ADAM LAMBERT LIVE IN CONCERT

When Adam Lambert appeared on the eighth season of American Idol, people couldnt stop talking about the shape-shifting, 61 singer with the glam-rock sartorial flair, razor-sharp sense of humor, and jaw-dropping, powerhouse voice. In 2009, Lambert released his debut album, For Your Entertainment, scored the smash single Whataya Want From Me, and set out on his 2010 Glam Nation World Tour, taking his electrifying show to thousands of fans across the globe who screamed his name and happily sang along with every word of his genre-bending electro-pop-rock songs.

Where For Your Entertainment was all glitter and glam-rock, Trespassing, which is Executive Produced by Lambert, is part buoyant dance-pop with a funk-rock sensibility, and part brooding introspection. Working with such top-notch producers as Dr. Luke, Pharrell Williams, Benny Blanco, Josh Abraham, Ollie G, Lester Mendez, Robert Marvin and Rune Westberg, as well as gifted songwriters Bruno Mars, Claude Kelly, Bonnie McKee, Sam Sparro, and BC Jean, Lambert has crafted an album that reveals both his dark and light sides, and the complex gray area in between.

Says Lambert: On the albums lighter side, ‘Cuckoo is me flying my crazy freak-flag loud and proud, and Naked Love leads the search for unpretentious, genuine romance. Kickin In and Shady explore modern club culture with a nostalgic twist – sung with a love for the spirit of classic rock, funk and disco, while the single Never Close Our Eyes highlights the desire to live in the moment on a euphoric night out. For the albums darker closing, I slowed things down with slow-burning, angst driven songs rooted in piano or guitar, embellished them with lush electronic atmosphere and dubstep textures, and took on deeper topics like obsessive masochistic heartache in Chokehold, and repressed anxiety in Underneath.

Continues Lambert: The search for balance is a key underlying theme of this album, while the point of For Your Entertainment was that it was literally for YOUR entertainment, it was designed as presentational album, very showy and theatrical; a little something for everyone. This album, Trespassing, is more honest and self-aware. I think it paints a clearer picture of who I am and what I want out of life.

The albums funky tone was set by Lamberts sessions with Pharrell Williams, with whom he wrote the 90s house-influenced Kickin In and the albums title track, which Lambert explains is about breaking down barriers and proudly trespassing where you may not initially be welcome. Working with Pharrell was definitely a turning point for me sonically, he says. He pushed me to a brash, groove-oriented musical place that I have loved since childhood but hadnt had a chance to explore much yet. After the sessions with Williams, Lambert expressed his interest in doing something more rhythmic with his other collaborators, which resulted in the part funk, part 80s rock tune Cuckoo, as well as the slinky disco grooves of Shady, which features Chics legendary co-founder and guitarist Nile Rodgers.
Whether its about asserting himself as an outsider in society on Trespassing, or the seductive power of non-verbal communication on Broken English or taking on the discrimination of the LGBT community on Outlaws of Love, each song lifts the veil off Lamberts personality a little bit more. There are songs about the intoxicating hunt for connection and the thrilling freedom of marching to ones own beat.

I think that as an artist, and as a person, Im always growing, Lambert says. For this album, I wanted to evolve and explore new sounds. Having been on tour for a year, and really understanding what gets my fans both dancing AND crying, I had a better idea of the type of music that I wanted to create. Also, having been through the experience of becoming a public person, I know myself better as an artist. I’m more in tune with the things that I want to express and the stereotypes that I want to challenge. This album is the most vulnerable Ive let myself get. These are my real ideas, dreams, fears, and struggles-thats what Im singing about.