Adam Lambert comes out, signs record deal

"I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I'm gay."

There. Adam Lambert finally said it in his highly anticipated Rolling Stone cover, which is great because that means no more "keep speculating" stories.

The American Idol runner-up reveals that he put off the topic of his sexuality for so long because he just wanted to make sure he came out in the coolest way possible...

"Right after the finale, I almost started talking about it to the reporters, but I thought, 'I'm going to wait for Rolling Stone, that will be cooler,' " he says in the issue out this Friday. "I didn’t want the Clay Aiken thing and the celebrity-magazine bullshit. I need to be able to explain myself in context."

Wise move. Celebrity magazines don't let you get as creative with the crotch snakes and butterflies on their covers.

He also explains why he didn't come out while the show was airing, especially after photos of him in drag making out with dudes started to surface:

"I was worried that [coming out] would be so sensationalized that it would overshadow what I was there to do, which was sing. I'm an entertainer, and who I am and what I do in my personal life is a separate thing. It shouldn’t matter. Except it does. It's so confusing."

And after all the explanations are through, he declares: "I'm proud of my sexuality. I embrace it. It's just another part of me."

Lambert was raised in San Diego and currently lives in Los Angeles and confesses that the recent controversy over Proposition 8 is something that hit close to home. "This civil rights movement is near to my heart... I'm not asking to get married in your church, but you don't have any right to tell me I can't do it."

Lambert--who has been dubbed "Glambert" for his show-stopping outfits, heavy guyliner and black nail polish--quickly earned the favor of the judges on "Idol" and amassed a huge following because of his stellar voice and enigmatic stage presence.

As for the rest of his American Idol experience, something a psychedelic trip on "certain funguses" at Burning Man inspired him to pursue, two kinda awesome things have come from it.

First, he figured out he likes himself: "I'm finally checked in to my self-worth for the first time in my life, and the fact that it has coincided with Idol is so sweet."

And second, he signed a record deal, which is almost as shocking as his Rolling Stone announcement. 19 Entertainment and RCA Recordings announced today that they signed Lambert, whose debut record is expected this Fall.

"I'm thrilled that we've come to a creative and collaborative partnership and look forward to developing a really exciting album," Lambert says in a press release. "We are 100 percent on the same page and are all anxiously awaiting the start of the recordings. It's going to be ridiculous! Get Ready!!!"

A record deal and Rolling Stone cover on the same day? It's like he told the music mag, "Now I'm in a waking dream."

Sources: E! Online, ExtraTV
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