During one of the final shows of their 2023 Rhapsody Tour, Adam Lambert spoke to the crowd and seemed committed to honoring Freddie Mercury’s legacy with Queen.
The singer said the following to the audience on the Saturday concert on November 11 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles:
“L.A., what’s up? It’s so good to be home here after an amazing tour with two rock and roll legends. You know that I’ve been on the road for 10 years with Queen? Isn’t that nuts?”
Adam’s Emotional Address Of Mercury
Lambert continued, showing his respect for the late Queen frontman:
“Just know that every time I get up here, I know that I’m f*cking lucky. I know how much of an honor this is. And be assured that every time I take the stage, I have one person in my heart: Freddie Mercury!”
He added, before launching into the band’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’:
“You love Freddie too, right? That’s what this is, this is a celebration of Freddie and Queen,” he said before breaking into Queen’s hit, “Don’t Stop Me Now.”
Lambert’s Role As Queen’s Lead Singer
Although Adam has taken on the role of lead singer, both he and his bandmates have emphasized that he is not attempting to replace the late vocalist. In a May chat with Ynet, Lambert revealed that he aimed to maintain a balance between being faithful to the original songs and adding his own distinctive touch, expressing:
“The first thing they said to me the first day of rehearsal is, ‘Do it like you, don’t imitate the records and Freddie,’ and I thought, yeah, that’s probably smart. I think making it an authentic interpretation, from my own point of view, was really important out of respect for the band, and still, even then, I thought you still had to find a balance between the original and sort of what my impulses were. Because straying too far away from the original also would be a bit disrespectful.”
In a later part of their L.A. concert, Brian May also paid tribute to his late bandmate. He performed the acoustic song ‘Love of My Life’ while sitting on a stool. During the performance, a video of Mercury singing the same song was shown on the screen above the stage. At the end of his performance, May reached towards the screen where Mercury’s clip was playing.
