‘I definitely paid my dues’: Adam Lambert remembers his difficult path to fronting Queen

Some of Adam Lambert’s staunchest fans tend to get defensive when his history in American Idol is mentioned — and not just because he finished second. The implication from detractors is often that Lambert, who’s getting ready for his U.S. debut this month with Queen, didn’t pay his dues.

Far from it, counters Lambert — who worked as a singing waiter at corporate events, in retail and as a Starbucks server while trying to get his start in the music business.

“If you rewind my 20s,” he says during this In Sixty clip, “I definitely paid my dues. I definitely lived a very unglamorous life.”

Lambert was determined, long before he joined a group of Idol contestants often criticized as mere interpreters, to create music that showcased his own narrative voice.

“I was doing a lot of theater stuff, but I was in the ensemble, always,” he adds. “I would never get hired beyond that. I was getting frustrated. I was getting to pay my bills, finally, but I don’t feel like I’m creating something. I had this hunger to make something.”

That continues today, even while he’s established a parallel persona as Queen’s frontman. Lambert, in fact, issued his second album Trespassing — featuring nine of 12 co-written originals — last summer as he took part in a multi-show run with Brian May and Roger Taylor.

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5 Comments

  1. As a fan I’m aware of Adam’s history and I find it very frustrating that so many people see only an American Idol contestant. Music has been his life since he was a small child. His talent is outstanding. His work ethic is upstanding.

  2. Nothing challenges adam’s vocal ability, therefore, in any singing situation, Adam is Adam.

  3. Totally enjoyed watching that one hour interview with Adam again. NOTHING from Adam ever gets old.

  4. this good video but good person I love him
    but I never met him relly like to met him

  5. it’s too bad that so many people just don’t get it. adam is an amazing talent with unlimited potential. idol is old news. the fact that queen wants him to front for them says it all. freddie is smiling proud!