Unapologetic Queen apologist Adam Lambert's new single will be out in April, while his new album — executive produced by the actual Max Martin and Shellback — is due at some point in the summer.
The 'Sure Fire Winners' hitmaker sat down with Billboard to have a chat about the album, his new record deal with Warner Bros. and how he convinced Max and Shellback to take control of the album (he basically just organised a meeting with them and it went from there really).
Here are some words from Max Martin, and savour every letter of this copy and pasted quote because Max doesn't talk very often: "Shellback and I first realized in 2009 that a voice and talent like Adam Lambert's doesn't come around very often. We loved the experience and hoped our paths would cross again. So, when Adam came to us with a new opportunity to work together, we leapt at it and even suggested a deeper relationship where we would get the chance to really help define Adam's music over a whole album. We teamed up with the perfect partner in Warner Brothers and can't wait for everyone to hear the dynamic album. We are really proud of it and hope you like it as much as we do!"
Here are some further highlights from Adam's Billboard chat to justify a news story:
"I think people are going to be really surprised. The album feels like a new era for me — emotionally, lyrically, sonically. It feels fresh, it feels new. It's still me. It's still stuff that fans know and love but it's a new chapter 100 percent."
Here's a quote about how his sound has changed on the album:
"I wanted something more internal and more grounded. A little less with the theatrical and the camp and the presentation. I wanted to bring it in a bit more."
And if you perhaps find his voice a tiny bit OTT then you're in luck:
"Vocally, it's very intimate compared to what I've done in the past. There is a little bit of a daring, deeper internal conflict and poetry about it."
Conflict and poetry: it sounds like a Popjustice editorial meeting.