The singer tells us it’s “a love letter to the heart.”
Adam Lambertisn’t just here for your entertainment anymore.
“I’ve leaned really farinto my queernesson this,” he tells EW of the new album.
Adam Lambert in concert in 2020.Credit: Noam Galai/Getty Images
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: It’s been almost five years since you released a full solo album.
Besides the obvious fact that you’ve had your hands full touring with Queen, why the long gap?
ADAM LAMBERT: I wasn’t in any rush to start it.
I didThe Original High, and that was the last album when I did a tour.
I just took my time getting back into the writing headspace.
It took a while to get inspired.
Also, I decided that I really wanted to go about the whole process a bit differently this time.
I wanted to insulate my creativity and my songwriting and protect it from the business.
How did you end up accomplishing that?
Looking at things with a shifted perspective.
It’s really easy to get sucked into the game of it all.
The competition and chart position.
How many spins and how many streams?
What is so-and-so doing and what’s the trend of the moment?
I thought to myself,I want to reference some of that world that I grew up in.
It definitely has a different sound for you.
It’s very ’70s rock, but also a lot of pop and some R&B.
What were some of your influences?
I hear some Buckingham/McVie.
Queen, through osmosis, has probably rubbed off on me.
Bowie is definitely a touchstone for me; Prince is a touchstone for me for sure.
It’s not as specific as that.
There’s definitely a little Motown influence on there.
There’s some funk.
Some Sly Stone, maybe.
It explores love and relationship in many different ways.
Then there are other songs about lost love and mourning love and longing for connection, longing for intimacy.
And there’s some playful songs about dating and sex that are a little bit more light-hearted.
All of it really boils back down to relationships.
We’re always growing.
I do feel like I go into chapters in my life.
The empowerment stuff is big.
Where is my heart in all of this?"
Brian and Roger are so wise and I’ve learned a lot from them.
A lot of it just by being around them, just absorbing it.
One of the things I’ve learned about songwriting is that they’ve tapped into the human spirit.
That’s why their songs are so timeless.
It felt like something that could stand the test of time a bit.
I wanted to talk about the title.
What was it about velvet you gravitated towards?
Was there a world where this was named polyester or corduroy or something?
The title of the album came first.
I was trying to think of a word that described them all.
There’s a sonic through line and there’s a vibe and a groove throughout the whole thing.
I was like, “It’s smooth.
It’s velvety.”
And I’m like, “Ooh, velvet.
Well, that makes sense.”
I always visualize that the world thatVelvetlives in is very specific fashion-wise.
It’s influenced by the ’70s and ’80s.
It’s retro but it’s also now.
It’s kind of over the top in moments and decadent and lush.
It also reminded me of curtains to a stage the velvet curtains.
There’s something intimate about velvet.
You see velvet used in intimate apparel and lingerie.
It felt like it fit.
Was there one song you found hard to crack or emotionally challenging to put on the page?
“Closer to You” it’s the big ballad of the album.
It’s funny because I had been working on it for so long.
Then you come back to it with fresh ears.
But it took a lot of marinating.
A lot of artists recently have been dividing up their albums across release dates.
The first part ofVelvetcame out last fall but now the full album is coming out this month.
What was it about that approach that appealed to you?
But I was like, “I want to put these out.
I just feel ready.”
There’s no rules anymore.
It gives my fans time to understand it and process it, dive in, and really enjoy it.
