Adam Lambert placed second on Season 8 of American Idol, and as grateful as he is for the platform FOX’s hit reality TV series offered him, the singer won’t miss the show when it ends after Season 15. “I think it’s about time,” Lambert, 33, told HuffPost Live in a Wednesday, June 17, interview.
Announcing in May that Idol‘s upcoming 15th season would be its last, FOX has confirmed that host Ryan Seacrest, and judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Harry Connick, Jr., will return to search for one last idol and celebrate the hitmakers who came before them, including Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, and many others.
Lambert, whose new album The Original High is out now, argued to HuffPost Live that although music competition programs have been around forever, aspiring talent should be, and seems to be, seeking out other methods to get their music heard. “Talent competitions have been around for a while – look at Star Search, which is what I grew up with – and it’s great that talent can be discovered and fans can be involved. Now YouTube is [an avenue] for talent. Things might be shifting,” the singer said.
In the time since Idol, Lambert said he’s ditched the wild antics he was known for during the series. “I don’t think I fully understood what I was getting into when I auditioned. I was just looking for new opportunities,” said the singer, who toured with Queen since wrapping Idol in 2009. “At the time, I wasn’t able to look forward in my career the way I should be. Six years later, I’ve grown up a little bit and have an amazing team around me. I feel much more settled.”
Lambert said his new music is some of the most authentic he’s released in his career. “I had a little time off, and I was at home recalculating what I wanted to do, and living as close as I can to a real life,” he told HuffPost Live. “This album feels more like the music I listen to. I’ve hung up the costumes and theatricality.”
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