Although we were initially told that Adam Lambert was feeling a little under the weather since landing in Singapore on Monday, the guylined and perfectly coiffured rocker was in visibly high spirits at yesterday’s Celebrate 2016 press conference at Grand Park Orchard.
“What are you talking about? I feel great!” he exclaimed, when his supposed condition was brought up. “Well, flying 20 hours makes you go a little crazy, but I slept all day and now I feel good.”
Tonight (December 31), it will be Glamberts’ turn to feel good as the 33-year-old headlines the Celebrate 2016 countdown show at The Float @ Marina Bay, his first performance on local shores since his March 2013 concert.
However, just like the previous gig, the announcement of his arrival was not without controversy. Two years ago, a complaint was filed against Adam, who is openly gay, holding his showcase at the church-owned Star Performing Arts Centre. Then, last month, a petition signed by “Concerned Citizens, Concerned Parents, Concerned Individuals” was launched to oppose his involvement in the countdown show, citing his “lewd acts in the name of entertainment” and “his active promotion of a highly sexualised lifestyle and LGBT rights” as reason for their disapproval.
The online petition closed after five days and garnered over 20,000 signatures. On the other hand, its counter petition, titled “We want Adam Lambert performing in Countdown 2016”, racked up more than 24,000 signatures in three days.
Through it all, the 2009 American Idol runner-up remains unfazed by the naysayers. “I was actually flattered that people cared so much!” he claimed, before explaining, “Whenever I do a TV performance, I work very carefully with the producers and my team to figure out what’s appropriate for the programme.”
When asked if he’s “getting tired of creating controversy”, Adam clarified, “I don’t create controversy. In the past I may have done one or two things on purpose but now, my intention is not to provoke, but to reflect and be honest and real.”
Now that his show is clearly going on, here are some things that viewers can look forward to, as promised by the star himself: “We created it especially for Singapore; I thought very hard about which songs are going to speak to as many people as possible and that represent me. You have to tune in to find out more, but it’s going to be songs that people know and love.”
His set at tonight’s event is also the “opening ceremony” for his The Original High Tour, which is in support of his third album of the same name. Then, after one free day in town (see if you can spot him out and about on New Year’s Day!), he’ll move on to other parts of Asia and then to Europe. He’ll also continue with his collaboration tour with iconic British band Queen.
While Adam is revelling in his busyness and being able to experience his own “Original High” by singing on stages all over the world, he was candid about lacking a social life thanks to his schedule. “I figure that’ll come in the future, but at some point a vacation would be good, maybe somewhere tropical like Thailand or Fiji.”
In the meantime, he’ll be focusing on his New Year’s resolution for 2016. “I don’t remember what my 2015 resolution was, so maybe this year, it should be to remember my resolution! (laughs) My life is so rapid that I take it one day at a time, but if anything, my resolution would be to keep moving forward, keep learning and keep trying to create.”