Roger Taylor is recognizing a maturation in Adam Lambert over the course of their collaborative relationship in Queen — calling the Idol finalist “a real dark force now.”
Taylor and Brian May, who lead Queen in the absence of the retired John Deacon and late Freddie Mercury, have had an up close and personal look at Lambert since his quick rise to fame.
They performed with Lambert during his runner-up performance on American Idol back in 2009, and have shared stages with him since over a series of concerts and shows. That’s included the European MTV Video Awards, a signature concert in Ukraine and their well-received U.S. on-stage debut earlier this year as part of the Vegas iHeart event.
May has been hinting that future dates may be in the works, even as stateside fans have called for a full-blown tour — Queen’s first since appearing with Paul Rodgers in the mid-2000s.
In the meantime, Lambert has released two solo albums — 2009’s For Your Entertainment and 2012’s Trespassing, while also working with Avicii and Nile Rodgers and taking on a guest-starring role on TV’s Glee.
And he’s continued to grow as an artist, Roger Taylor tells Canoe.
There’s a burgeoning confidence not just in the material, as Lambert seeks to interpret and add new colors to a set of already-distinctive pomp rock songs with Queen, but also in himself.
“He’s really come on even more,” Taylor says. “He’s a real dark force now — and he’s very theatrical. And he really interprets our songs just brilliantly. And he has that incredible instrument, that voice and I feel he’s going away from the pop thing which is good I think. And he’s becoming a serious player. He’s got a voice which is pretty unbeatable. I do think we will be working with Adam next year, yeah.”
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This was the best American Idol Finale performance in all the seasons. Adam was the best vocalist I had ever heard in 2009. It is amazing that his voice has only gotten better.