Adam Lambert Opens Up About Being 'Really Overwhelmed' With Fame After 'American Idol'

Adam Lambert, Hayley Kiyoko, Ilovemakonnen, Tegan Quin and Big Freedia are on the cover of Billboard‘s 2019 Pride issue, out now.

Here’s what the 37-year-old For Your Entertainment singer had to say…

On being gay in the mainstream: “When I started my professional journey, in the mainstream media there weren’t a lot of [queer] people, so that was the thing the media wanted to talk about. I loved talking about it, but at the same time I was like, ‘Can it not precede me?’”

On Lil Nas X‘s success with “Old Town Road”: “The world is changing, especially in the United States. We’re moving forward, and that is direct evidence. But also it helps that he had a No. 1 song. I feel like it gave him the confidence to be like, ‘I can do whatever the heck I want!’”

On fame after Idol: “I was really overwhelmed in the very beginning. American Idol was so fast. All of a sudden I was on magazine covers. I was dealing with the personal adjustment I had to make, and then on top of it, there was all this energy behind being the gay guy doing it. I knew I was comfortable saying, ‘Yes, I’m gay.’ But educating the masses? I didn’t get into this business to be an educator. I just wanted to wear glitter and sing.”

For more from Adam, head to Billboard.com.