Adam Lambert Admits He Discovered Queen Through 'Wayne's World'

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Could the movie Wayne's World have led a prepubescent Adam Lambert to Queen?

No way? Way!

Back in 1992, when Lambert was 10 years old, he saw the film's lead characters Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) banging their heads to "Bohemian Rhapsody"... and he lost his mind.

"I thought, 'What is that song? It's so cool!' Lambert said during a press conference with Queen to announce the band's upcoming North American tour with the singer. "My dad said, 'Here, son. This is Queen.' I pulled out the Queen stuff [from my dad's record collection] and really dove in. I got to hear it on vinyl, which felt very legit."

Lambert retained his adoration of Queen, even as he performed in musical theater as a teen and developed into a pop singer in his 20s. When he auditioned for American Idol in 2009, one of the songs he sang was "Bohemian Rhapsody." And for his performance in the finale that year, he sang "We Are the Champions" with Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor.

"If someone had said to me, 'By the way, you're going to be performing with them in Madison Square Garden in five years,' I would have laughed in their face," said Lambert. "This is so surreal, and I'm glad I sang that song for my audition because maybe it planted a seed. I think because of that audition, that's one of the reasons at the end of the show they said, 'OK, let’s think of some things to do for the finale'; and when I heard that Queen were going to be onstage, it was a full-circle moment then. And now the circle's huge."

Also at the conference, Brian May revealed that seeing Lambert's audition performance was a motivational moment that immediately put the young singer on a short list of candidates to replace Paul Rodgers, who sang with the band from 2004 to 2009. "That [audition recording] rippled around the world," the guitarist said. "I had thousands of people send me the video, saying, 'You have to see this guy!' So it immediately put [him] in there. And then we came to see [Adam perform]. That's where it began."

After their American Idol appearance, Queen reconnected with Lambert at the 2011 MTV European Music Awards in Belfast, Ireland, for an eight-minute finale medley of "The Show Must Go On," "We Will Rock You," and "We Are the Champions." The next summer, Queen and Lambert toured Europe, including three sold-out dates at London's Hammersmith Apollo; and also played Russia, the Ukraine, and Poland.

"There was an immediate [chemistry]," May said. "We get on personally and that counts for a lot. And we were awestruck by his instrument and the way he used it. And then when we went onstage it felt natural. It didn't feel like we were trying to be anything that we weren’t."

Taylor said the band's 2014 tour set will feature a mix of fan favorites and songs the band finds fun to play. "We're very aware of what we think people want to hear, and we're going to try to deliver that and make it an interesting journey through the hits."

If the 2014 Queen North American tour goes well, May and Taylor agree the band might start working on a new studio album. Said Taylor: "If we enjoy it as much as I hope we do, then who knows?"

Queen will launch their 19-date tour June 19 in Chicago and will remain on the road until July 20 in Washington, D.C.

Queen 2014 North American tour dates:

06/19 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
06/21 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
06/23 – Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Centre
06/24 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
06/26 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome
06/28 – Vancouver, BC @ Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
07/01 – San Jose, CA @ SAP Center
07/03 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
07/05 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint
07/06 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint
07/09 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
07/10 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
07/12 – Detroit, MI @ The Palace of Auburn Hills
07/13 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
07/14 – Montreal, QC 2 Bell Centre
07/16 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
07/17 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
07/19 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
07/20 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion

https://music.yahoo.com/blogs/music-news/adam-lambert-reveals-discovered-queen-wayne-world-194736537.html

****Back in 1992, when Lambert was 10 years old, he saw the film's lead characters Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) banging their heads to "Bohemian Rhapsody"... and he lost his mind.

"I thought, 'What is that song? It's so cool!' Lambert said during a press conference with Queen to announce the band's upcoming North American tour with the singer. "My dad said, 'Here, son. This is Queen.' I pulled out the Queen stuff [from my dad's record collection] and really dove in. I got to hear it on vinyl, which felt very legit." *****

And Paul Rodgers is his favorite singer.....

Why does this not surprise me.

The Wayne's World is a reference and turning point for the American Audience. Queen were dead in America after IWTBF. Why have such a brilliant song like Break Free ruined and overshadowed by a ridiculous video. The first thing people talk about is the bloody video which was crap imo. Who f~cking watches Coronation Street in America?

Heck, that movie was one of the things that first got ME into Queen..........between that and seeing the Tribute Concert on tv, which was more or less around the same time, if I remember right.....

Well there's certainly nothing wrong with that for crying out loud! As is the case with most Americans at that time who were still kidd-os or as they say on the article "prepubescent".

"A journey through the hits" How predictable is that.

Its all very well admiring Queens music adam, but no ones gonna remember you in 30 years time touring with Queen, its all about Freddie, and rightly so.
Lambert is like a greenfly torturing the most beautiful rose bush, and that is what he is doing to Queens fans.

I don't mind the reference to Wayne's World! While I'm a fan from way back, it got a whole lot of people in the US into Queen again. Nothing to be ashamed about at all IMO.

[QUOTE] [b]jondickens1 wrote:[/b]

"A journey through the hits" How predictable is that.[/QUOTE]

The part of the sentence you edited out may well be everything but predictable.

[QUOTE] [b]gerry wrote:[/b]

Lambert is like a greenfly torturing the most beautiful rose bush, and that is what he is doing to Queens fans.[/QUOTE]

The tour is just about sold out, so it looks like you're in the minority.

If you don't like anything Queen has done in the past 20+ years, then why do you waste your time trolling Queen forums when they're about to launch a world tour with a new singer? Hoping to convert people to your way of thinking?

Yes i am sure the tour is sold out but not by ardent Queen fans but by silly little girls who are adam lambert supporters.
My opinions are as good as anybodies on here so that is why i like to join in, i am not exempt.
I do like most of the stuff Queen has done in the last 20 years but i do put the brakes on when guest lead singers take over king mercurys role.

Then I guess I'm a silly little girl. Obviously you've spoken to every person who has bought a ticket. Your talents never cease to amaze me.

I'm going to see half of Queen next week, and as clearly indicated on the bill there is nobody replacing Freddie Mercury, but rather (what's left of) Queen plus someone.

Enjoy watching your DVDs for the 1000th time. Too bad I won't be around to hear your exciting news updates as I'll be busy seeing Brian May play live.

[QUOTE] [b]gerry wrote:[/b]

Yes i am sure the tour is sold out but not by ardent Queen fans but by silly little girls who are adam lambert supporters.
My opinions are as good as anybodies on here so that is why i like to join in, i am not exempt.
I do like most of the stuff Queen has done in the last 20 years but i do put the brakes on when guest lead singers take over king mercurys role.

[/QUOTE]


Oh, thank you for calling me a silly little girl! Makes me feel young again. And if Adam fans alone are filling arenas like MSG in NY and Comcast Center in Philadelphia, etc., Adam has a hell of a lot more fans than most people on this forum think that he deserves. Hmm. Food for thought.