[artist id="3188063"]Adam Lambert[/artist] clearly likes to have fun with his image. He loves the glamorous worlds of rock and roll and disco. He's not afraid to wear makeup and glitter. Plus, he likes to poke fun at people's perceptions of him, as he does on the kitschy cover for his forthcoming debut album, [article id="1625390"]For Your Entertainment.[/article] But when it comes to his music, Lambert isn't shy about shedding his pop-star persona and singing about deeper emotions.

"The dress-up supports that; the fantasy element supports it. People want to talk about whether I have rock cred, whether I'm selling out, the theatricality, the gay stuff. ... Chill out! And just enjoy yourself," he told the Los Angeles Times. "It's not that deep. ... Sometimes it is deep. Some of the songs on the album are."

He said songs like the unreleased Muse track "Soaked" and the ballad "Broken Open" are examples of being vulnerable. But there are definitely fun tracks on the album as well. "Sometimes it's just, 'This is hot, I feel good, this song makes me want to go get a drink and flirt with somebody and have a good time.' Good energy is just as credible as the cathartic, dark, heavy stuff," he said. "It's just as important!"

Lambert also talks about how his image, which he says is of a gay man pushing the straight boundaries, is more like something Beyoncé is doing than other male "American Idol" alumni like Chris Daughtry and David Cook. "People look at me and immediately say, 'Oh, he's doing the musical-theater thing,' " he explained. "But if you look at most female pop stars right now, how are they any less theater? Beyoncé is doing 'Single Ladies' with two girls in character shoes and leotards, doing [Bob] Fosse choreography from 'Sweet Charity' and 'West Side Story.' "

The album is a reflection of Lambert's overwhelming musical influences ranging from rock to pop to dance music. In the interview he cites Christina Aguilera's rise to fame.

"I listen to crazy, robust rock music where they sing their faces off, and soul music, which can be similar," he said. "But I also listen to a lot of dance music. I love that style. I was a Paula Abdul fan, a Michael Jackson fan, a Madonna fan. When Christina Aguilera came out when I was in high school, that was a great example of someone taking the pop-dance feel but who could really sing. Pop stars have done it; it's just not a lot of guys have done it. Maybe it's a question of masculine persona."

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