Adam Lambert is looking back at his musical journey and revealed he once thought he couldn’t be a singer because of his sexual orientation.
When speaking to BBC about new album High Drama, the singer said he was drawn to cover Duran Duran‘s “Ordinary World” because it spoke to his feelings of being an outsider.
“When I was a teenager coming to terms with my sexuality, I didn’t think I’d have a shot in the music industry, mostly because I was gay,” he said. “We had artists that came out once they had success, Elton John, George Michael, but there was no one I could compare myself to.”
Adam says the industry is more welcoming of queer artists now and that his album cover symbolizes the barriers he broke through to get where he is.
In an interview with Gay Times, the singer spoke about being part of a wave that opened more doors for queer singers, suggesting “the industry isn’t as scared” of such artists.
“Someone asked me, ‘Are you jealous?’ I was like, ‘Why? It’s great for everybody.’ I’m f***ing thrilled,” he added.
“We have proof and reinforcement that you can be queer, and it doesn’t mean that your audience is only queer,” Adam added. “It doesn’t matter to young people anymore. No one gives a f***.”
The singer continued, “I’m 40 and I’m looking at what’s going on, the conversations with pop culture and what young people are into. It’s blown all the way open. It’s the idealistic version of how we all wanted it to be, and now it’s started looking like that.”
He also has this message to those who say he’s going to hell because of his sexuality: “Sign me up, I’ll wear good shoes.”
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