Adam Lambert: 'I Want To Sing It Big'

Adam Lambert captivated America in 2009 when he almost won American Idol. Lambert was brash, likable and glamorous, but he soon became better known for being the first openly gay Idol contender.

Though Lambert finished as the runner-up, his popularity and talent won him a recording deal. He released his second studio album, Trespassing, this week — just a few months after his 30th birthday.

"I think, for the majority of my twenties, I was always so concerned with what I didn't have, or what I still wanted," Lambert tells NPR's Guy Raz. "It was always about a chase and going after something. This year I've focused more on being thankful for what I already have — being content with what I've already accomplished, or who is already in my life, not what I've yet to find or get."

Trespassing's second single, currently making the radio rounds, is the glam-pop throwback "Never Close Our Eyes" — written by fellow pop star Bruno Mars.

"Nowadays in pop, there's not a lot of men that are singing big and loud and high — it's not as common as it once was," Lambert says. "So I got this track from Bruno and I thought, that's a great melody, great lyric — I know how I want to sing it. I want to sing it big."

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