Adam Lambert keen on Queen, but won’t rock only

Adam Lambert keen on Queen, but won’t rock only

Will he, will he rock you? Adam Lambert won’t rule out a stint as the new frontman of Queen, but don’t let that fool you into thinking the “American Idol” runner-up will make his living on the classic rock station. The legendary band has expressed interest in employing his formidable vocal skills, and Lambert is a big fan of the group once fronted by the late Freddie Mercury.

But the 27-year-old California native said Tuesday that he’d feel torn about joining the band.

“That’s a tough question because, honestly, how do you say no to being in Queen?” said Lambert, sporting his trademark dark nail polish and blue-streaked hair. “I mean, that’s unbelievable. But at the same time, I do have my own thing to do right now, and that’s my goal. So if I could, I would try to do both. That’s the honest question. I would try to do both. I would love to perform with them anytime they wanted me to but I also have my record to do. So, we’ll see.”

Lambert, a former theater actor, has ambitious plans for his post-”Idol” debut album.

“My record will be kind of a rock-pop-electronic-dance thing,” he said. “I don’t know how to describe it. I think it’s gonna take on a life of its own, as far as genre goes.”

The album is in the very early stages and Lambert aims to co-write much of the material.

On “Idol,” Lambert was the resident glam rocker, staging elaborate, over-the-top performances and daring to don goth-inspired outfits (with guyliner) on an otherwise family-style show.

“There’s a way to take the glam rock of the ’70s and the classic rock of the ’70s and kind of modernize it. … I want it to be produced in a very very current, almost futuristic, way. So we’re going to come up with something really fresh,” he said.

The musical mix will include “sexy, dance-y, vibe-y” numbers and more emotional songs that “appeal to people that are going through a hard time or don’t believe in themselves,” he said.

“I want to communicate the liberation that is being comfortable in your own skin and that is being your own person,” said Lambert, who has largely kept his personal life under wraps. “And the spirit of being different, and how strong that can make you feel.”

Any dream collaborators?

“Madonna would be amazing,” he gushes. “I’d love to work with Madonna — I think she’s a genius. She has great ideas. Lady GaGa is brilliant. She’s got her finger on the pulse. She’s the hot thing right now. Katy Perry’s amazing, absolutely amazing.”

Could Adam Lambert Become Queen’s New Front Man?

Could Adam Lambert Become Queen’s New Front Man?

If you thought Adam Lambert looked like a natural fit with iconic rockers Queen during American Idol’s finale, you weren’t the only one.

Hours after it was announced that Lambert was Season 8’s runner-up last week, widespread speculation began circulating that the 26-year-old singer had been offered a job as Queen’s new front man. While that’s not true yet, guitarist Brian May isn’t ruling out the possibility.

“Amongst all that furor, there wasn’t really a quiet moment to talk. But [drummer Roger Taylor] and I are definitely hoping to have a meaningful conversation with him at some point,” May told Rolling Stone. “It’s not like we, as Queen, would rush into coalescing with another singer just like that. It isn’t that easy. But I’d certainly like to work with Adam. That is one amazing instrument he has there.”

Queen recently ended a four-year relationship with Paul Rodgers, who was handling the vocal duties for the band.

Lambert auditioned for Idol with Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and instantly became a buzzed-about contender for the show’s Top 36. His revved-up, glam-rock numbers and hauntingly restrained ballads made him the front-runner all season before ultimately coming up short. While the show has produced more pop artists than rockers, May recognizes that springboard it provides young artists.

For now, Lambert must first complete the 50-city tour with his fellow Top 10 members, and the Idol producers, 19 Entertainment, will likely have first dibs on anything Lambert does next. May said whatever happens, he’s excited to see what Lambert and Idol winner Kris Allen (who also shared the stage during “We Are the Champions”) do next.

“Both those boys are well worthy of big success,” May said. “So it’s pointless for someone like me to stand on the sidelines jeering. I’m confident Adam will make great use of this wonderful opportunity. I hope I’m there to see it.”

Do you think that Lambert, if given the chance, should join Queen?

Queen Considering American Idol’s Adam Lambert As Frontman

Queen Considering American Idol’s Adam Lambert As Frontman

“American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert’s performance with rock band Queen on the finale of the TV singing contest this week has the British band thinking about a new front man.

