Adam Lambert

Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after finishing as runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol.^[5] Later that year, he released his debut album For Your Entertainment, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200.^[6] The album spawned several singles, including "Whataya Want from Me", for which he received a Grammy nomination for "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance".^[7] In 2012, Lambert released his second studio album Trespassing. The album premiered at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making him the first openly gay artist to top the album charts.^[8] In 2015, Lambert released his third album The Original High, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 and produced the single "Ghost Town".^[9] Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide.^[10][11]


Alongside his solo career, Lambert has performed with Queen in several worldwide tours from 2012. Their first album, Live Around the World, was released in October 2020, and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart.^[12]


In late 2019, Lambert founded the non-profit Feel Something Foundation, anchoring his ongoing philanthropy, LGBTQ+ and human rights activism. Its particular focus is support for organizations and projects that directly and disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community, including education and the arts, mental health, suicide prevention and homelessness.^[13]

Early life and family

Lambert was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 29, 1982,^[14] to mother Leila, a dental hygienist; and father Eber Lambert, a program manager for Novatel Wireless. His father is of partial Norwegian descent and his mother is Jewish, with roots in Romania.^[15] Lambert was raised in his mother's religion.^[16] He has a younger brother, Neil.^[17] Shortly after his birth, his family moved to San Diego, California.^[18]


Lambert began performing with Metropolitan Educational Theatre network (now MET2) from the age of nine.^[18] A few years later, he began more intense acting and vocal coaching, continuing to perform with both MET2 and what was to become the Broadway Bound Youth Theatre Foundation, as he moved through Mesa Verde Middle School and then Mount Carmel High School.^[17] There, he became heavily involved with theater and choir, performed vocals with the school's jazz band, and competed in the local Air Bands competitions.^[18] He also appeared in local professional productions such as Hello, Dolly!, Camelot, The Music Man, Grease, Chess and Peter Pan, at venues such as The Starlight, The Lyceum and others.^[18][19]


After graduating from high school in 2000, he attended California State University, Fullerton. His major was musical theater, but left after five weeks to move to Los Angeles: "I just decided that what I really wanted to do was try to work in the real entertainment world. Life is all about taking risks to get what you want."^[20][19]

Personal life

After being outed on the internet during his bid to win American Idol, Adam Lambert confirmed that he was gay in a Rolling Stone cover interview that was published in June 2009.^[417] He was in a relationship with Finnish entertainment reporter and reality TV personality Sauli Koskinen from November 2010 until April 2013, when Lambert announced that the couple had split up amicably.^[418] From March to November 2019, Lambert was in a relationship with model Javi Costa Polo.^[419]


Lambert got his first tattoo at 27, just before the start of American Idol. That tattoo, an Eye of Horus, was placed on his wrist. Since then, he has covered his arms and torso^[420] with work by notable tattoo artists Maxime Plescia-Büchi,^[421] Daniel Meyer,^[422] and Roxx.^[423]


In November 2023, Lambert, in collaboration with Roger Taylor, Sarina Taylor, Bryan Patrick Franklin, and Michael Solis, opened The Wild bar in West Hollywood, California.^[424]