He is one of the most exciting “American Idol” contestants to grace the stage in years, but you may not know too much about Adam Lambert, one of the finalists that will be vying for the title next week. Actually, there isn’t a lot known about Lambert’s pre-Idol life.
Yet, if he looks abnormally comfortable on the big stage compared to some of the other contestants, there is a reason. Not only is the 27 year old one of the oldest competitors this season (third place finisher Danny Gokey is 29 and tenth place finisher Michael Sarver is 28), but he also has a world of experience. Before Idol, there was “Wicked.”
Lambert appeared with the touring company of “Wicked,” the stage prequel to the Wizard of Oz, for six months in 2005 and then again for twenty months between 2007 and 2008. He appeared as a member of the ensemble, but also was the understudy for Fieryo, the love interest in the show.
Bernard Telsey, who auditioned Lambert for the show, said that he was a “theater guy” with an “amazing voice” and had “incredible range.” The associate director of the show, Lisa Leguillou, said that she “always got a sense that Adam was clear about what he wanted to do” in relation to having a career in music.
Before “Wicked,” Lambert appeared as the slave Joshua in “The Ten Commandments.” In 2004, that show, which also featured Val Kilmer as Moses, ran at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. However, the show’s run was brief after unkind reviews from critics. A New York reviewer did comment that Lambert was the “most consistent crowd-wower.”
This professional experience has no doubt helped Lambert not only on stage, but off. On the minds of many people as much as his performing is his personal life. With his theatrical flare, guyliner, and black nail polish, along with flamboyant photos of him appearing on the Internet, many are wondering if Adam may be the first gay American Idol.
Right now, he is keeping his personal life personal and in the day and age when we know the every move of Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, I say thank goodness for that! Let him be who he is off stage and just continue to wow us on stage.