Ep. 257: Adam Lambert on Idol, Fronting Queen, and Opting Out of the Industry Game

Today's guest is one of the great voices of his generation — the theater kid who auditioned for American Idol with Michael Jackson, watched the judges' faces fall, and demanded a second song because he'd just quit his job and had no health insurance. But his real story isn't the voice. It's the game — the one Freddie Mercury wrote about, the one that picks your singles, writes your headlines, and decides who you are before you do.

And The Writer Is... Adam Lambert!

In this episode of And The Writer Is, we go deep on:

The AMA kiss that blew up a $500,000 single launch — "everyone was going, oh shit"

Quitting Wicked — and losing his health insurance — to audition, then refusing the judges' no

Why Kara DioGuardi 'busted his balls all season'

What Brian May says "Play the Game" was really about

Signed before the finale even aired: why losing Idol never mattered

and much more.

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A special thank you to our lead sponsor, NMPA — the National Music Publishers' Association.