When George Michael praised Adam Lambert long before he joined Queen

13 September 2024, 13:51

George Michael was a fan of Adam Lambert's long before he joined Queen, the band George once performed with himself. Picture: Getty

By Thomas Edward

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They shared more in common than you'd think.

Both singers George Michael and Adam Lambert possessed show-stopping voices and bundles of stage presence.

They also had an iconic rock band that admired them both equally: Queen.

George stepped in to perform a cover of 'Somebody To Love' at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992, and blew the entirety of Wembley Stadium away on the night.

"It wasn't a surprise to me because I knew he could do it," drummer Roger Taylor later admitted. "I knew he had that in him."

Of course, having seen him fill Freddie's show in such incredible fashion, fan pressure kept building, with Queen fans wanting George to join the band full-time.

In recent years Roger revealed why the rumours were nothing more than that, saying: "I remember hearing the rumours. But it wouldn’t have suited us. George wasn’t really used to working with a live band," he revealed.

Later down the line however, they would find a new singer in the shape of Adam Lambert.

Strangely enough, George recognised his talent long before he'd fronted the rock band, after his breakthrough on the televised singing competition American Idol.

George Michael's performance with Queen in 1992 is widely considered to be the greatest of the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage). Picture: Getty

Lambert didn't join Queen as a full-time member until 2012 when they conducted a short tour of Europe, which later expanded into a global tour two years later.

But their collaborations date back to 2009 when Adam was a contestant on American Idol, and both Brian May and Roger joined him for a rendition of 'We Are The Champions'.

Brian and Roger expressed an interest in teaming up with Lambert after hearing him sing 'Bohemian Rhapsody' during the show's auditions.

Another star who was paying attention was George Michael, who was asked his opinion on Lambert in an interview with People magazine in 2010.

Adam Lambert first performed with Queen on the series finale of American Idol in 2009. (Photo by Kevin Winter/American Idol 2009/Getty Images for FOX). Picture: Getty

"He’s the guy with the eyeliner and black nails, right? I’ve heard him perform. He certainly seems talented," George replied when asked about Adam.

"I didn’t come out until after my mother died, as I was sure the papers would attack me and that would hurt her."

"Adam is out, so he won’t have that problem. I wish him a lot of success," who himself struggled to keep his sexuality private due to intense media speculation throughout his career.

Whilst George tried to keep his sexuality behind closed doors, Adam Lambert went the opposite way, bravely coming out soon after his American Idol breakthrough and facing down intense media speculation at the time.

There's a major caveat of course - in the eighties and nineties, if George came out publicly it could've ruined his career, and very nearly did when he was outed by the media.

Lambert however embraced his sexuality, and later became the first ever openly gay artist to top the album charts in the US.

"I wish him a lot of success," George Michael said about Adam Lambert, long before he joined Queen and became a global pop star. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage). Picture: Getty

It was Lambert's flamboyance and vocal power that convinced Brian May and Roger Taylor that he could be a good fit to sing Queen songs in the absence of Freddie.

Roger later told Good Morning America that his 2009 performance of a Led Zeppelin song blew him and Brian away.

"I checked it out and [Lambert] was singing 'Whole Lotta Love' by Led Zeppelin and just blowing it away. Fantastic."

"We got in touch, and we were then asked to do the finale of Idol, which we flew over to do with the two finalists and we just got on magically with Adam."

Adam then joined Queen on tour for several years before reverting back to his solo career. The door is very much open for a return with Queen.