When then-contestant Adam Lambert performed with Queen during the eighth season finale of “American Idol,” nobody would have guessed that the season’s runner-up would go on to become frontman for the iconic British rockers.
Stepping in to keep the band’s music alive after the tragic passing of singer Freddie Mercury has been a win-win for Lambert and the band, with their multiple tours over the years raking in millions. “It really did put some coins in the bank,” Lambert observed earlier this year in an interview with David Begnaud.
To Tour or Not to Tour
Despite that success, the entity known as Queen + Adam Lambert has been dormant ever since wrapping up the Rhapsody World Tour in early 2024.
Hopes for another onstage reunion seemed unlikely after guitarist Brian May dropped a bombshell during an interview with The Times last month. “I made a decision 18 months ago that I didn’t want to tour again,” May said. “I love to play, I love to travel, but the trade-off is sacrificing your freedom. I have a wife [actress Anita Dobson], grandchildren, and a lot of astrophysics I want to do, so I’m thinking maybe 50 years is enough.”
However, May was quick to walk those comments back and leave his options open. “I got kind of misinterpreted, slightly misquoted there,” he subsequently told Rolling Stone. “I never said we’ll never tour again. I don’t know how I could ever say that. I couldn’t. I feel like I’m on a break, and I’m enjoying my break … Maybe one day I’m gonna wake up and think, ‘Ah, maybe we should get out on the road.’ But I don’t think I will be committing to nine-month-long tours again.”
Queen at the Sphere?
As for his participation, Lambert recently spoke with Rolling Stone, confirming that May had shared similar sentiments when they spoke earlier this year.
“He was just like, ‘I’m enjoying being with my family and just not feeling like getting back out on the road at this point,’” Lambert recalled. “So, I think it’s not like anybody’s saying it’s over or never again, but then again, I did hear that in one of the interviews, so maybe it is and I don’t know.”
From his perspective, Lambert admitted he would never turn down an opportunity to perform with Queen — and believes he’s found the perfect stage if he, May and drummer Roger Taylor reunite onstage again.
“I went to go see the Grateful Dead, actually, at the Sphere,” Lambert said of the immersive Las Vegas venue. “I took my dad for his birthday because he’s a big Deadhead, and I was blown away by what I was looking at. And I immediately emailed Brian and Roger both and went, ‘You guys have to check this. This place is nuts. This is an amazing venue. We could do something so crazy.’ So, I think it’s a fantasy. I don’t know how close to reality it is. I would love it.”
Regardless of whether or not he does reunite with Queen at some point, Lambert admitted he’s just happy he got to along for the ride.
“I’m eternally grateful,” he said. “I will always be grateful and have incredibly fond memories. I mean, would I like to do more with them? Yeah, I would. But if that’s that, then that’s that. You know?”
That said, one thing that fans can be assured of is that he has no intention of soldiering on with some sort of Queen tribute act.
“Now that I’ve played with the actual members of the band,” he added, “anything other than that feels a bit cheap.”
Adam Lambert Addresses His Future with Queen, Reveals the One ‘Amazing Venue’ Where He’d ‘Love’ to Reunite with the Band