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Adam Lambert Talks About Freddie Mercury

Filed Under ( ) by Admin on Monday, August 30, 2010

Posted at : Monday, August 30, 2010

Audio here:





Mercury's voice was untrained and unpredictable, sometimes soaring from an earthy baritone to a wild but heavenly tenor.

"It's supersexy," says American Idol star Adam Lambert. He spent hours upon hours listening to Queen, trying to figure out how Mercury did it. And when he auditioned for Idol, he sang Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

"Freddie's voice has so much texture to it," Lambert says. "He kind of grabs at everything, he squeezes it."

Lambert, as an openly gay performer, says he owes a debt to Mercury's flamboyance decades ago.

"There's definitely something missing in today's music scene," he says. "We don't have a lot of men on stage doing flamboyant or theatrical. We have a lot of female pop stars doing it, but where are the guys? Where's the classic pop-rock showman?"

"The spirit of Freddie Mercury is alive and well," says Lambert. "He made it rock."

Watch Freddie Mercury Perform "Bohemian Rhapsody" With Queen







SOURCE: NPR

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Such a great singer and live performer.

If Adam Lambert plays his cards correctly, that is if he does not conform to one style for $$$ gains, he too WILL put an indelible mark on music and become as legendary as Freddie Mercury.

Anonymous said...

I remember Freddie and 'Queen' way before they became famous via an English DJ called Alan Freeman, who just raved about them! He mentioned even then, that this new group called 'Queen' were amazing and their music was way beyond their time, and it wouldn't be too long before they would become major superstars! The first time I heared them I was blown away and sure enough shortly after 'QUEEN' exploded into the British charts with gusto! (Bohemian Rhapsody alone was #1 for weeks and weeks) It was a sad day when Freddie left, he was an amazingly brilliant showman, a legend, who left us with music that will live forever!

Anonymous said...

OMG - was going to post today that I heard this interview w/Adam on NPR while driving in to work! I was so excited. They were playing Freddie Mercury's performances, with his wild/raw powerful voice, then on comes Adam, talkiing about Freddie, and his voice just sounded so silky to my ears, by contrast! Great way to start the day.

- Adam Fix

Anonymous said...

Freddie Mercury was underrated, but Queen as a band was overrated, because Queen without Freddie Mercury would have been..what. Their music was a bit too high standard for my taste and I only liked You're my best friend and Killer queen.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure if this was the interview Adam mentioned. The text showed up Sunday night, the audio this morning but it said 'Morning Addition'. I'm still going to tune it at 4 EST for "All things Considered" to see if they talked more to him, maybe about himself this time.

DC Canadian

Anonymous said...

@8.55 You said it all! Adam IS a genius showman
with a voice of brilliance, who is of greatness! I hope Adam stays true to himself and keeps focused through the massive change of lifestyle he has to lead right now. Adam is one super gutsy, strong, classy guy, but being subjected to a bus for months is enough to drive anyone nuts, especially someone as spirited as Adam! I wish Freddie could have known Adam because I'm sure he would have adored him.

Anonymous said...

Adam and Freddie both fantastic Superstars.
Never thought I'd see someone as great as Freddie and then there was Adam Lambert!

Alice said...

I think it is, as you say, important that Adam holds onto his uniqueness and doesn't sell out just because his management team tells him to. I mean, how much money and notoriety do you need. Yes. What Do You Want From Me is great sound, but a record full of it, pleeezzz. There is a tremendous similarity between Freddie's voice and Adam's voice. They both have tremendous range and depth. I did hear someone on youtube say that Freddie believed that his unusually placed teeth somehow stretched his palette and made it possible for him to reach some of the more challenging notes. That's an interesting idea. As a performer and entertainer, Freddie was a workman who tried out different sounds, different ways to present himself before his audience, and each was sophisticated and interesting, and I hope Adam takes the time to do the same. It was sad in a way that Freddie had to hide a lot of who he was. He had to hide the fact that he was gay and also the fact that he wasn't white. So he was passing as other than he actually was in two significant areas of his life. Adam doesn't have to deal with that. I'm not sure if that's a strength of a weakness. But I think both he and Adam would agree that the power of their artistry comes from the very depths of who they are, and when you stray from that concept to far, that's when you put your creative work at risk.

Anonymous said...

I watched this Freddie's concert on the music channel in Toronto couple years ago and I was so attracted by his voice. So sad that I was not in his generation. Then Adam came along , his voice and stage presence captured my heart completely. I didn't even know he was on Idol because I found him on the internet. I am a music lover and I hope Adam will follow his instinct as a musician of who he is. Multi-venturing in other directions in a concert seems to lesson the power of music artistry as I felt in Gaga's concert. Adam has the most powerful voice and I can feel "him" just by hearing his voice.

Anonymous said...

Freddie Mercury's vocal range is crazy too just like Adam's! Adam on the other hand can shake those hips like crazy too! Adam is right, we need guy perfomers who are thearical. Freddie and Michael Jackson are gone, now we have ♥Adam Lambert♥! Thanks Adam for bringing the showmanship, execution and originality back!

Anonymous said...

Wait - now I'm confused, too (but haven't dug back through the old posts to see)...is this the NPR interview Adam was on, or is there still something coming up that focuses on him? I think he's supposed to be on "All Things Considered", which is different than "Morning Edition". Hope so - I want Adam to have a piece about just HIM! :)

- Adam Fix

Anonymous said...

