Adam Lambert gets ready for his WeHo Pride 2024 show where he talks us through how he does his makeup, his new EP ‘Afters,” his new singles “LUBE’ & “WET DREAM,” how he’s evolved as an artist and more!
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00:00Hey Billboard! I am getting ready for WeHo Pride. I'm going to paint my face.
00:04I'd love for you to come in and witness the magic.
00:16My general process for glam is sort of wing it, literally.
00:20There's like the obvious things like, you know, eyebrows and some skin,
00:24but as far as like a performance like this that's really fun and fashion,
00:28I kind of just play until I like what I've created.
00:35How many products do I use? Way too many.
00:37I always joke that my bathroom is kind of like a CVS. It's literally a pharmacy.
00:41I have so many products. I'm kind of a junkie for products.
00:44I love lotions and potions.
00:47This is some shadow for eyebrows by Anastasia Beverly Hills.
00:51It's just sort of eyebrow powder.
00:53I'm so excited to be performing for WeHo Pride. It's actually my first time doing it.
00:57I've performed at Pride in New York. I've performed at Pride in Miami,
01:01but never here at home in West Hollywood where I've lived for over 20 years.
01:06So this is a first.
01:08I am so excited that I get to premiere some brand new songs,
01:12two of which came out today, which is really exciting.
01:15Move and Wet Dream.
01:17And I hope everyone's listened to it so they sing along.
01:21I know I have a lot of friends in the audience and I've sent all of them the track,
01:24so I know they'll be jamming out.
01:26I'm using this product made by Mitchell, it's called.
01:29They're called Color Cases, and it's like a paint that dries to a powder finish.
01:33It's really great for doing stuff, especially for stage when you know you're going to be a bit sweaty.
01:40It's definitely heavy, but it's really well-made.
01:44I've been playing with makeup since I was a kid.
01:46I was definitely the kind of kid that at one point in time,
01:48I think maybe adolescence during middle school,
01:52on the weekends I was in a theater group.
01:54So that's where I kind of fit in.
01:56That's where my friends were.
01:57That's where I was good at something that they all respected me for.
02:00We all respected each other because we were good at it.
02:02But in public school, where I went during the week,
02:05I was definitely a bit of a loner.
02:07I did not have a lot of friends at that age.
02:09I think I was definitely the weird kid.
02:11So a lot of times I would go home after school and I would just play dressing up.
02:19This new chapter, Afters, that's the name of the EP,
02:22is kind of just me trying to take back some ownership of my freedom as a creative artist.
02:30Early on, it was kind of like very apparent that I had to sort of,
02:34if I wanted to play the game and I wanted to stay in it and find some success,
02:38I had to sort of play a game a bit.
02:43Things have changed so much.
02:44I mean, in 2010, I released my first single.
02:47It was like a sexy pop song.
02:49Really fun.
02:50In my rock and roll spirit, I just kind of freestyled some movement,
02:55which included, you know, kissing another guy on stage.
02:59And the network we were on was definitely caught off guard by that.
03:05And there were a lot of people that called in and complained.
03:08I got actually banned from that network for a year.
03:11Because they were responding to the public and doing their job as a TV network.
03:18You know, of course, I think if something like that happened now,
03:20I think that there would be support.
03:22In fact, I've seen support for the type of performance I did with someone like Lil Nas X.
03:29I'm such a fan of his.
03:30I think he's great.
03:31Such a rock star.
03:32For me personally, as an artist,
03:34I think I was playing the game for quite a while.
03:38I think I was playing the game for quite a long time.
03:42And almost had a little PTSD from 2010 of that, you know,
03:49getting sort of slapped on the wrist and being told,
03:51Oh, that's too far.
03:52You're pushing it too far.
03:53You got to reel it in.
03:55And, you know, for me, getting to be a queer person in the public eye,
04:01in a mainstream music platform,
04:03finding success in that format to me is like,
04:10it changes things, you know?
04:12So I think that was kind of one of the main things that drove me so hard
04:16to make sure I stayed in the game
04:18and was willing to compromise a little bit so that I could stay in it.
04:21And you know what?
04:22I am still here.
04:23It has been 15 years and I'm still making music and I'm still here.
04:27And there's an amazing slew of gay and lesbian and transgender and bisexual
04:34and every gender representation in the music industry now.
04:37And it is so cool to see that it's broadened
04:40and it's like an open playing field now.
04:46This is called Faceless.
04:47This product, this woman in the UK makes them.
04:50It's just kind of the extra something.
04:58All right, guys, I think that's it.
05:01The next time you see me, I'll be all dressed.
05:03So I'll meet you at the dressing room.
05:07Well, you made it.
05:08Come on in.
05:11And the finishing touch are these big Rick Owens gloves.
05:17I'm ready.
05:18Oh, and the shades.
05:24Yeah.
05:25Now I'm ready.
05:27Yo.
05:33Lube it up, honey.
05:34Lube it up, honey.
06:04What do you want from me?