Adam Lambert opened up about his identity and his introduction to fame at a global level in a new profile for Them.

The 41-year-old “Whataya Want From Me” hitmaker became a global sensation after making his debut on American Idol in 2009.

He looked back on coming to terms with his sexuality and concerns about competing on American Idol within the profile. Adam also reflected on the experience of being “outed” during the show.

Read more about Adam Lambert’s experience…

“I started pretty early kind of understanding that I was probably different than the other boys in school,” Adam explained. “I don’t think it really clicked for me until I was in about sixth grade. And I started going, ‘Oh, Ok. Got it.’ Like this is how I’m wired.”

The singer added that he came out after graduating high school.

Being out, he was concerned that he wouldn’t make it onto American Idol, but he decided to pursue it anyways.

“I never thought that it was a show that I’d be able to do. A.) I’m a theater kid. Also, I’m gay, which never seemed to really land very well in that show. I mean, there definitely were a few, but they all kind of got not taken seriously,” Adam admitted.

He described the experience as being “a trip.”

“I had been out since I was 18. I was not shy about who I was. It was never a secret after I came out. I wasn’t ashamed of it at all, but I was really settled in my gayness,” he said.

The musician recalled having photos of him kissing an ex circulate during the show.

“Then the publicist for the show had called me before to say, ‘Hey, I don’t know if you saw this.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I saw it.’ And she was so great. She was like, ‘Well, how do you wanna deal with it?’ And so I just said to a reporter, I’m like, ‘Yeah. That’s me.’ That’s all I said,” he said about the experience.

Adam continued, adding, “I think I lost some fans at that point, but I always said to myself, ‘Well, those aren’t the fans I want anyway.’ If they think they’re gay, and they don’t like that, then go away.”

If you missed it, a musical legend recently dubbed this Adam Lambert performance “one of the greatest” of all time.

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