Sweet Adam has at least two more blessings than Freddie Mercury: Internet and passionate Glamberts. THINK ABOUT THAT!?
Fan4fun

Anonymous said...

omg adam lambert and freddie mercury same animal zodiac sign(even though diffrent birthyear but same zodiac sign animal. thier birthmonth is diffrent mercury is virgo(sept born-adam is jan born(except they both share the gift being the same animal zodiac sign) other are; elvis resly madonna and michael jackson same as adam lambert(animal sign(zodiac)

Anonymous said...

I believer Adam will stay true to his own beliefs in who he is as an artist. I recall, people kept saying he should be strictly Rock & Roll. He put some rock tunes in his first album, but not much. He likes the pop music sound at the moment and it is working well for him. I believe he will continue to do a mix of each. I have listened to Freddie M sing, and think he was fabulous, but I think Adam's voice has more potential. His voice can go so much higher and longer than Freddie did.

Anonymous said...

Freddy has been, and always will be iconic. Adam is, in his own right, a master vocalist and showman (who will hopefully become iconic). I would not compare the two, as they are equally talented and authentic.
PRS

Anonymous said...

Trolling NPR....did a search on Adam.....interesting..regarding AMA Show...most of the comments were about how bad he sung..and Adam is the first to admit this.....so refreshing that they talk about his vocals...I think I will listen to this radio station...there seems to be some intelligent life out there.

Anonymous said...

If you ever get the chance listen to Freddie sing "Who Wants to Live Forever" That to me rates right up there with the above. Wow! I like it cause Adam respects others talents. I can see him with a string orchastra behind him too. It is great to see someone feel the words and emote a song like Adam. He has just began to entertaine this planet. He a Freddie have that showmanship; but I hate to compare them because their talent is seperate and stands alone in its own right. I think Adam should leave a little mystek to his fans and let them want for more. That would just draw them in closer.

Anonymous said...

Anon 2:51pm - ha, ha! Yes...NPR is full of "intelligent life". They have great stories! Interesting, intreguing, educational, tear-jerkers, laugh-out-loud...but mostly, "smart". There is something for everyone. Hope you enjoy!

- Adam Fix

Anonymous said...

Freddie was such a wonderfully creative and super talented guy, and so is Adam. Love them both with a passion.

Anonymous said...

I think Eber should get a mention for introducing Adam to musical greats, which has
obviously been an inspiration.

Anonymous said...

Yea, Eber!

Anonymous said...

Alice above spoke of hearing how "Freddie believed that his unusually placed teeth somehow stretched his palette and made it possible for him to reach some of the more challenging notes."
Interestingly enough, Adam said that is the reason his tongue comes out so much during those more challenging notes. Something his music teacher taught him. More similarities. I think Adam is still the better singer...and overall showman along with charisma to knock your socks off.

Anonymous said...

I think Adam is far better eye candy than Freddie hands down. Voice wise I think they are so differant that it is to hard to compare for me. I think Adam voice is more versitile and can sing a variety of music that I think Freddie would not be able to. I really love them both,differant and amazing in their own way. In a good way!

Anonymous said...

@Anon 1:07 8/31, or anyone - do you guys who are American Idol watchers remember how there was some little clip/segment on Season 8 about how one of the voice coaches (lady, can't remember name - Debbie maybe, sorry :)) tried to have Adam work on keeping his tongue in - or some notion very close to that??? Lawdy, thank goodness BB does what he wants and what feels right to him... I hate to even think of missing any audio OR VISUAL yumminess due to a reigned-in tongue :). As for Freddie - too much admiration for me to even get in to... with my propensity for verbosity, it'd get ugly, lol.
MGF

Anonymous said...

Freddie Mercury was brilliant, magical, dynamic, flamboyant and a true performer with a voice for the ages. Adam is all of the above with that ultrasexuality thrown into the mix.

Freddie refused to have his teeth fixed because he thought that might change his his voice. Same with Barbra Streisand and her nose.

FYI - Adam can sing 4 notes lower and 4 notes higher than Freddie according to The One Music Forum. So Adam's range is a full octave greater than Freddie's.

Anonymous said...

Freddie was a raw, brilliantly talented, natural performer, one of a kind, as is Adam. One big difference is the professional training that Adam has had as well as a natural sophistication coming from such an early exposure to the arts. Freddie also was a gifted musician, with a creative sense of music. Both men ahead of their time with their own vision, each with their unique talent enriching the universe. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Freddie until I watched this great video. funbunn40

GlammyLadybug said...

I couldn’t rush into writing about Freddie.. What can I say? I simply adore him and Queen. I didn't see them live but I'm pretty sure that I’ve stored on hard drive and CDs almost everything they have ever done, studio and live CDs, B-sides, unreleased songs, etc. I’ve also kept old audio cassettes and vinyl records of Queen and Freddie. Freddie is my all time favorite performer.
You can spend weeks on You Tube watching all the videos related to him, his music and his life. I highly recommend you watch some documentaries on YT: Freddie Mercury - The Untold Story // Freddie Mercury – Magic Remixed // Freddie's Loves (and many more)
GLb