I had self-esteem issues into my early 20s.
Adam Lambert
My dad is a Deadhead, my mom's a Jewish-American princess from Jersey.
I need to be able to explain myself in context.
Wait a minute, I'm a fan of yours; you can't be a fan of mine!
I am gay, and I'm very comfortable with it.
Carving out an identity for yourself is important so I'm trying to do that as well.
I have crushes on women all the time. I don't have intimate relationships with them, but I find women beautiful.
I was really beating myself up about performances and how I looked and this and that.
I've sung other people's music all my life.
I worked at Starbucks when I was 16... It was all right.
I listen to crazy, robust rock music where they sing their faces off, and soul music, which can be similar.
Female performers have been doing this for years - pushing the envelope about sexuality - and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out.
There's no regrets for me.
I never wore full-on eyeliner in high school, but I wanted to.
When you dance and move around it creates a different reaction from the audience - they love it.
I was afraid to express myself for a while.
I had a lot of fun with my costume designer.
For me, one of the important things about keeping vocally healthy is warming up and making sure I'm aware where my voice is at, drinking lots of water and getting plenty of sleep, and just taking care of myself with exercise and eating healthy.
After my tour I had time to stay at home, be with my boyfriend and hang out with friends and that brought me down to earth and helped me write music from a more relaxed place.
I've always been fond of the glam-rocker title.
I think, for the majority of my twenties, I was always so concerned with what I didn't have, or what I still wanted.
There was a lot of me trying to be a 'fixer.' I was that kind of guy. I'd meet someone who had 'so much potential' that needed 'help.' I think that was kind of my curse for a long time.
I've been kind of toying around with the bi thing in my head. I wouldn't ever give myself the label 'bisexual', but bi-curious? Yea.
Pop is a little bit theatrical. That's the whole vibe. That's the point - is that it's great music, great melodies, great hooks. But, on top of it, it's a presentation. There's a showmanship about it. And that's why I wanted to be a pop star.
I started to realize I wasn't like every other boy.
When I was kid, I remember playing 'Vogue' by Madonna over and over and over again. And ah, you know, something about the beat was really cool, and Madonna, visually, was on TV all the time and I thought she was just so beautiful.
My mother was always supportive.
My first album was completed in three months.
Conforming is not cool.
I wouldn't ever give myself the label bisexual, but bi-curious, yeah.
I don't feel closeted.
You can't plan everything - if I did a performance exactly how I rehearsed it, it would be so boring.
You know, if it weren't for these fans, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did.
Los Angeles can be a really sad city.
I think it's up to the parents to discern what their child is watching on television.
I nitpick details.
I'm very inspired by past music.
When I was in high school I was 250 pounds.
All these songs honestly explore the ups and downs of my reality.
'Come out' is so funny to me because I've never been in.
I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I'm gay.
Nowadays in pop, there's not a lot of men that are singing big and loud and high - it's not as common as it once was.
I think sometimes we're meant to do something but things aren't lined up correctly.
There's not a blueprint for me to follow.
I'm not a babysitter.
People want to talk about whether I have rock cred, whether I'm selling out, the theatricality, the gay stuff... Chill out! And just enjoy yourself.
I've been known to make out with girls from time to time. Couple drinks involved, you know. It's fun. And who knows? Maybe it'll go further someday. I don't know.
I want to upset people, I want to make people think, I want to keep people interested.
So pretty much, to sum it up, if you can freak someone out and bring that kind of emotion out of somebody with a song, you're doing something right.
I have nothing to hide.
