Premieres Sunday, August 7 at 10 PM ET/PT on VH1
Episode Quotes
"I think I'm a result of all the things I love about music. I love rock and roll. I love that bombastic approach to vocals and sexuality. And I love the production style of electronic music. I love all that. I like artists that take risks and that don't want to blend in. That's the kind of person that I am and that's the kind of artist that I am." — Adam Lambert, on his career
"I think when I was in about sixth grade, that's when I first realized that I was probably not the same as the other boys. And, you know, it was a weird discovery and of course, I was kind of in denial for a while and it was all in my own head. And to me it was a deep secret. I was just not ready to talk about it with anybody. And I didn't know how my parent's would react and I didn't know what that would be like and I think at that age it was something that I was ashamed of, because it was so different. And [it] wasn't the norm and not encouraged and no one talks about that in school and that's one of the things that's so hard about being a young person and realizing that you're gay, or bi, or whatever. We're not told that that's okay." — Adam Lambert, on realizing he was different
"I was awkward and struggling to find out who I was and where I fit. I didn't know anybody else that was gay. So I was playing along, and that's one of the things that is really tough, is that you kind of create this persona in order to be accepted, and that persona is 'I'm just like everybody else, so, I'm gonna ask the girl to the dance… And I'm going to wear the clothes all the other boys are wearing, and this way no one will make fun of me, and this way, I'll be accepted.'" — Adam Lambert, his insecurities in high school
"I thought this is a golden opportunity for me to say something to him. And I said, 'You know, you can tell me anything. Do you want to have a girlfriend?' And he said, no, not really. And I said, 'Do you want to have a boyfriend?' And he goes, 'Well, I don't know, maybe.' And so at that moment, that was the first time he ever really said that." — Leila Lambert, Adam's mom, on Adam's coming out
"I really sat and I evaluated what I wanted. I loved musical theater. That's what I want to start doing. Since I was a kid that had been my big dream… I want[ed] to be a Broadway star. If you want something, you have to have the courage to go grab it." — Adam Lambert, on dropping out of college to pursue his dream of musical theater
"I don't like to play it safe. I like to do things 100 percent." — Adam Lambert, on breaking the mold while on "American Idol"
"I thought what do I have to lose? Might as well do it. That's my new epiphany. That's my new goal in life right now is to just take as many risks as I can and just see where it lands. If I didn't take the risk, I was worried that later down the road I would regret it, and regret sucks." - Adam Lambert, on deciding to audition for "American Idol"
"He was the guy liner guy with the makeup on, and I was the guy next door that plays his guitar and sings the love songs to his girl. The show knew exactly what they were doing obviously. They wanted to pit us against each other." — Kris Allen, "American Idol" season eight winner, on going up against Adam in the finale
"I wouldn't want to go through my career hiding anything, or trying to cover something up. It's just not my style. Sexuality is so sensationalized. Like everybody feels like they have to label it and call it out and I'm proud of it. I'm proud of my sexuality. I have no hang ups. I have no shame but for me, it's not about wearing a t-shirt saying 'gay,' it's 'Adam.' — Adam Lambert, on his 2009 interview with Rolling Stone Magazine
"He felt like an arena artist—a multi-platinum artist from the first time you saw him. He's extremely charismatic and he feels like he was built to do this. The biggest challenge [was] how are we going to bottle this and turn this into an album? — Barry Weiss, on Adam signing with RCA immediately following "American Idol"
"It felt like I was coming under attack, for reasons that were probably a little deeper then actually what I did. In fact the next day on television the talk show that did end up having me on as a guest last minute showed the kiss between Christina, Madonna, and Britney and then immediately followed it with a clip of my kiss with my bass player and they blurred it out. In that moment I thought well what message is this sending to kids? Is this sending that being two girls and kissing is okay, but two guys kissing is not okay? It was really frustrating." — Adam Lambert, on the media firestorm that ensued after his provocative performance at the 2009 American Music Awards
"This is a crowning achievement for me. I definitely feel very accomplished. I feel like I've worked hard and I feel like the hard work has paid off. What more can you ask for? You know that's why I auditioned for 'Idol,' was to have an album out there that people wanted to buy." - Adam Lambert, on the success of his debut album "For Your Entertainment" and where he is in his career today
