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EXCLUSIVE: Adam Lambert On Trespassing, Britney Spears, Fame, The Press, And More!

Adam Lambert held an intimate meet-and-greet for the gay elect this week at Chelsea eatery Elmo, where he chatted ever-so-politely with LGBT media outlets and nonprofits.

The glam rocker gave Queerty an interview, as well as a sneak peek at some tracks from his new album, Trespassing, which still doesn’t have a release date. (Though the remix EP of the first single, “Better Than I Know Myself,” was just released on iTunes.)

We dig “Myself,” but “Outlaws of Love” is the track that will most connect with gay fans. Lambert told us he wrote it when “the fight for marriage and against bullying… was coming to a head.”

“I got really sad,” he explained. “I thought of the gay community as outlaws. We’re always on the run, can’t find peace or rest.”

While “Outlaws” is a slow ballad, the other tracks we heard were solid dance-pop club-bangers, boasting catchy-if-cliché falsetto choruses (“Take me up, turn me ’round / Turn it up, don’t stop the beat”) and snaking, four-to-the-floor bass lines.

The American Idol star, who wields an impressive army of Glamberts on Twitter, talked about his influences, his love for Britney, and what its been like being in the media spotlight since coming out (in both senses of the word).

Your new album is called Trespassing. I hear it’s inspired by Queen and Freddie Mercury?

It’s actually more funk. Yeah, more disco-funk.

Like George Clinton? Are you gonna get out the rainbow dreads?

They’re at home. I’m keeping them in my bedroom. There’s a little Queen in there—the disco side of Queen.

Are you a big fan of Freddie Mercury?

Yeah, 100%. He’s an idol. It’s, like, between him and Michael Jackson for me.

Both tragic figures who died early.

And both the most talented men to grace us. They were aliens.

You think so? What planet did they come from?

Some sparkly, glittery thing. A galaxy very close by, but very far away at the same thing.

The title of your new album is Trespassing. Have you ever trespassed?

I think in a metaphorical way, I am trespassing. That’s what it’s about—not about breaking and entering! It’s about doing it socially and creatively.

You’ve certainly made a splash on the social scene from time to time.

I try! I think it helped that I got into this a little later. In my 20s. I’d already gone through a lot of my growing pains, so as a creative artist, I’m kind of like, “Well, here it is.”

Britney Spears might be going on X Factor. What advice do you have for her in working with Simon Cowell?

I think he’s a hoot. He’s really snarky and catty, but I think it’s all done in good fun.

Could she become a punching bag, like Paula Abdul was?

I hope she isn’t. I hope she stands up for herself. I love Britney. That last album was dope.

Would you ever defend her, Chris Crocker-style?

Chris Crocker? [laughs] Where is she?

Do you think doing X Factor will help Britney’s career or make her less relevant?

I think at this point, an artist like that, with the legacy that she has, I think she should do whatever the fuck she wants to do. Everybody becomes slaves to the machine of entertainment, and sometimes you just have to do things because you feel like it.

Have you ever felt like a slave to the industry?

I think it’s a constant balancing act: I want to play the game and I want to do well commercially, but I also want to feel like I’m expressing myself and having a good time.

You’ve had some struggles with the media, too.

Oh, yeah. I love ‘em and hate ‘em.

How are you with the all the press you get?

I love that the media takes interest. That is fantastic, I’m flattered. Sometimes I wish there was a little more fact-checking that went on, but that’s okay. That’s the nature of the beast.

You’ve made up with Out now.

[Out editor] Aaron [Hicklin] ’s such a sweet guy. He’s great. Things happened and I was learning. I’m still learning.

When you’re trying to craft your image, the role of publicists can get a little murky.

It’s tricky. And also it was all-of-a-sudden. I was famous and I was guessing [how to act]. I’ve been out, and very comfortably out, since I was 18 years old. So for me to do a [Details] photo shoot with a girl, I thought, was kind of funny. What I didn’t take into account was that it was many people’s first year getting to know me.

The gay community is a little unfair sometimes with celebrities coming to terms with their sexuality publicly.

Harsh critics, yeah.

With Ricky Martin, it took him a while to come out, but he might’ve needed that time.

Listen, in the time that he was really popular, it would’ve been really hard to be out. It probably would’ve shot his career in the foot. The music industry in general, is a tough market for a gay man. It’s really conservative. It’s hard.

Queerty.com: EXCLUSIVE: Adam Lambert On Trespassing, Britney Spears, Fame, The Press, And More!