[Editor's note: Already, in less than 24 hours, the incredible response to our interview with Adam Lambert -- and our Editor in Chief Aaron Hicklin's open letter to Adam -- has made a few things clear: 1) His fan base is awesomely, ferociously dedicated to the singer and 2) perhaps there is some confusion surrounding the intention and/or overall point of Hicklin's letter.
In an effort to shine a bit of a brighter light on the subject, the author of the interview with Lambert (Part One can be read here and Part Two can be read here), Shana Naomi Krochmal, penned the following to address some of the literally thousands of comments that have been already left all over the Internet regarding this story.]
Let's get the most obvious thing out of the way first: Yes, it is totally absurd to imagine that anyone thinks they can somehow control or manage how gay Adam Lambert seems on any given day. You've seen him, right? Maybe read an interview with him? That's exactly what I love about Adam, that in addition to being able to sing his face off (his words), he is defiantly, outrageously campy and queer -- and that he seems to have such a sense of humor about it, and a willingness to shake things up.
That said: Despite plenty of back and forth between the magazine and the label about the cover and the photo shoot, I still wasn't prepared for what happened when I showed up at the 19 Entertainment offices for the interview. I briefly met Adam, and then the publicist and I walked out to the balcony, at which point I was cautioned against making the interview "too gay," or, "you know, gay-gay." Specifically I was discouraged from asking about the March on Washington that upcoming weekend or other political topics. I pointed out the difference between the Advocate, Out's sister newsmagazine, and Out, which is more broadly a men's fashion and lifestyle book, but obviously made no promises one way or the other. It was pretty awkward, as if we were discussing two totally different people -- an Adam who doesn't seem to have any real filter when talking about his life or his opinions, and an Adam who could somehow be contained, made safe for mainstream America.
There's no strict entry criterion for being in the 100. We salute the brave (like Lt. Dan Choi), marvel at the new confident out stars (Adam Lambert), thank our allies (Cyndi Lauper), and recognize the tremendous achievements of the major players who are proud of who they are (Wanda Sykes and Rob Marshall). We also included the bravest young voices, the dedicated campaigners, the openly gay politicians and lobbyists who've brought us so far. And we celebrate the directors, the writers, the Broadway producers and stars, like Neil Patrick Harris, who have shaped popular art and culture. More than that, we thank ordinary LGBT people who have done extraordinary things. And, fittingly, after the moguls, the advocates, the agitators, and the tastemakers, we stand humbled by a class from the Hetrick-Martin Institute's Harvey Milk School. We are honored to bring you the 2009 Out 100. This year's theme is a gentle nod to the days that shaped, delighted, and terrified us all and made us who we are today -- school days.
You can also read the first half of our exclusive interview with Adam Lambert. The American Idol star gives us a play-by-play from the center of Fox’s PR storm, gets graphic
about just how far curiosity can carry you, and talks about
his taste in men (hint: “pretty” is pretty important):
Out: How do you describe your sexuality? Adam Lambert: I think one of the
things about the gay community that’s really interesting is that while
people own their homosexuality, there is a strange aversion to letting
the masculine and the feminine exist within you in a balanced way. And
for me, personally, I feel I have a very strong masculine side, and I
also have a very strong feminine side. And a lot of people are scared
to live in that gray area. There’s boys out in Boystown that are either
really fem or really butch. It’s at the extremes. I love
when I meet people that are just kind of comfortable being both. And
they don’t have to identify being really butch or really fem. Why? Why
would you have to?
And also, if you’re one of these, then you must be attracted to the other. Are you attracted to guys like you? I
don’t even know anymore. I think when I was younger, I could box in
what my sexuality was about, what’s my type and all that. But as I’ve
gotten older, and just learned more about myself and the world, it’s
not really about type anymore. I mean, if someone’s hot, they’re hot.
If someone’s interesting, they’re interesting. If you have an energy
and a chemistry with someone, then you have chemistry. Done. You can’t
really define that or explain it. It just is. You just meet people and you click, or you don’t. You know? [Pauses.] Although -- I like pretty boys.
[Laughs.] What kind of pretty? Pretty. Pretty is pretty. And I’m generally drawn to [guys who are] younger than me. Generally…but there are exceptions.
To read the first full half (we'll have part two up tomorrow), head over to Out.com.
It's as if the love child of David Bowie and Samantha Fox joined an outer space Ice Capades league and -- more importantly in light of his recent questionable Details shoot -- it's gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay:
"@admamlambert:
Yes it’s true: I spent yesterday in the studio w the insanely talented
and creative Lady GaGa recording a song that she wrote! I love her.Gaga wrote the song a while ago and she thought it would be a good
fit for me. It’s a solo track. I feel so honored and lucky to be asked.GaGa just gets it, ya know?"
-- Adam Lambert revealing that his new album will feature a song written by Lady Gaga via Twitter.
Picking up where Stephen Tyler left off, American Idol alum Adam Lambert is the next glam rocker in line to lend his pipes to a hyper-dramatic theme song for an apocalypse movie. The song, "Time For Miracles," which you can hear in the clip above, will be featured in the new John Cusack film 2012. The movie, also starring Amanda Peet, examines the much ballyhooed theory that according to the Mayan calendar, the world will end on December 21, 2012.
We don't really buy it (Y2K anyone?) but just in case, we're going to get our fix of Adam Lambert while we can: the soundtrack is out on November 10 (three days before the film hits theaters) and his solo debut album is set to drop on November 24.
American Idol revolutionized the music industry, yanking the task of crowning new pop royalty out of the hands of stodgy old execs and handing it to the common people -- the glorious, unrefined mass of us, clutching our cell phones in one hand and a Butterfinger in the other. So it was only a matter of time before the earth-shattering formula should spread to an industry that was perhaps among the oldest and stodgiest on the planet -- the cat show.
Gone are the days of highly esteemed professionals wielding magnifying glasses and measuring tapes to determine who the top cat is by their stuffy standards! History made at New York City's CFA Iams Cat Idol competition at the CFA-AKC Meet the Breeds event October 17-18, when for the first time a popular vote will determine the winning cat.
This is a new era of cat celebrity, one in which we, the people, have the power to democratically elect our favorite feline! (Is it any coincidence that the celebrity cat circuit is currently ruled by a Bombay who goes by the name Barack Obama?) Get over to the Javits Center, people, and do your civic duty.
Holy Christmas in September! Ellen DeGeneres has announced that she'll be filling Paula Abdul's recently vacated judge's seat on American Idol. "I don't know how it happened myself, but I have not missed one episode
of that show," she said on her talk show yesterday afternoon. "I love everything about
it and I love music, as you know. Hopefully, I'm the people's point of
view, because I'm just like you."
She assured her talk show viewers that she wouldn't be leaving them high and dry. "I'm going to have a day job and a night job," she said. "The times we're living ... in, we're all doing that." Stars -- they're just like us, only married to Portia de Rossi.
Sources say she's inked a five-year deal with American Idol, and simultaneously renewed her talk show contract through 2014.
It's no surprise that Adam Lambert fans are going crazy over him at every stop of the American Idols Live! tour. Just how crazy is another story.
Recently Adam chatted with Rolling Stoneabout the fact that fans have been throwing various, um, objects on to the stage. Namely, bras, studded underwear, whips, and yep, handcuffs. Adam seems to enjoy the attention, promising to pick them up as long as nothing is thrown at his face.
But the Fanberts (like that?) are taking it to a whole new level. Someone threw the mother of all sex toys at Adam during a recent concert. We're talking a full-sized dildo, which literally hit him. Check it out in the clip above.
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