Adam Lambert 24/7 News

By now you may have heard Adam Lambert is kicking off his Glam Nation tour at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre Friday, June 4. The show, part of Lambert’s first-ever headlining tour which also features Orianthi and Allison Iraheta, sold out in minutes.

From the moment he took the stage on season eight of “American Idol” last year, Lambert, or “Glambert” as he’s affectionately called, has become a sensation. Whether it was his black-painted nails, performing with Kiss on the reality show, a controversial American Music Awards performance or coming out via Rolling Stone, Lambert certainly shook things up.

And the world took notice, including the maximum-capacity crowd Wednesday afternoon at 98.5 KRZ’s Spotlight Lounge. The Quiznos-sponsored event usually features an intimate performance by a featured artist, but, in an effort to save his voice after a recent bout of laryngitis, Lambert instead chatted with hosts Rocky and Sue about Glam Nation, “American Idol,” his CD “For Your Entertainment,” which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 last year, and, naturally, makeup tips.

“I hope everyone comes out (to the show) in some sort of outfit,” the easygoing star said, before warning ladies to “be careful with the blue eye shadow.”

After posing for pictures and signing autographs for his frenetic fans at KRZ, Lambert holed up in the station’s kitchen to talk to the Weekender — and eat a long-anticipated sandwich.

This is your first headlining tour. What vision did you have for it, and what can fans expect?

First, I didn’t have one, and I was like “I need a vision!” (laughs), but I was thinking about it for a while, and we had just released my remix EP, with all the remixes of “Whataya Want From Me” and “For Your Entertainment,” and one of the bonuses we put on there was “Voodoo,” one of the songs I recorded for the album. For whatever reason at the time, I thought it didn’t go with the album.

I wish I had put it on there, and I fell in love with it again, got a great response from the fans and thought it should be the opening number because it’s so theatrical, it has a theme, it’s really visual, and that became the theme that I realized the whole show could fit into. It’s kind of New Orleans, voodoo, steampunk — all the pop acts are doing this futuristic thing which I love, but I want to do something different.

I love history, old photography and vintage clothing and want to go back in time as opposed to forward. We’re mixing it with a lot of psychedelic rock star glam — and everything will have rhinestones all over it of course, but it’s a different kind of glam. It’s not ’80s glam or ’70s, it’s going further back.

Now that you have the album out and the tour starting, has your sexuality stopped being a focal point?

No, still here! There are times when I think “Oh my gosh, am I talking about this again?” My sexuality doesn’t define who I am — as a person or as an artist. But, at the same time, rock ‘n’ roll and sex go hand-in-hand, so there is that presence there. I am a sensual person when I perform. The good thing about it is there’s not a lot of diversity to what a gay man is, so I’m really happy to bring me to the table as my type of person, I’m not like everybody else.

(My sexuality) never came up on “American Idol,” no one ever asked, and I was like “It hasn’t come up.” Maybe if I had been in some sort of relationship it would have, but you know. I talked about it openly because that’s who I am.

Out of everything over the past year, what’s the most surreal thing that’s happened?

Being on stage with Queen was a weird, amazing moment. Being in the studio with Lady Gaga was wild, and Linda Perry and Max Martin. All the people I’ve gotten to work with has been very exciting, and the fact I got to kind of create and design my own show is such a dream come true.

Are you working on any new material?

Not really, one or two things here and there that are floating around, but I’m really focusing on the tour right now. After the new year, I’ll dive into creative times. There’s still singles I want to put out from the album.

No media — reviewers, photographers, etc. — is allowed at Friday’s show at the KirbyCenter. Why?

We put this (tour) together really quick, and this show was designed for the fans. Anyone else who comes is going to love it, but it’s for (the fans). I want it to be theirs, at least to begin with. I want it to be sacred that way. I want it to be an exchange for me and my fans and let them talk amongst themselves and really get excited about it — they’re the ones making it sold out.

Once we get into a groove and really establish a relationship with the fanbase, then I’d love to have journalists and critics come. I’m really open to that, but I really want to have a week, at least, under our belts to really connect with the audience before it gets exploited by the media, or celebrated.

I’ve learned a lot this year about media. I love the media, I love interviewing, photography, journalism, but the music and the performance come first to me, and I really want to emphasize that. (The tour) is a slight work-in-progress and there might be some changes in a couple days. I want to really solidify the show before I open it up to critics.

And finally, do you paint your own nails?

Yeah, I do, that’s why they look a freaking mess! (laughs)

The Weekender