“Amongst all that furor, there wasn’t really a quiet moment to talk,” Queen guitarist Brian May told Rolling Stone in an interview released on Friday.

“But and I are definitely hoping to have a meaningful conversation with at some point. It’s not like we, as Queen, would rush into coalescing with another singer just like that. It isn’t that easy. But I’d certainly like to work with Adam. That is one amazing instrument he has there,” May told the magazine in an e-mail exchange.

Queen, one of the biggest rock bands of the 1970s and ’80s, has not had a permanent frontman since the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991.

The English band recently ended a four-year partnership with Paul Rodgers, the former lead singer in the bands Free and Bad Company.

Lambert, 27, dubbed “Glambert” by fans, lost out in the “American Idol” final to Kris Allen. But his vocal skills and flair for the dramatic made him a good fit for performances with both Queen and glam rockers KISS in the show’s finale on Wednesday.

May seemed comfortable about the role of “American Idol” as a launch pad for a career in the rock world.

“If you have enough talent and enough will to succeed, you will get there by whatever route presents itself,” he wrote Rolling Stone. “Once you have scaled the castle walls, with the sword in your hand, it matters little how you got there. I’ve not always been positive about shows like this but there is no doubt that it offers a door to some real genuine talent along the way.”

Queen, Paul Rodgers Split Up

Queen, Paul Rodgers Split Up

Queen will no longer rock you — at least not with Paul Rodgers.

With a summer reunion tour with Bad Company looming, the singer tells Billboard.com that the Queen + Paul Rodgers collaboration is, in effect, over, and without animosity. “At this point we’re gonna sit back from this,” Rodgers says. “My arrangement with (Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor) was similar to my arrangement with Jimmy (Page) in The Firm in that it was never meant to be a permanent arrangement.

“I think we made a huge success of it, actually. We did two world tours and a couple of live recordings, and…made a studio album (2008’s commercially disappointing ‘The Cosmos Rocks’) which was pretty historical for (Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor) because they hadn’t really gone in the studio with anybody and recorded something like that for a very long time. So it was quite an achievement, I think.”

Rodgers does not rule out the possibility of working together again, however. “It’s kind of an open book, really. If they approach me to do something for charity, for instance, or something like that…I’d be very much into doing that, for sure.”

The Queen + Paul Rodgers project in late 2004, when they joined forces for a set at the inaugural U.K. Music Hall of Fame Awards. They subsequently toured Europe and Japan in 2005 — resulting in the first live album and DVD, “Return of the Champions” — and North America in 2006. The group will release another concert album and DVD, “Live in Kharkov,” on June 16, which was recorded at a televised Sept. 12 performance in the Ukraine to support “The Cosmos Rocks.”

Rodgers says he leaves the collaboration with nothing but good memories and the feeling of a job well done.

“There were some fantastic emails we received that almost had me in tears,” he recalls. “There were a lot of younger people who had given up the idea they’d ever see anything like Queen live again, and there it was, full on. When Brian first called up and said, ‘Do you fancy a couple dates, just for fun, in Europe, I said ‘great’ — and it turned into so much more than that.”

Rodgers hits the road with Bad Company for a 10-date run to promote the group’s upcoming DVD “Hard Rock Live,” which arrives at retail on Aug. 8.

Queen and Paul Rodgers - The Cosmos Rocks

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Queen and Paul Rodgers - The Cosmos Rocks

“While Paul Rodgers has been performing with Queen since 2004, it’s taken until now for the trio (minus original bassist John Deacon) to make an album. It’s a shame that the end result, the first under the Queen name in 13 years, is not very memorable. While Rodgers’ voice is instantly recognizable, there are only flashes of the multitracked vocals and intricate guitar harmonies that were Queen’s calling card. “Cosmos” has its charms; first single “C-Lebrity” features an assist from Foo Fighter Taylor Hawkins, and “Call Me” is a playful song that sounds like late-period Queen. Too many tracks are merely competent bluesy rockers or ballads; the bridge of “Still Burning” flirts with the rhythm of “We Will Rock You,” marking the best union of the disparate Rodgers and Queen styles. —Bram Teitelman”