InstaLove: Adam Lambert Throughout the Years

From auditioning for "American Idol" with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" to actually becoming the frontman for the legendary band two years later, Adam Lambert seems to have answered his own lyrical question: "Whataya Want From Me." That line is from his first smash-hit single of the same name released after being first runner-up on season eight of "American Idol." He lost to Kris Allen, who never managed to equal his colleague's same success.

Lambert may have always been destined to become an international rock star. From the age of nine, he started developing his flair for showmanship attending the Metropolitan Educational Theatre network in San Diego. Through his middle and high school years, he honed his skills even further in both music and theatre. After high school Lambert moved to Orange County, Calif., to go to college where he only spent five weeks on campus before dropping out and going to Los Angeles in search of stardom.

With contestant number "1877" pinned to his chest the singer, then 27, stood in front of American Idol judges Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson in the audition room where, in a bit of foreshadowing, he sang "Bohemian Rhapsody." Cowell called him theatrical, but it was a unanimous "yes" and he got his golden ticket.
"I am theatrical," Lambert said in an interview with San Diego Union-Tribune after the 2009 audition. "In the current pop scene, lots of performers are going in that direction, more theatrical in appearance, in camp value. So I don't consider it derogatory at all."

In 2009 during "American Idol," Lambert was at the verge of winning. But something stood in his way; was he gay or not? It's hard to imagine that 15 years ago the question of someone's sexuality was a deciding factor for a rocker in a pop music reality competition show. Throughout the years many male artists have toyed with sexual ambiguity through clothing style and cosmetics, and they all had one thing in common; they weren't out of the closet. And yet, gay or not, they are now considered legends. Back then America was going through a cultural shift, especially within the LGBTQ+ community. Marriage equality was having its own competition at the polls; Lambert's place in American Idol and the fight for human rights were neck and neck.

"I think I lost some fans at that point," he said last year. "But I always said to myself, 'Well, those aren't the fans I want anyway.' If they think I'm gay, and they don't like that, then go away. That's who I am."

Lambert wouldn't come out until 2009 in an article for Rolling Stone.

Speaking of style, Lambert's brand has always met at the intersection of fashion and pop ranging from an emo, jagged matte black fringe haircut in his "American Idol" days, to an Elvis-inspired pompadour, to the visually psychoactive hair colors that range from River Styx red to Disco Enchantress green, all teased into a spiky mass reaching high into the ether. You probably can't think of Lambert without thinking of his signature hair.

There is also the softer side of the rock star when he removes his theatrical presence and steps out of the spotlight. As much as Lambert is known for his music and style, he is also known for his philanthropy. He has given both time and money to organizations such as The Trevor Project, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and performed on the single "Hands" which helped the victims of Pulse.