the fans think.”

On whether or not he has a strategy: “That’s funny that you say that. I think strategy is like half of a competition. I think that when picking a song and figuring out your arrangement that’s when you should really be thinking hard and using your brain. But then when it comes time to actually get up there and perform it you have to turn the brain off and just feel it and go with the moment. So I am definitely like using a strategy.”

Photo Credit: Michael Becker/FOX